Patent ID: 8107688

Claim:
A gaze detection apparatus comprising: a feature point detection unit configured to extract at least four image feature points which do not exist on an identical plane from a face in one input image, the image feature points including a feature point of a pupil; a three-dimensional face model storage unit configured to store shape information of at least one three-dimensional face model, coordinates of reference feature points corresponding respectively to the image feature points on a three-dimensional face model of the at least one three-dimensional face model, and a three-dimensional eyeball model relating to eyeballs in the three-dimensional face model; a converting device configured to convert a coordinate of the feature point of the pupil onto a surface of the three-dimensional face model, based on a correspondence between the image feature points and the reference feature points, to yield a converted coordinate of the pupil; and a gaze estimating unit configured to estimate a three-dimensional gaze direction based on the three-dimensional eyeball model and the converted coordinate of the pupil.