North-East Indian face database: Its design and aspects

The outer shell of human face may seem different in multiple occasions due to its flexibility and three dimensional formation. Researchers are developing robust algorithms efficient for automatic face detection, recognition and expression analysis, even in the presence of the difficulties caused by source of illumination, incidental angle of illumination, facial expression, head orientation, age, occlusion, facial surgery, facial hair, etc. But, to determine the efficiency of these algorithms, it requires to be tested using quality face images of benchmark databases. Here, we have studied some of the recent 2D face image databases with a comparative analysis between them. We have also described a visual face database being developed in the Biometrics Laboratory of Tripura University, India, containing the face images from the north-eastern states of India with variations in expression, illumination, pose etc.