Title
Robust face recognition via sparse representation.
Abstract
We consider the problem of automatically recognizing human faces from frontal views with varying expression and illumination, as well as occlusion and disguise. We cast the recognition problem as one of classifying among multiple linear regression models and argue that new theory from sparse signal representation offers the key to addressing this problem. Based on a sparse representation computed by l{1}-minimization, we propose a general classification algorithm for (image-based) object recognition. This new framework provides new insights into two crucial issues in face recognition: feature extraction and robustness to occlusion. For feature extraction, we show that if sparsity in the recognition problem is properly harnessed, the choice of features is no longer critical. What is critical, however, is whether the number of features is sufficiently large and whether the sparse representation is correctly computed. Unconventional features such as downsampled images and random projections perform just as well as conventional features such as Eigenfaces and Laplacianfaces, as long as the dimension of the feature space surpasses certain threshold, predicted by the theory of sparse representation. This framework can handle errors due to occlusion and corruption uniformly by exploiting the fact that these errors are often sparse with respect to the standard (pixel) basis. The theory of sparse representation helps predict how much occlusion the recognition algorithm can handle and how to choose the training images to maximize robustness to occlusion. We conduct extensive experiments on publicly available databases to verify the efficacy of the proposed algorithm and corroborate the above claims.
Year
DOI
Venue
2009
10.1109/TPAMI.2008.79
IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell.
Keywords
Field
DocType
robust face recognition,face recognition,conventional feature,sparse signal representation,general classification algorithm,recognition algorithm,recognition problem,feature extraction,object recognition,feature space,sparse representation,multiple linear regression,image recognition,lighting,minimization,regression analysis,random processes,compressed sensing,gesture recognition,lightning,illumination,eigenfaces,classification algorithms,linear regression,robustness
Facial recognition system,Computer vision,Feature vector,Eigenface,K-SVD,Pattern recognition,Computer science,Sparse approximation,Feature extraction,Robustness (computer science),Artificial intelligence,Statistical classification
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
31
2
0162-8828
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
4063
121.91
40
Authors
5
Search Limit
1001000
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
John Wright110974361.48
Allen Y. Yang25216183.98
Arvind Ganesh34904153.80
Shankar Sastry4119771291.58
Yi Ma514931536.21