Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Performance of an Active THz Imaging System for Recognition of Concealed Faces

  • Research
  • Published:
Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Millimeter wave (MMW) and submillimeter wave (SMW) imaging techniques have a wide range of security applications due to their characteristics such as transmission through barrier materials. Biometric recognition based on MMW and SMW imaging has been attracting attention as an alternative to recognition methods based on imaging human body in visible band, since these systems pose a number of limitations such as being sensitive to illumination conditions and occlusions. This study explores the possibility of biometric recognition based on terahertz (THz) face images. The THz images are acquired by an active imaging system which utilizes a transceiver operating at 340 GHz in frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) mode. We examine if these images contain sufficient information on facial characteristics for distinguishing individuals, using a similarity comparison between images of different individuals. Analysis is based on a set of THz face images of 20 individuals. Images of the head areas of the participants have been recorded with and without a concealing clothing, in order to explore the possibility of identifying individuals with concealed faces. Analysis within this closed data set indicates that imaging at 340 GHz has sensitivity to the facial characteristics which are preserved in images through clothing, and can be used for biometric recognition.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Availability of Data and Material

Not applicable.

References

  1. M. Moreno-Moreno, J. Fierrez, J. Ortega-Garcia, in Biometric ID Management and Multimodal Communication, ed. by J. Fierrez, J. Ortega-Garcia, A. Esposito, A. Drygajlo, M. Faundez-Zanuy (Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2009), pp. 154–161

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  2. R. Shoja Ghiass, O. Arandjelović, A. Bendada, X. Maldague, Pattern Recognition 47(9), 2807 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PATCOG.2014.03.015

  3. O. Girshkin, Y. Yitzhaky, in Counterterrorism, Crime Fighting, Forensics, and Surveillance Technologies V, ed. by H. Bouma, R.J. Stokes, Y. Yitzhaky, R. Prabhu (SPIE, 2021), September 2021, p. 18. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2600521

  4. B.G. Alefs, R.J.D. Hollander, F.A. Nennie, E.H.V.D. Houwen, M. Bruijn, W.V.D. Mark, J.C. Noordam, Pattern Recognition Letters 31, 2357 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patrec.2010.07.009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. E. Gonzalez-Sosa, R. Vera-Rodriguez, J. Fierrez, J. Ortega-Garcia, in 2013 47th International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology (ICCST) (2013), pp. 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1109/CCST.2013.6922076

  6. E. Gonzalez-Sosa, R. Vera-Rodriguez, J. Fierrez, M. Moreno-Moreno, J. Ortega-Garcia, Eurasip Journal on Image and Video Processing 2015 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13640-015-0084-3

  7. E. Gonzalez-Sosa, R. Vera-Rodriguez, J. Fierrez, V.M. Patel, IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security 12(9), 2078 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1109/TIFS.2017.2695979

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. D.L. McMakin, D.M. Sheen, T.E. Hall, M.O. Kennedy, H.P. Foote, in Sensors, and Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) Technologies for Homeland Security and Homeland Defense VI, vol. 6538, ed. by E.M. Carapezza. International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE, 2007), vol. 6538, p. 65380C. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.729636

  9. R. Collins, R. Gross, J. Shi, in Proceedings of Fifth IEEE International Conference on Automatic Face Gesture Recognition (2002), pp. 366–371. https://doi.org/10.1109/AFGR.2002.1004181

  10. P. Zhao, C.X. Lu, J. Wang, C. Chen, W. Wang, N. Trigoni, A. Markham, Ad Hoc Networks 116 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adhoc.2021.102475

  11. Z. Meng, S. Fu, J. Yan, H. Liang, A. Zhou, S. Zhu, H. Ma, J. Liu, N. Yang, in AAAI 2020 - 34th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (2020), pp. 849–856

  12. P. Janakaraj, K. Jakkala, A. Bhuyan, Z. Sun, P. Wang, M. Lee, in 2019 12th IFIP Wireless and Mobile Networking Conference (WMNC) (2019), pp. 211–218. https://doi.org/10.23919/WMNC.2019.8881354

  13. Z. Xia, G. Ding, H. Wang, F. Xu, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters 19, 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1109/LGRS.2021.3117001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. P.C. Theofanopoulos, G.C. Trichopoulos, (2018), pp. 2463–2464. https://doi.org/10.1109/APUSNCURSINRSM.2018.8608832

  15. S. Freer, C. Sui, S.M. Hanham, L.M. Grover, M. Navarro-Cía, Biomedical Optics Express 12, 4807 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1364/boe.427648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. R. Appleby, H.B. Wallace, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation 55(11 I), 2944 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2007.908543

  17. K.B. Cooper, R.J. Dengler, N. Llombart, T. Bryllert, G. Chattopadhyay, E. Schlecht, J. Gill, C. Lee, A. Skalare, I. Mehdi, P.H. Siegel, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 56(12), 2771 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1109/TMTT.2008.2007081

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. J. Grajal, A. Badolato, G. Rubio-Cidre, L. Ubeda-Medina, B. Mencia-Oliva, A. Garcia-Pino, B. Gonzalez-Valdes, O. Rubinos, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 63(3), 1097 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1109/TMTT.2015.2391105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. D.A. Robertson, D.G. Macfarlane, R.I. Hunter, S.L. Cassidy, N. Llombart, E. Gandini, T. Bryllert, M. Ferndahl, H. Lindstrom, J. Tenhunen, H. Vasama, J. Huopana, T. Selkala, A.J. Vuotikka, in 2018 IEEE Radar Conference (RadarConf18) (IEEE, 2018), pp. 0055–0060. https://doi.org/10.1109/RADAR.2018.8378530

  20. H. Essen, R. Zimmermann, J. Moll, V. Krozer, B. Klein, I. Krämer, in 2013 14th International Radar Symposium (IRS), vol. 2 (2013), vol. 2, pp. 847–852

  21. E. Heinz, T. May, D. Born, G. Zieger, S. Anders, V. Zakosarenko, H.G. Meyer, C. Schäffel, Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves 36(10), 879 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-015-0170-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. D. Robertson, D. Macfarlane, S. Cassidy, T. Bryllert, E. Gandini, N. Llombart, in IET Colloquium on Millimetre-Wave and Terahertz Engineering & Technology 2016 (2016), pp. 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1049/ic.2016.0014

  23. C. Guo, F. Hu, Y. Hu, pp. 1–14 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1109/TIM.2023.3261932. URL http://arxiv.org/abs/2212.00313

  24. Y. Cheng, Y. Wang, Y. Niu, Z. Zhao, Optics Express 28, 6350 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.384029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. H. Sarieddeen, N. Saeed, T.Y. Al-Naffouri, M.S. Alouini, IEEE Communications Magazine 58(5), 69 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.001.1900698

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. T.S. Rappaport, Y. Xing, O. Kanhere, S. Ju, A. Madanayake, S. Mandal, A. Alkhateeb, G.C. Trichopoulos, IEEE Access 7, 78729 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2921522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. T. Kleine-Ostmann, T. Nagatsuma, Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves 32(2), 143 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-010-9758-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. A.H. Sodhro, A.I. Awad, J. van de Beek, G. Nikolakopoulos, Internet of Things 20, 100610 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iot.2022.100610. URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542660522000920

  29. P.M. Rao, B.D. Deebak, Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-022-03707-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. G.S.J. Hsu, H.Y. Wu, C.H. Tsai, S. Yanushkevich, M.L. Gavrilova, IEEE Access 10, 37938 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3160828

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. D. Montero, M. Nieto, P. Leskovsky, N. Aginako, (2022). https://doi.org/10.1109/SITIS57111.2022.00042

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. H. Altan, A.B. Sahin, T. Çolak, I.O. Yildirim, B. Demirsoy, C. Güray, I. Ünal, T. Osmanoǧlu, G. Beltekin, A. Telli, in Millimetre Wave and Terahertz Sensors and Technology XI, vol. 10800, ed. by N.A. Salmon, F. Gumbmann (SPIE, 2018), vol. 10800, p. 10. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2325362

  33. G. Ziegelberger, R. Croft, M. Feychting, A.C. Green, A. Hirata, G. d’Inzeo, K. Jokela, S. Loughran, C. Marino, S. Miller, G. Oftedal, T. Okuno, E. van Rongen, M. Röösli, Z. Sienkiewicz, J. Tattersall, S. Watanabe. Guidelines for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields (100 khz to 300 ghz) (2020). https://doi.org/10.1097/HP.0000000000001210

  34. Health Canada, Safety Code 6 6, 1 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Z. Wang, A.C. Bovik, H.R. Sheikh, E.P. Simoncelli, IEEE Transactions on Image Processing 13, 600 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1109/TIP.2003.819861

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

    İhsan Ozan Yıldırım & Hakan Altan

  2. Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Turkey

    Asaf Behzat Şahin

Authors
  1. İhsan Ozan Yıldırım
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hakan Altan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Asaf Behzat Şahin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed equally to the studies performed.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to İhsan Ozan Yıldırım.

Ethics declarations

Ethical Approval

Signed consent forms were obtained from all participants.

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yıldırım, İ.O., Altan, H. & Şahin, A.B. Performance of an Active THz Imaging System for Recognition of Concealed Faces. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 44, 365–378 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-023-00925-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-023-00925-2

Keywords

Mathematics Subject Classification (2020)

Search

Navigation