1. A method of controlling an image information processing apparatus comprising the steps of: optically receiving an image from an image input unit of said image information processing apparatus; obtaining partial images by segmenting the received image; determining a probable local pattern and an appearance probability thereof for each of the partial images; detecting at least one feature point from the received image; calculating a quantity of mutual information between each feature point and a current observation point on a basis of appearance probabilities of local patterns for respective partial images including the feature point and the current observation point; calculating a quantity of visual information for each feature point in accordance with the quantity of mutual information between respective feature points and the current observation point and with a distance between the current observation point and the respective feature points; determining a feature point corresponding to a maximum quantity of visual information as a next observation point; and moving the image input unit so that the optical axis matches the next observation point.