REP-2008-451: Face Relighting for Recognition
Ritwik Kumar, Angelos Barmpoutis, Arunava Banerjee, Baba C. Vemuri · 2008
Abstract. In this paper, we present a novel generative model for illumination of faces with cast shadows and specularities using a single example image. First, we present a novel method for the estimation of the ABRDF field of a face using B-spline modulated antisymmetric spherical harmonic functions which does not make the Lambertian assumption but yet uses only nine 2D images (which were shown in the literature to be the sufficient number of images for a convex Lambertian surface). Then, using information theoretic non-rigid registration and intensity mapping techniques, we propose a novel algorithm for transferring this field from one face to another using just one 2D image of the target face as input. We present photo-realistic results of synthesis of face images under novel illumination conditions (including extreme illumination) and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework in improving performance of various benchmark face recognition techniques on the Extended Yale B face database.