Reverse caricatures effects on three-dimensional facial reconstructions

Previous research has shown that familiarization with three-dimensional (3D) caricatures can help improve recognition of same-race and other-race faces, a result that may lead to new training tools in security applications. Since 3D facial scans are not generally available, here we sought to determine whether 3D reconstructions from 2D frontal images could be used for the same purpose. Our results suggest that, despite the high level of photographic realism achieved by current 3D facial reconstruction methods, additional research is needed in order to reduce reconstruction errors and capture the distinctive facial traits of an individual.