An Automated Tool for Face Recognition Using Visual Attention and Active Shape Models Analysis

An entirely automated approach for the recognition of the face of a people starting from her/his images is presented. The approach uses a computational attention module to find automatically the most relevant facial features using the Focus Of Attentions (FOAs). These features are used to build the model of a face during the learning phase and for recognition during the testing phase. The landmarking of the features is performed by applying the active contour model (ACM) technique, whereas the active shape model (ASM) is adopted for constructing a flexible model of the selected facial features. The advantages of this approach and opportunities for further improvements are discussed. © 2006 IEEE