Making multiple face recognition - easy!

JustinR · 2014-03-07 16:41

I have been a life long robot builder and user of Basic Stamps! I wanted to share with the community a new open source project. I call it EZ-Face. It performs face recognition for multiple faces and provides a trainable interface to train new faces. It is designed to work with 3^rd party application like EZ-Robots EZ-Builder application. It can send and receive variables via TCP/IP communications to the localhost. Other applications that can communicate with the localhost can take advantage of this. It also produces a log file of faces detected which can be read into other applications.
It was developed in C#.NET and uses the emgu cv framework. It is open source and includes the source code for you to modify as you see fit.
Please visit my website at: http://www.j2rscientific.com/software to see for yourself what EZ-Face can do.
Demo and instruction video on YouTube at:

This can be used with any robot running a Windows 7 or above PC.

GordonMcComb · 2014-03-08 13:47

Hey, Justin! Looks good. Maybe you can also share it via CodeProject. You get an instant audience that way, as well.

I haven't used Emgu CV. Among the Open CV wrappers do you prefer it the most?

Glad to see you hanging around here. Don't be a stranger!

NWCCTV · 2014-03-09 17:39

Great job. I think I can find several uses for this. Thanks a bunch!!!

JustinR · 2014-03-10 18:38

Thank you Gordon! Doing a write up for CodeProject is one of my goals this week. I've received a ton of positive feedback and ideas from folks. Something most people would like to see is an automated face learning process. That'll be one of my future goals for EZ-Face. I'm really used to programming in .NET and C# and the Emgu CV wrapper really appeals me to and I've found more examples for Emgu that I can understand and make sense of over just Open CV.

JustinR · 2014-03-10 18:42

Another project I've have been toying with is something I call "FancyStamp", which would be an EZ-Robot type application for the Basic Stamp controller. I'm just not sure of there is a high enough interest level for Basic Stamp users out there. Any Basic Stamp robotics enthusiasts wanting to see an EZ-Robot type application for their Basic Stamp?

GordonMcComb · 2014-03-11 17:02

I'll let others chime in regarding the Stamp interest, as I don't have a pulse on the Stamp community. I do know it's big with a lot of schools continuing to use them. That said, I'm not sure a face recognition system is the type of thing most middle and high school ed would go after. This is something the ed group at Parallax could address. The people with the answers are Andy Lindsay and Stephanie Lindsay.

This is definitely something for the Propeller, though, and there are numerous boards or addons equipped for wireless. Plus the BOE Bot now as a Propeller-based flavor that's quite adept. Are you a Prop user? If not, let me know and I'll arrange an introduction between you and Ken Gracey.

JustinR · 2014-03-12 22:00

I do have a Prop BOE. It seems like a very robust system. I must admit though I have only mastered doing some basic things with it. The programming cofounds me. I wonder if there is a good resource for folks who use the Prop but have a background in C#.NET? I think using the object library is confusing to me, it's like I get it, but also don't.

GordonMcComb · 2014-03-14 15:31

Justin, I take it the Spin examples are the ones slogging you down. Some people take to Spin, and others don't. There are alternatives to the Spin compiler, though, and Parallax is making a big push into C. You should be able to get most any example for the Activity Bot (see learn.parallax.com) to run on your PropBOE without modification. The Activity Bot examples are written in C, and there are helper libraries akin to what's available for the Arduino. You don't need a BOE Bot to run the examples -- any 2-servo desktop robot should do.

Granted Propeller C isn't wholly identical to C#, but code like this:

#include "simpletools.h"                      // Include simpletools header

int main()                                    // main function
{
  freqout(4, 2000, 3000);                     // Speaker tone: P4, 2 s, 3 kHz
  while(1)                                    // Endless loop
  {
    int wL = input(7);                        // Left whisker -> wL variable
    int wR = input(8);                        // Right whisker -> wR variable
    print("%c", HOME);                        // Terminal cursor home (top-left)
    print("wL = %d  wR = %d", wL, wR);        // Display whisker variables
    pause(50);                                // Pause 50 ms before repeat
  }
}

will probably be more familiar looking to you. Andy Lindsay of Parallax wrote many of the libraries to provide an easier lead-in for Stamp users. You'll recognize freqout, for instance.

Making multiple face recognition - easy!

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