Using relevance feedback in face recognition

A non-transitory computer-useable medium storing a computer program, the computer program including instructions for causing a computer to perform the following operations:

• access at least one query image that includes at least one query face;
• determine a set of search result images, wherein a search result image includes an application-selected face that is determined to be the same as the query face;
• provide an indication of the search result images to a user;
• receive feedback related to the accuracy of the search result images;
• infer additional feedback based on the received feedback;
• and
• update the set of search result images based on the received feedback and the inferred additional feedback,
• wherein the instructions for causing a computer to receive feedback related to the accuracy of the search result images comprise instructions for causing a computer to receive implicit user feedback provided when the user interacts with the provided search result images in at least one of a natural manner and a manner that implies that the application-selected face is, or is not, a match for the query face through a failure to interact with one or more of the provided search result images, and
• wherein a natural manner comprises a user printing one or more of the provided search result images, and the instructions for causing a computer to infer additional feedback based on the received feedback comprise instructions for causing a computer to infer that a face in the printed one or more of the provided search result images matches the query face.

A system comprising:

• one or more processing devices;
• one or more storage devices storing instructions that, when implemented by the one or more processing devices, causes the one or more processing devices to implement:
• a feature extractor configured to:
• access at least one query face,
• create a query feature vector for the query face, and
• form a set of search feature vectors by creating one or more search feature vectors for faces within a set of search faces;
• a face classifier configured to:
• determine distances between the query feature vector and the search feature vectors,
• select one or more search feature vectors that are within a selected distance of the query feature vector, and
• designate images that include faces that correspond to the selected search feature vectors as a set of search result images;
• an interface manager configured to:
• provide an indication of the search result images to a user, and
• receive feedback related to the accuracy of the search result images;
• and
• a feedback manager configured to infer additional feedback based on the received feedback,
• wherein the face classifier is also configured to update the set of search result images based on the received feedback and the inferred additional feedback,
• wherein receiving feedback related to the accuracy of the search result images comprises receiving implicit user feedback provided when the user interacts with the provided search result images in at least one of a natural manner and a manner that implies that the application-selected face is, or is not, a match for the query face through a failure to interact with one or more of the provided search result images, and
• wherein a natural manner comprises a user printing one or more of the provided search result images, and inferring additional feedback based on the received feedback comprises inferring that a face in the printed one or more of the provided search result images matches the query face.