Face searching and detection in a digital image acquisition device
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A device, comprising:
- an image acquiring unit communicatively coupled to a memory unit, and configured to acquire data of a digital image that depicts one or more objects; and
a face detection unit configured to;
perform face detection within a first relatively large window of said image at a first location;
obtain from said face detection a confidence level that is below a threshold indicating a probability that no face is present at or in a vicinity of said first location;
perform second face detection within a second relatively large window of said image at a second location displaced from the first location by a first x-amount in a first direction and/or by a first y-amount in an orthogonal second direction;
obtain from said second face detection a confidence level that is at or above said threshold indicating a probability that the image at least may include a face in the vicinity of the second location;
apply a sequence of windows, including relatively smaller windows than said second relatively large window, at further locations in the vicinity of said second location, including a third location that is displaced from the second location by a second x-amount that is smaller than the first x-amount in the first direction and/or by a second y-amount that is smaller than the first y-amount in the orthogonal second direction wherein a magnitude of displacement by respective values of x-amount in a first direction and/or by respective values of y-amount in an orthogonal second direction is variable between successive windows of said sequence of windows within said image and wherein said x-amount and/or said y-amount decreases between successive windows when a confidence level indicating that the image at least may include a face increases across one or more further thresholds; and
repeat the obtaining of confidence levels until face detection for multiple predetermined sizes of windows has been performed over an entire region of interest of said image.
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Abstract
A method of detecting a face in an image includes performing face detection within a first window of the image at a first location. A confidence level is obtained from the face detection indicating a probability of the image including a face at or in the vicinity of the first location. Face detection is then performed within a second window at a second location, wherein the second location is determined based on the confidence level.
355 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A device, comprising:
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an image acquiring unit communicatively coupled to a memory unit, and configured to acquire data of a digital image that depicts one or more objects; and a face detection unit configured to; perform face detection within a first relatively large window of said image at a first location; obtain from said face detection a confidence level that is below a threshold indicating a probability that no face is present at or in a vicinity of said first location; perform second face detection within a second relatively large window of said image at a second location displaced from the first location by a first x-amount in a first direction and/or by a first y-amount in an orthogonal second direction; obtain from said second face detection a confidence level that is at or above said threshold indicating a probability that the image at least may include a face in the vicinity of the second location; apply a sequence of windows, including relatively smaller windows than said second relatively large window, at further locations in the vicinity of said second location, including a third location that is displaced from the second location by a second x-amount that is smaller than the first x-amount in the first direction and/or by a second y-amount that is smaller than the first y-amount in the orthogonal second direction wherein a magnitude of displacement by respective values of x-amount in a first direction and/or by respective values of y-amount in an orthogonal second direction is variable between successive windows of said sequence of windows within said image and wherein said x-amount and/or said y-amount decreases between successive windows when a confidence level indicating that the image at least may include a face increases across one or more further thresholds; and repeat the obtaining of confidence levels until face detection for multiple predetermined sizes of windows has been performed over an entire region of interest of said image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for improving face searching and detection in a digital image acquisition device, the method comprising:
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acquiring, using an image acquiring unit communicatively coupled to a memory unit, data of a digital image that depicts one or more objects; using a face detection unit performing; performing face detection within a first relatively large window of said image at a first location; obtaining from said face detection a confidence level that is below a threshold indicating a probability that no face is present at or in a vicinity of said first location; performing second face detection within a second relatively large window of said image at a second location displaced from the first location by a first x-amount in a first direction and/or by a first y-amount in an orthogonal second direction; obtaining from said second face detection a confidence level that is at or above said threshold indicating a probability that the image at least may include a face in the vicinity of the second location; applying a sequence of windows, including relatively smaller windows than said second relatively large window, at further locations in the vicinity of said second location, including a third location that is displaced from the second location by a second x-amount that is smaller than the first x-amount in the first direction and/or by a second y-amount that is smaller than the first y-amount in the orthogonal second direction wherein a magnitude of displacement by respective values of x-amount in a first direction and/or by respective values of y-amount in an orthogonal second direction is variable between successive windows of said sequence of windows within said image and wherein said x-amount and/or said y-amount decreases between successive windows when a confidence level indicating that the image at least may include a face increases across one or more further thresholds; and repeating the obtaining of confidence levels until face detection for multiple predetermined sizes of windows has been performed over an entire region of interest of said image. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification