Facial Image Processing in an Image Capture Device

Abstract

Disclosed are various embodiments of applying image processing techniques in an image capture device to faces within an image. Faces and/or facial features can be detected within an image. A facial signature can be calculated that corresponds to the face within the image. A facial profile corresponding to the facial signature can reference one or more image processing techniques. The image processing techniques can be applied to the region of the image in which the face is located.

1 . An image capture device, comprising:
 at least one image sensor; and   an application executed in the image capture device, the application comprising:
 logic that initiates capture of at least one image via the at least one image sensor associated with the image capture device; 
 logic that detects a face within the image; 
 logic that calculates a facial signature associated with the face; 
 logic that identifies a facial profile accessible to the image capture device corresponding to the facial signature, the facial profile specifying at least one image processing technique; and 
 logic that applies the at least one image processing technique to at least a portion of the face within the image. 
   
     
     
         2 . The image capture device of  claim 1 , wherein the image capture device is configured to capture a plurality of images associated with a plurality of frames of a video, and the application further comprises:
 logic that tracks the face in subsequent frames of the video; and   logic that applies the image processing technique associated with the face in the subsequent frames.   
     
     
         3 . The image capture device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one image processing technique further comprises at least one of: a wrinkle reduction algorithm, a blemish removal algorithm, whitening of teeth appearing in the image, adjusting colorization of hair appearing in the image, altering dimensions of the face, and a skin tone correction algorithm. 
     
     
         4 . The image capture device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one image processing technique further comprises adjusting at least one dimension associated with the face. 
     
     
         5 . The image capture device of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one dimension is associated with at least one sub-region of the face, the sub-region being one of: a nose, a forehead, a cheek, a lip, and a chin. 
     
     
         6 . The image capture device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one image processing technique further comprises increasing at least one color level associated with a portion of the face. 
     
     
         7 . The image capture device of  claim 6 , wherein the application further comprises:
 logic that identifies at least one cheek region associated with the face; and   the image processing technique further comprises increasing the at least one color level in the at least one cheek region.   
     
     
         8 . The image capture device of  claim 1 , wherein the application further comprises:
 logic that generates a user interface allowing a user to specify the at least one image processing technique associated with the face;   logic that associates the facial signature and a reference corresponding to the at least one image processing technique with the facial profile; and   logic that stores the facial profile in a memory accessible to the image capture device.   
     
     
         9 . The image capture device of  claim 8 , wherein the logic that stores the facial profile further comprises logic that stores the facial profile in a mobile device memory associated with a mobile device in which the image capture device is integrated. 
     
     
         10 . The image capture device of  claim 1 , wherein the logic that applies the at least one image processing technique to at least a portion of the face within the image further comprises logic that stores a reference associated with the at least one image processing technique in meta data associated with the image captured by the image capture device. 
     
     
         11 . A method executed in an image capture device, comprising the steps of:
 initiating capture of at least one image via at least one image sensor associated with the image capture device;   detecting an object corresponding to a face within the image captured by the image capture device;   calculating a facial signature associated with the face;   identifying a facial profile accessible to the image capture device corresponding to the facial signature, the facial profile specifying at least one image processing technique; and   applying the at least one image processing technique to at least a portion of the face within the image.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the image capture device is configured to capture a plurality of images associated with a plurality of frames of a video, and the method further comprises the steps of:
 tracking the face in subsequent frames of the video; and   applying the image processing technique associated with the face in the subsequent frames.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one image processing technique further comprises at least one of: a wrinkle reduction algorithm, a blemish removal algorithm and a skin tone correction algorithm. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one image processing technique further comprises adjusting at least one dimension associated with the face. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one dimension is associated with at least one sub-region of the face, the sub-region being one of: a nose, a forehead, a cheek, a lip, and a chin. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one image processing technique further comprises increasing at least one color level associated with a portion of the face. 
     
     
         17 . The image capture device of  claim 16 , further comprising the step of identifying at least one cheek region associated with the face, wherein the image processing technique further comprises increasing the at least one color level in the at least one cheek region. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the steps of:
 generating a user interface allowing a user to specify the at least one image processing technique associated with the face;   associating the facial signature and a reference corresponding to the at least one image processing technique with the facial profile; and   storing the facial profile in a memory accessible to the image capture device.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the step of storing the facial profile further comprises the step of storing the facial profile in a mobile device memory associated with a mobile device in which the image capture device is integrated. 
     
     
         20 . A system, comprising:
 means for capturing at least one image via an image sensor means;   means for detecting an object corresponding to a face within the image;   means for calculating a facial signature associated with the face;   means for identifying a facial profile accessible to the image capture device corresponding to the facial signature, the facial profile specifying at least one image processing technique; and   means for applying the at least one image processing technique to at least a portion of the face within the image.