FACE IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS EMPLOYING TWO-DIMENSIONAL TEMPLATE

A face image processing apparatus is capable of extracting images of nostrils and eyes accurately and at high speed without being influenced by accessory information by employing one or a plurality of two-dimensional templates each of which expresses exactly the features of the nostrils and the eyes though the amount of information thereof is small. The face image processing apparatus includes: a face image inputting element for inputting a face image; an eye area setting element for estimating an area, in which an eye candidate is present, from the inputted face image; an eye candidate extracting element for converting the eye candidate into the data having a plurality of luminance values within the eye area; and an eye deciding element for deciding eyes within the extracted candidates and their positions.