Enhanced 3D face processing using an active vision system

We present an active face processing system based on 3D shape information extracted by means of stereo information. We use two sets of stereo cameras with different field of views (FOV): One with a wide FOV is used for face tracking, while the other with a narrow FOV is used for face identification. We argue for two advantages of such a system: First, an extended work range, and second, the possibility to place the narrow FOV camera in a way such that a much better reconstruction quality can be achieved compared to a static camera even if the face had been fully visible in the periphery of the narrow FOV camera. We substantiate these two observations by qualitative results on face reconstruction and quantitative results on face recognition. As a consequence, such a set-up allows to achieve better and much more flexible system for 3D face reconstruction e.g. for recognition or emotion estimation based on the characteristics of a given face.