Parallel implementation and performance evaluation of facial recognition algorithms using open source technologies

Abstract

Critical to any automated surveillance system is the recognition component. Since the inception of Pattern Recognition & Image processing, researchers across the globe continue to propose newer facial recognition algorithms. Each of these facial algorithms has its own pros and cons. A typical facial recognition algorithm consists of three steps namely: facial detection, feature extraction and recognition. In this paper we discuss serial and parallel implementation of four standard facial recognition algorithms namely, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and FISHER Face. Work presented in this paper consists of two sections. In section 1, we discuss serial and parallel implementation of the algorithms. Section 2, presents a comparative performance analysis of the above 4 algorithms. A major challenge in this effort is the ability to explore and exploit concurrency in existing facial recognition algorithms to improve performance. Based on the algorithms performance, we have made few suggestions regarding the suitability of each of these algorithms for different domains/applications. All algorithms are implemented using open source OPENCV and OPENMP libraries.