Face recognition using face tracker classifier data

A method of recognizing a face within an image, comprising:

• using a lens, image sensor and processor of a portable digital image acquisition device to acquire a digital image and to recognize one or more faces appearing within the digital image;
• determining at least one facial region within an image, including using a multi-classifier face detector to determine that a probability of the at least one facial region containing a face is above a threshold probability;
• determining probability values for a set of classifiers for said at least one facial region to provide a recognition profile, wherein the determining at least one facial region within the image comprises determining a value of at least one classifier of the set;
• and
• comparing said recognition profile against a predetermined recognition profile to determine a degree of match.

A digital image acquisition device capable of real-time in-camera recognition of a specific face within a digital image as part of an acquisition process, comprising:

• a lens and an image sensor to acquire digital images including sequences of relatively low resolution images;
• a processor programmed by processor-readable code embedded within one or more digital storage media, wherein the processor-readable code comprises:
• a face detector component to program the processor to identify a groups of pixels that correspond to the face within one or more of the relatively low resolution images;
• a face tracker component to program the processor to track said face within a plurality of the relatively low resolution images;
• and
• a face recognition component to program the processor to determine multiple real-time probabilities that the face corresponds to a specific person within the plurality of the low resolution images, and to average the multiple real-time probabilities to obtain a cumulative probability that the face belongs to the specific person;
• and
• wherein when the processor determines that the cumulative probability exceeds a predetermined threshold, said processor is further programmed to initiate a workflow, image processing or other pre- or post-image acquisition action, or combinations thereof, on the portable digital image acquisition device based on the recognition of the face as belonging to a specific person.

A digital image acquisition device capable of in-camera recognition of a face within a digital image as part of an acquisition process, comprising:

• using a lens, image sensor and processor of a portable digital image acquisition device to acquire a digital image and to recognize one or more faces appearing within the digital image;
• determining at least one facial region within an image, including using a multi-classifier face detector to determine that a probability of the at least one facial region containing a face is above a threshold probability;
• determining probability values for a set of classifiers for said at least one facial region to provide a recognition profile, wherein the determining at least one facial region within the image comprises determining a value of at least one classifier of the set;
• and
• comparing said recognition profile against a predetermined recognition profile to determine a degree of match.

One or more processor-readable storage media having code embedded therein for programming a processor to perform a method of in-camera recognition of a specific face within a digital image as part of an acquisition process, wherein the method comprises:

• using a processor of a portable digital image acquisition device;
• generating in the device, capturing or otherwise obtaining in the device a sequence of relatively low resolution images including a face;
• identifying groups of pixels that correspond to the face within a plurality of the relatively low resolution images;
• tracking said face within the plurality of the relatively low resolution images;
• determining multiple real-time probabilities that the face corresponds to a specific person within the plurality of the relatively low resolution images;
• averaging the multiple real-time probabilities to obtain a cumulative probability that the face belongs to the specific person;
• and
• when the cumulative probability exceeds a predetermined threshold, initiating a workflow, image processing or other pre- or post-image acquisition action on the portable digital image acquisition device based on the recognition of the face as belonging to a specific person.

One or more processor-readable storage media having code embedded therein for programming a processor to perform a method of in-camera recognition of a face within a digital image as part of an acquisition process, comprising:

• using a lens, image sensor and processor of a portable digital image acquisition device to acquire a digital image and to recognize one or more faces appearing within the digital image;
• determining at least one facial region within an image, including using a multi-classifier face detector to determine that a probability of the at least one facial region containing a face is above a threshold probability;
• determining probability values for a set of classifiers for said at least one facial region to provide a recognition profile, wherein the determining at least one facial region within the image comprises determining a value of at least one classifier of the set;
• and
• comparing said recognition profile against a predetermined recognition profile to determine a degree of match.