Apparatus and method for detecting a face in a video image
Patent 5715325 Issued on February 3, 1998. Estimated Expiration Date: 
August 30, 2015. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
August 30, 2015. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.Patent ReferencesAutonomous face recognition machine Identification card verification system Method and apparatus for image recognition using invariant feature signals Classifying faces Patent #: 5561718 InventorsAssigneeApplicationNo. 521175 filed on 08/30/1995US Classes:382/118, Using a facial characteristic382/209, Template matching (e.g., specific devices that determine the best match)382/274, Intensity, brightness, contrast, or shading correction382/276IMAGE TRANSFORMATION OR PREPROCESSINGExaminersPrimary: Boudreau, Leo H.Assistant: Mehta, Bhavesh M. Attorney, Agent or FirmInternational ClassG06K 009/00AbstractA detection system identifies a person by rapidly analyzing an image frame from a video camera for the presence of a face by reducing the image in resolution and normalizing the image to compensate for lighting changes and compares the normalized image with a background image to produce a binary interest mask. The most likely position of a face is then determined by identifying a top, bottom and sides of a possible head region to define a bounding box, normalizing the pixel data within the bounding box to further compensate for lighting variations, and resizing the box to match identification templates stored in memory. The best match from the identification templates is provided with a score indicative of the degree of the match. If the score does not exceed a first score threshold, then no face is assumed present. If the score exceeds a first and second score threshold, then a face is assumed present. If the first score threshold is exceeded but the second is not, a further eye location procedure is performed on the data to determine if a face is present.Other References
Field of SearchPersonnel identification (e.g., biometrics)Using a combination of features (e.g., signature and fingerprint) Using a characteristic of the eye Using a facial characteristic LEARNING SYSTEMS Neural networks Template matching (e.g., specific devices that determine the best match) Pattern boundary and edge measurements Feature extraction IMAGE TRANSFORMATION OR PREPROCESSING Selecting a portion of an image IMAGE ENHANCEMENT OR RESTORATION Intensity, brightness, contrast, or shading correction Artifact removal or suppression (e.g., distortion correction) | |
