Facial feature extraction using complex dual-tree wavelet transform

In this paper, we propose a novel method for facial feature extraction using the directional multiresolution decomposition offered by the complex wavelet transform. The dual-tree implementation of complex wavelet transform offered by Selesnick is used (DT-DWT(S)) [I.W., Selesnick, R.G. Baraniuk, N.C. Kingsbury, The dual-tree complex wavelet transform, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, 6, s.l., IEEE, November 2005, vol. 22, pp. 123–151.]. In the dual-tree implementation, two parallel discrete wavelet transform (DWT) with different lowpass and highpass filters in different scales are used. The linear combination of subbands generated by two parallel DWT is used to generate 6 different directional subbands with complex coefficients. A test statistic, which is derived with absolute value of complex coefficient, whose distribution matches very closely with the directional information in the 6 subbands of the DT-DWT(S) is derived and used for detecting facial feature edges. The use of the complex wavelet transform is motivated by the fact that it helps eliminate the effects of non-uniform illumination, and the directional information provided by the different subbands makes it possible to detect edge features with different directionalities in the corresponding image. Edge information of facial area is enhanced using multiresolution structure of DT-DWT(S). The proposed method also employs an adaptive skin colour model instead of a predefined skin colour statistic. The model is developed with a unimodal Gaussian distribution using the skin region which is extracted excluding the detected edge map obtained from the DT-DWT(S). By combining the edge information obtained by using DT-DWT(S) and the non-skin areas obtained from the pixel statistics, the facial features are extracted. The algorithm is tested over the well known Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Marks Weber face databases. The average detection rate of the proposed method using DT-DWT(S) provides up to 9.6% improvement over the same method using discrete wavelet transform (DWT).