• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.11 no.4 s.33
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• pp.533-540
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• 2006

In this study we propose to use a facial motion capture technique to track facial motions and expressions effectively by using the stereo vision module, which has two CMOS IMAGE SENSORS. In the proposed tracking algorithm, a center point tracking technique and correlation tracking technique, based on neural networks, were used. Experimental results show that the two tracking techniques using stereo vision motion capture are able to track general face expressions at a 95.6% and 99.6% success rate, for 15 frames and 30 frames, respectively. However, the tracking success rates(82.7%,99.1%) of the center point tracking technique was far higher than those(78.7%,92.7%) of the correlation tracking technique, when lips trembled.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.120-133
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• 2008

This paper presents a novel approach for facial motion tracking and facial expression cloning to create a realistic facial animation of a 3D avatar. The exact head pose estimation and facial expression tracking are critical issues that must be solved when developing vision-based computer animation. In this paper, we deal with these two problems. The proposed approach consists of two phases: dynamic head pose estimation and facial expression cloning. The dynamic head pose estimation can robustly estimate a 3D head pose from input video images. Given an initial reference template of a face image and the corresponding 3D head pose, the full head motion is recovered by projecting a cylindrical head model onto the face image. It is possible to recover the head pose regardless of light variations and self-occlusion by updating the template dynamically. In the phase of synthesizing the facial expression, the variations of the major facial feature points of the face images are tracked by using optical flow and the variations are retargeted to the 3D face model. At the same time, we exploit the RBF (Radial Basis Function) to deform the local area of the face model around the major feature points. Consequently, facial expression synthesis is done by directly tracking the variations of the major feature points and indirectly estimating the variations of the regional feature points. From the experiments, we can prove that the proposed vision-based facial expression cloning method automatically estimates the 3D head pose and produces realistic 3D facial expressions in real time.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartB
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• v.14B no.4
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• pp.311-320
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• 2007

This paper presents vision-based 3D facial expression animation technique and system which provide the robust 3D head pose estimation and real-time facial expression control. Many researches of 3D face animation have been done for the facial expression control itself rather than focusing on 3D head motion tracking. However, the head motion tracking is one of critical issues to be solved for developing realistic facial animation. In this research, we developed an integrated animation system that includes 3D head motion tracking and facial expression control at the same time. The proposed system consists of three major phases: face detection, 3D head motion tracking, and facial expression control. For face detection, with the non-parametric HT skin color model and template matching, we can detect the facial region efficiently from video frame. For 3D head motion tracking, we exploit the cylindrical head model that is projected to the initial head motion template. Given an initial reference template of the face image and the corresponding head motion, the cylindrical head model is created and the foil head motion is traced based on the optical flow method. For the facial expression cloning we utilize the feature-based method, The major facial feature points are detected by the geometry of information of the face with template matching and traced by optical flow. Since the locations of varying feature points are composed of head motion and facial expression information, the animation parameters which describe the variation of the facial features are acquired from geometrically transformed frontal head pose image. Finally, the facial expression cloning is done by two fitting process. The control points of the 3D model are varied applying the animation parameters to the face model, and the non-feature points around the control points are changed by use of Radial Basis Function(RBF). From the experiment, we can prove that the developed vision-based animation system can create realistic facial animation with robust head pose estimation and facial variation from input video image.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.172-180
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• 2003

In this paper, we propose fast and precise extracting & tracking algorithm based on general camera and frame grabber for facial motion capture animation. Proposed algorithm consists of two steps. extracting and tracking. The former is to separate multiple markers from input image using region merging based on neural networks. The latter Is to track extracted multiple markers at each frame using tracking algorithm based on neural networks. In the experiment, we could remove noise and reduce processing time in the step of extraction. In addition, we could have good tracking results in the low frame rates.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.207-215
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• 2013

In this paper, we address the challenging computer vision problem of obtaining a reliable facial expression analysis from a naturally interacting person. We propose a system that combines a 3D generic face model, 3D head tracking, and 2D tracker to track facial landmarks and recognize expressions. First, we extract facial landmarks from a neutral frontal face, and then we deform a 3D generic face to fit the input face. Next, we use our real-time 3D head tracking module to track a person's head in 3D and predict facial landmark positions in 2D using the projection from the updated 3D face model. Finally, we use tracked 2D landmarks to update the 3D landmarks. This integrated tracking loop enables efficient tracking of the non-rigid parts of a face in the presence of large 3D head motion. We conducted experiments for facial expression recognition using both framebased and sequence-based approaches. Our method provides a 75.9% recognition rate in 8 subjects with 7 key expressions. Our approach provides a considerable step forward toward new applications including human-computer interactions, behavioral science, robotics, and game applications.

• Proceedings of the Korea Multimedia Society Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.474-477
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• 2000

최근 3D 애니메이션 , 영화 특수효과 그리고 게임제작시 모션 캡처 시스템(Motion Capture System)을 통하여 실제 인간의 동작 및 표정을 수치적으로 측정해내어 이를 실제 애니메이션에 직접 사용함으로써 막대한 작업시간 및 인력 드리고 자본을 획기적으로 줄이고 있다. 그러나 기존의 모션 캡처 시스템은 고속 카메라를 이용함으로써 가격이 고가이고 움직임 추적에서도 여러 가지 문제점을 가지고 있다. 본 논문에서는 일반 저가의 카메라와 신경회로망 및 영상처리를 이용하여 얼굴 애니메이션용 모션 캡처 시스템에 적용할 수 있는 경제적이고 효율적인 얼굴 움직임 추적 기법을 제안한다.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.53-60
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• 2009

The vision-based driver fatigue detection is one of the most prospective commercial applications of facial expression recognition technology. The facial feature tracking is the primary technique issue in it. Current facial tracking technology faces three challenges: (1) detection failure of some or all of features due to a variety of lighting conditions and head motions; (2) multiple and non-rigid object tracking; and (3) features occlusion when the head is in oblique angles. In this paper, we propose a new active approach. First, the active IR sensor is used to robustly detect pupils under variable lighting conditions. The detected pupils are then used to predict the head motion. Furthermore, face movement is assumed to be locally smooth so that a facial feature can be tracked with a Kalman filter. The simultaneous use of the pupil constraint and the Kalman filtering greatly increases the prediction accuracy for each feature position. Feature detection is accomplished in the Gabor space with respect to the vicinity of predicted location. Local graphs consisting of identified features are extracted and used to capture the spatial relationship among detected features. Finally, a graph-based reliability propagation is proposed to tackle the occlusion problem and verify the tracking results. The experimental results show validity of our active approach to real-life facial tracking under variable lighting conditions, head orientations, and facial expressions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2004.05b
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• pp.603-607
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• 2004

The vision-based driver fatigue detection is one of the most prospective commercial applications of facial expression recognition technology. The facial feature tracking is the primary technique issue in it. Current facial tracking technology faces three challenges: (1) detection failure of some or all of features due to a variety of lighting conditions and head motions; (2) multiple and non-rigid object tracking and (3) features occlusion when the head is in oblique angles. In this paper, we propose a new active approach. First, the active IR sensor is used to robustly detect pupils under variable lighting conditions. The detected pupils are then used to predict the head motion. Furthermore, face movement is assumed to be locally smooth so that a facial feature can be tracked with a Kalman filter. The simultaneous use of the pupil constraint and the Kalman filtering greatly increases the prediction accuracy for each feature position. Feature detection is accomplished in the Gabor space with respect to the vicinity of predicted location. Local graphs consisting of identified features are extracted and used to capture the spatial relationship among detected features. Finally, a graph-based reliability propagation is proposed to tackle the occlusion problem and verify the tracking results. The experimental results show validity of our active approach to real-life facial tracking under variable lighting conditions, head orientations, and facial expressions.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.55-70
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• 2009

Vision-based Human computer interaction is an emerging field of science and industry to provide natural way to communicate with human and computer. In that sense, inferring the emotional state of the person based on the facial expression recognition is an important issue. In this paper, we present a novel approach to recognize facial expression from a sequence of input images using emotional specific HMM (Hidden Markov Model) and facial motion tracking based on optical flow. Conventionally, in the HMM which consists of basic emotional states, it is considered natural that transitions between emotions are imposed to pass through neutral state. However, in this work we propose an enhanced transition framework model which consists of transitions between each emotional state without passing through neutral state in addition to a traditional transition model. For the localization of facial features from video sequence we exploit template matching and optical flow. The facial feature displacements traced by the optical flow are used for input parameters to HMM for facial expression recognition. From the experiment, we can prove that the proposed framework can effectively recognize the facial expression in real time.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.35 no.9C
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• pp.756-760
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• 2010

This paper is proposed to an novel facial behavior recognition system for driver's fatigue detection. Facial behavior is shown in various facial feature such as head expression, head pose, gaze, wrinkles. But it is very difficult to clearly discriminate a certain behavior by the obtained facial feature. Because, the behavior of a person is complicated and the face representing behavior is vague in providing enough information. The proposed system for facial behavior recognition first performs detection facial feature such as eye tracking, facial feature tracking, furrow detection, head orientation estimation, head motion detection and indicates the obtained feature by AU of FACS. On the basis of the obtained AU, it infers probability each state occur through Bayesian network.