The Effect of Acquisition Technology and Background Colors on Face Recognition

Testing and evaluation standards for the performance of face recognition algorithms do not sufficiently address the effect of the quality of the sensor or capture device. Standardized testing protocols do not incorporate sensor quality as one of the factors to be analyzed when benchmarking face recognition algorithms. The impact of camera sensor quality on FRS performance has not been examined extensively. In addition, no formal test design and protocol currently exists for examining this impact.

Previous research in face recognition has not addressed the effect image background color has on the accuracy and precision with which the FRS performs matches. The current data capture and storage standards for face recognition (INCITS 385) recommends a uniform 18% gray background to optimize FRS performance. But current identification schemes that use facial information (such as passports and drivers licenses) either require different color backgrounds or only specify background uniformity and not color.
The objectives of this research are two fold:

• Examine how using different quality sensors affect the capabilities of a face recognition algorithm.

• Examine impact of background colors on FRS performance