Converting 2-D photo into 3-D face for security applications and forensics

Xin Guan and Hanqi Zhuang of Florida Atlantic University on Boca Raton explain how Biometrics, the technology of performing personal identification or authentication via an individual's physical attributes, is becoming an increasingly viable solution for identity management, information protection and homeland security. The researchers have now developed a computer algorithm that can analyze the viewing angle and illumination of a face in an image and generate a 3D view of the face based on the results.

The team points out that while our faces are all different they share so many characteristics that it is difficult for current computer technology to uniquely identify an individual from a flat, 2D image. However, a processed 2D image that yields a 3D image of the face would give a unique perspective.

A 3D image of a person's face might be used in biometrics alongside or instead of fingerprint, iris, face, voice and DNA, recognition techniques for so-called identity management and in security, coupled with smart cards and passwords computer recognition of a real face based on a 3D version of known personnel in a security database could be used to reduce false identification. The same technique might also be applied to analysis of security footage from closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) in crime investigation or in searching for missing persons. Ultimately, the same technology might also be adapted by the entertainment industry where 2D images of famous people from the past might be rendered in 3D and so allow a face to be animated

“A method of creating 3-D face images from2-D photos for face recognition” in Int. J. Biometrics, 2011, 3, 40-55

Media Contact

Hanqi Zhuang EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.lfau.edu

All latest news from the category: Information Technology

Here you can find a summary of innovations in the fields of information and data processing and up-to-date developments on IT equipment and hardware.

This area covers topics such as IT services, IT architectures, IT management and telecommunications.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

A universal framework for spatial biology

SpatialData is a freely accessible tool to unify and integrate data from different omics technologies accounting for spatial information, which can provide holistic insights into health and disease. Biological processes…

How complex biological processes arise

A $20 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) will support the establishment and operation of the National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences (NCEMS) at…

Airborne single-photon lidar system achieves high-resolution 3D imaging

Compact, low-power system opens doors for photon-efficient drone and satellite-based environmental monitoring and mapping. Researchers have developed a compact and lightweight single-photon airborne lidar system that can acquire high-resolution 3D…

Partners & Sponsors