Patent ID: 7660444

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: at least one camera directed toward a user's face and configured to record at least two still images of a user from at least first and second angles of view and to obtain at least one additional still image of the user's face in addition to the at least two still images; a processor connected to said at least one camera, configured to process the at least two still images obtained by said at least one camera and to generate a 3-dimensional model of the user's face using the at least two still images and to generate a facial texture bit map of the user's face using the at least one additional still image of the user's face, and to compare the generated 3-dimensional model and the facial texture bit map with the stored user profile information to determine whether the user is authorized to access the system, said processor comprising an access device configured to grant access to the system when the generated model and the facial texture bit map matches the profile information of one of the authorized users stored in a memory, thereby indicating recognition and authorization of the user, and an updater configured to update the profile information of the one of the authorized users with the generated model after each grant of access by said access device such that the updated profile information comprises an average of the generated model and the previously stored profile information; and a transmitter configured to transmit the images to a server over a network and to receive a 3-dimensional model and a facial texture bit map from the server.