Authentication apparatus and authentication method

摘要

An authentication apparatus comprises a first acquiring part for acquiring three-dimensional shape information of a face of a target person to be authenticated, a compressing part for compressing said three-dimensional shape information by using a predetermined mapping relation, thereby generating three-dimensional shape feature information, and an authenticating part for performing an operation of authenticating said target person by using said three-dimensional shape feature information. When a vector space expressing said three-dimensional shape information is virtually separated into a first subspace in which the influence of a change in facial expression is relatively small and which is suitable for discrimination among persons and a second subspace in which the influence of a change in facial expression is relatively large and which is not suitable for discrimination among persons, said predetermined mapping relation is decided so as to transform an arbitrary vector in said vector space into a vector in said first subspace.