Robust 3D Face Identification in the Presence of Occlusions

Abstract

The face is one of the most natural biometrics, and as such, its acceptance by users is high. While biometrics such as fingerprint and iris can only be acquired with active cooperation of the user, the face can be acquired from a distance. This makes it an attractive modality for uncooperative scenarios. However, in such scenarios, occlusion is a common problem. The focus of this chapter is to illustrate the problems caused by 3D occlusion, and to go over solutions. The authors review 3D face identification approaches with focus on occlusion scenarios, introduce 3D databases containing occlusions, and present a prototype system with solutions for occlusion at landmarking, registration, feature extraction, and matching stages.