A virtual teleconferencing system based on face detection and 3D animation in a low‐bandwidth environment

Abstract

In this article, we proposed a novel teleconferencing system that combines a facial muscle model and the techniques of face detection and facial feature extraction to synthesize a sequence of life-like face animation. The proposed system can animate realistic 3D face images in a low-bandwidth environment to support virtual videoconferencing. Based on the technique of feature extraction, a face detection algorithm for the virtual conferencing system is proposed in this article. In the proposed face detection algorithm, the YCbCr skin color model is used to detect the possible face area of the image; the feature points of the face is determined by using the symmetry property of the face and the gray level characteristics of the eyes and the mouth. According to the positions of the feature points on a facial image, we can compute the transformation values of the feature points. These values will then be sent via a network from the sender's side to the receiver's side frame by frame. We can synthesize the realistic facial animations on the receiver's side based on these. Experimental results show that the proposed system can achieve a practical animated face-to-face virtual conference with good facial expressions and a low-bandwidth requirement.

The Development of an Interaction Support System for International Distance Education

“…Whether a human being is present can be effectively detected at a low computing cost by a feature-based method [40]. Further identification of the user can also be derived by image-based approaches such as skin-color and facial muscle model matching [41], [42]. In educational settings, such recognition could have great potential for autonomous camera management in support of synchronous interaction that preserves rich contextual clues such as the genders, positions, and names of the attendees.…”

Low Bandwidth Video Streaming using FACS, Facial Expression and Animation Techniques

“…Furthermore, research in using computer generated face models to support low bandwidth virtual videoconferencing or video streaming is sparse. However, quite interestingly (Liu and Wang, 2010) proposed a low bandwidth teleconferencing system by combining techniques of facial muscle model, face detection and facial feature extraction to create life-like face animation. Using the symmetry property of the face, feature points were detected.…”