3D facial recognition: a quantitative analysis

Two-dimensional facial recognition has, traditionally, been an attractive biometric, however, the accuracy of 2D facial recognition (FR) is performance limited and insufficient when confronted with extensive numbers of people to screen and identify, and the numerous appearances that a 2D face can exhibit. In efforts to overcome many of the issues limiting 2D FR technology, researchers are beginning to focus their attention on 3D FR technology. In this paper, an analysis of a 3D FR system being developed at Sandia National Laboratories is performed. The study involves the use of 200 subjects on which verification (one-to-one) matches are performed using a single probe database (one correct match per subject) and 30 subjects on which identification matches are performed. The system is evaluated in terms of probability of detection (Pd) and probability of false accepts (FAR). The results presented will aid in providing an initial understanding of the performance of 3D FR.