High performance face recognition using pseudo 2-D hidden Markov models

A face recognition system based on 2-D DCT features and pseudo-2D Hidden Markov Models is presented. The system achieves a recognition rate of 99.5% on the Olivetti Research Laboratory (ORL) face database. This recognition rate is much better than the recognition rate of a previous pseudo 2-D HMM approach. Only one single face out of the 200 available test faces was not correctly recognized. The superiority of our approach against the previous approach is analyzed, and the recognition rates are compared to other face recognition systems evaluated on the ORL database.