Automatic lip contour extraction from color images

Visual information from lip shapes and movements helps improve the accuracy and robustness of a speech recognition system. In this paper, a new region-based lip contour extraction algorithm that combines the merits of the point-based model and the parametric model is presented. Our algorithm uses a 16-point lip model to describe the lip contour. Given a robust probability map of the color lip image generated by the FCMS (fuzzy clustering method incorporating shape function) algorithm, a region-based cost function that maximizes the joint probability of the lip and non-lip region can be established. Then an iterative point-driven optimization procedure has been developed to fit the lip model to the probability map. In each iteration, the adjustment of the 16 lip points is governed by three pieces of quadratic curves that constrain the points to form a physical lip shape. Experiments show that the proposed approach provides satisfactory results for 5000 unadorned lip images of over 20 individuals. A real-time lip contour extraction system has also been implemented. © 2004 Pattern Recognition Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.