Face Recognition across Time Lapse Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Time lapse, characteristic of aging, is a complex process that affects the reliability and security of biometric face recognition systems. This paper reports the novel use and effectiveness of deep learning, in general, and convolutional neural networks (CNN), in particular, for automatic rather than hand-crafted feature extraction for robust face recognition across time lapse. A CNN architecture using the VGG-Face deep (neural network) learning is found to produce highly discriminative and interoperable features that are robust to aging variations even across a mix of biometric datasets. The features extracted show high inter-class and low intra-class variability leading to low generalization errors on aging datasets using ensembles of subspace discriminant classifiers. The classification results for the all-encompassing authentication methods proposed on the challenging FG-NET and MORPH datasets are competitive with state-of-the-art methods including commercial face recognition engines and are richer in functionality and interoperability than existing methods as it handles mixed biometric datasets, e.g., FG-NET and MORPH.