A method of micro facial expression recognition based on dense facial motion data

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a method for recognizing a micro expression which is a small motion appearing on a face by using a high density and high frame-rate 3D reconstruction method. Some studies report that the micro expressions are caused by the change of mental state. If we can recognize the micro expressions, this information could be useful for machines to understand the mental state of a human. With advancements of 3D reconstruction methods, methods have been proposed to reconstruct dynamic objects such as motions of a human’s body in high accuracy with high frame rate. Based on the data obtained from the high quality shape reconstruction method, the proposed method recognizes the micro expressions. To detect a part of the face where the micro-expressions are appeared, we propose an experimental estimation of the part. We also report a recognition rate of the change of the mental state using the experimental system.