Human face detection in color images using skin color and template matching models for multimedia on the Web

Human face detection techniques play an important role in applications like face recognition, video surveillance, human computer interface, face image database management, and querying image databases. Using color information in images is one of the various possible techniques used for face detection. This paper proposes a novel technique for detecting faces in color images using an adaptive threshold and template matching techniques. The goal of the technique is to segment the skin regions from the non-skin regions. Experimental results demonstrate successful face detection over a wide range of facial variations in color, position, scale, orientation, 3D pose, and expression in images from several photo collections (both indoors and outdoors). This method is quite practical and faster when compared to neural networks and other techniques especially suited well for multimedia applications on the Web.