A new face detection method based on shape information

Automatic detection of human faces is one of the most difficult problems in pattern recognition. In many practical applications (e.g. personal identification using photo-IDs), face images often have a simple background. In this paper, we propose a new method based on shape information. Our system can be very efficient for images with simple background. Input image is first enhanced by means of histogram equalization, followed by edge detection based on a multiple-scale filter. The extracted edges are then linked using a method based on an energy function. The face contour is finally extracted using the direction information of the linked edges. Experimental results are included to verify the effectiveness of this method. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.