The first look: a biometric analysis of emotion recognition using key facial features

Introduction: Facial expressions play a crucial role in human emotion recognition and social interaction. Prior research has highlighted the significance of the eyes and mouth in identifying emotions; however, limited studies have validated these claims using robust biometric evidence. This study in...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Gonzalez-Acosta, Ana M. S., Vargas Treviño, Marciano, Batres-Mendoza, Patricia, Guerra-Hernandez, Erick Israel, Gutierrez Gutierrez, Jaime C., Cano Perez, Jose L., Solis Arrazola, Manuel Alejandro, Rostro Gonzalez, Horacio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Ramon Llull (URL)
Repositorio:DAU Arxiu Digital de la Universitat Ramon Llull
OAI Identifier:oai:dau.url.edu:20.500.14342/5248
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14342/5248
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomp.2025.1554320
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Emotion recognition
Eye-tracking analysis
Facial landmarks
Biometric validation
Machine learning and AI
Emocions
Seguiment de la mirada
Expressió facial
Identificació biomètrica
Aprenentatge automàtic
Intel·ligència artificial
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Descripción
Sumario:Introduction: Facial expressions play a crucial role in human emotion recognition and social interaction. Prior research has highlighted the significance of the eyes and mouth in identifying emotions; however, limited studies have validated these claims using robust biometric evidence. This study investigates the prioritization of facial features during emotion recognition and introduces an optimized approach to landmark-based analysis, enhancing efficiency without compromising accuracy. Methods: A total of 30 participants were recruited to evaluate images depicting six emotions: anger, disgust, fear, neutrality, sadness, and happiness. Eye-tracking technology was utilized to record gaze patterns, identifying the specific facial regions participants focused on during emotion recognition. The collected data informed the development of a streamlined facial landmark model, reducing the complexity of traditional approaches while preserving essential information. Results: The findings confirmed a consistent prioritization of the eyes and mouth, with minimal attention allocated to other facial areas. Leveraging these insights, we designed a reduced landmark model that minimizes the conventional 68-point structure to just 24 critical points, maintaining recognition accuracy while significantly improving processing speed. Discussion: The proposed model was evaluated using multiple classifiers, including Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), Random Decision Forest (RDF), and Support Vector Machine (SVM), demonstrating its robustness across various machine learning approaches. The optimized landmark selection reduces computational costs and enhances real-time emotion recognition applications. These results suggest that focusing on key facial features can improve the efficiency of biometric-based emotion recognition systems without sacrificing accuracy.