Multiple Data-Dependent Kernel Fisher Discriminant Analysis for Face Recognition

Kernel Fisher discriminant analysis (KFDA) method has demonstrated its success in extracting facial features for face recognition. Compared to linear techniques, it can better describe the complex and nonlinear variations of face images. However, a single kernel is not always suitable for the applications of face recognition which contain data from multiple, heterogeneous sources, such as face images under huge variations of pose, illumination, and facial expression. To improve the performance of KFDA in face recognition, a novel algorithm named multiple data-dependent kernel Fisher discriminant analysis (MDKFDA) is proposed in this paper. The constructed multiple data-dependent kernel (MDK) is a combination of several base kernels with a data-dependent kernel constraint on their weights. By solving the optimization equation based on Fisher criterion and maximizing the margin criterion, the parameter optimization of data-dependent kernel and multiple base kernels is achieved. Experimental results on the three face databases validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.