Re-generation of facial image eye-contacting with partner on TV conference environment

We have been developing a method for recognition of facial parts such as eyes, nose, mouth, etc. The paper concentrates on eye (iris) recognition using a Hough transform. Based on this iris recognition, the paper proposes a basic idea and method for re-generating a facial image which is making eye-contact with a partner in a TV conference environment. We propose a new methodology for realizing a natural human interface of face-to-face communication in a TV conference environment. Since a human is likely to look at the face of her partner on a TV monitor and not at the TV camera, she will usually fail to send her own eye-contacted facial images. The basic idea of the paper is to solve this unfortunate communication degradation by regenerating a facial image by changing the direction of the irises in the same original facial image. The proposed methods and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness. Future problems include improving the regeneration method of irises, introducing a real time processing method, coping with the motion of the head, and finally proposing a new eye-camera system which could reduce the constraints caused by head mounted goggles. This new method of eye-camera is also introduced.