3D Head Pose Normalization with Face Geometry Analysis, Genetic Algorithms and PCA

In this paper, a software toolchain is presented for the fully automatic alignment of a 3D human face model. Beginning from a point cloud of a human head (previously segmented from its background), pose normalization is obtained using an innovative and purely geometrical approach. In order to solve the six degrees of freedom raised by this problem, we first exploit the human face's natural mirror symmetry; secondly, we analyze the frontal profile shape; and finally, we align the model's bounding box according to the position of the tip of the nose. The whole procedure is considered as a two-fold, multivariable optimization problem which is addressed by the use of multi-level, genetic algorithms and a greedy search stage, with the latter being compared against standard PCA. Experiments were conducted utilizing a GavabDB database and took into account proper preprocessing stages for noise filtering and head model reconstruction. Outcome results reveal strong validity in this approach, however, at the price of high computational complexity