<title>Virtual face reconstruction based on 3D skull model</title>

Abstract

The problem of human face shape reconstruction basing on information about human skull is very important for many applications beginning with archeology and finishing with crime expertise. Recent progress in development of 3D scanning system provides the means and techniques for generation of metric 3D models for a skull thus creating a background for development a method for automated unknown human face virtual reconstruction. The paper presents the method, hardware, and original software for reconstruction of human face basing on metric skull 3D model. Skull 3D model is obtained using PC-based digital photogrammetric system for automated skull 3D reconstruction. It allows generating a whole textured metric skull 3D model by one step using images from three CCD cameras while turntable rotating. The proposed method for unknown face 3D reconstruction is based on the suppositions that every skull can be described by a set of reference points corresponding to a reference point set on a human face and that an arbitrary face 3D model can be transformed into reconstructed face by some kind of deformation with restriction on given tissue depth at the reference points. The description of the developed method and some results of the proposed technique applying are presented.