Facial features based human face recognition method

• US 20070071288A1
• Filed: 09/29/2005
• Published: 03/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Liu, Heng-Sung, Wu, Quen-Zong, Pai, Chia-Jung
• Application Number:
  US11/237,706
• Publication Number:
  US 20070071288A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/118
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/171 Local features and components; Facial parts eye characteristics G06V40/18; Occluding parts, e.g. glasses; Geometrical relationships

Abstract

A method of facial features based human face recognition is disclosed. A human face and facial features thereof with respect to an input image corresponding to a person are first detected person by person by image processing technology. Then, each of such facial features for a plurality of persons are categorized into several categories and expressed to form a human facial features database for the plurality of persons. A to-be-searched or recognized human face image of a person is inputted. Then, the image is acquired with positions of the person'"'"'s face and facial features by image processing technology and each of the facial features is categorized into several categories each with a specific expression. Then, according to the categories which the facial features of the person belongs to, the person may be recognized. As such, the purposes of human face search and recognition are achieved.

Claims

1. A method of facial features based human face recognition used to recognize an input human face image corresponding to a person, said method being characterized in that positions of a human face and each of facial features of the human face is detected by a human face detection unit and each of the facial features are categorized into one of a plurality of categories with respect to the facial feature by a human facial

features description unit so that the input human face image is recognized by image processing technology in terms of each of the facial features thereof and the determined category for each of the facial features is compared to categories for each facial feature of all persons stored in a database to see who the person is in the database.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the human face detection unit detects the positions of the human face by moving object detection and edge image detection methods.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the human face detection unit detects the facial feature eyes by a center block of eyes and a local minimum.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the human face detection unit detects the facial feature mouth by a center block of eyes and a local minimum.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the human face detection unit is capable of detection of eyebrows, eyes, nostrils, ears and mouth.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the human facial features description unit performs the facial features categorization by detecting a contour of the facial feature and the facial features categorization or the human face recognition by defining a reasonable difference formula.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the human facial features description unit categorizes the facial feature by using neural network.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the human facial features description categorizes the facial feature by using element analysis method.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the facial features used in the human facial features description unit is used individually as a classifier or for human face recognition or used together with another of, a plurality of or all of the facial features as a classifier or for human face recognition.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein a relationship between each two of the facial features used in the human facial features description unit is used as a reference of the classifier.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the database has the determined category for each of the facial features for a plurality of persons, obtained in the same way as that for the person, stored therein, the determined category having its pre-defined description.