Skip to main content

Infrared Face Recognition

  • Reference work entry
  • 68 Accesses

Definition

Infrared face recognition systems use infrared sensors to measure the thermal radiation emitted in the infrared spectrum range.

One of the major problems of traditional face recognition systems is constant performance under uncontrolled environments, and especially under extreme variations in illumination conditions, e.g., operating in total darkness or full daylight in an open area surveillance scenario. Such problems may be alleviated using infrared (IR) images for face recognition. Unlike conventional visual cameras, which measure the electromagnetic energy in the visible spectrum range, infrared sensors measure the thermal radiation emitted in the infrared spectrum range (0.7–0.14 μm) [1]. Thermal images of the human face represent patterns caused from superficial blood vessels up to 4 cm below the skin surface, which transport warm blood throughout the body and heat the skin just above them by an average of 0.1°C [2]. The vein and tissue structure of an individual is...

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

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   449.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  1. S.G. Kong, J. Heo, B.R. Abidi, J. Paik, and M.A. Abidi, “Recent Advances in Visual and Infrared Face Recognition – A Review,” Computer Vision and Image Understanding, Vol. 97, No. 1, January 2005, pp. 103–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. F.J. Prokoski and R.B. Riedel, “Infrared Identification of Faces and Body Parts,” BIOMETRICS: Personal Identification in Networked Society, Kluwer Academic, Dordecht, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Equinox public access IR face database: http://www.equinoxsensors.com/products/HID.html.

Download references

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer-Verlag

About this entry

Cite this entry

(2008). Infrared Face Recognition. In: Furht, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Multimedia. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78414-4_88

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics