A modification of eigenvalues to compensate estimation errors of eigenvectors

In statistical pattern recognition, parameters of distributions are usually estimated from training samples. It is well known that shortage of training samples causes estimation errors which reduce recognition accuracy. By studying estimation errors of eigenvalues, various methods of avoiding recognition accuracy reduction have been proposed. However, estimation errors of eigenvectors have not been considered enough. In this paper, we investigate estimation errors of eigenvectors to show these errors are another factor of recognition performance reduction. We propose a new method for modifying eigenvalues in order to reduce bad influence caused by estimation errors of eigenvectors. Effectiveness of the method is shown by experimental results.