Three-Dimensional Head Tracking and Facial Expression Recovery Using an Anthropometric Muscle-Based Active Appearance Model

• Published in: IEEE transactions on instrumentation and measurement 2008-08, Vol.57 (8), p.1578-1588
• Main Authors: Cordea, M.D., Petriu, E.M., Petriu, D.C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3-D head; Active appearance model; Active appearance model (AAM); Actuators; Algorithms; anthropometric; Control equipment; face analysis; Face detection; face tracking; Facial; Head; human-computer interaction (HCI); Image motion analysis; Instrumentation; Mathematical models; model-based video coding (MBVC); muscle based; Muscles; Optical filters; Recovery; Shape; Tracking; Video coding
• ISSN: 0018-9456; 1557-9662
• DOI: 10.1109/TIM.2008.923784

This paper describes a novel 3-D model-based tracking algorithm allowing the real-time recovery of 3-D position, orientation, and facial expressions of a moving head. The method uses a 3-D anthropometric muscle-based active appearance model (3-D AMB AAM), a feature-based matching algorithm, and an extended Kalman filter (EKF) pose and expression estimator. Our model is an extension of the classical 2-D AAM and uses a generic 3-D wireframe model of the face based on two sets of controls: the anatomically motivated muscle actuators to model facial expressions and the statistically based anthropometrical controls to model different facial types.