News

USC bringing facial analysis into focus

April 10, 2002

LOS ANGELES - Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have developed a new facial expression analysis program designed for use in kiosks, ATMs, and health-care applications.

Called E-Motions, the program was designed by USC's Integrated Media Systems Center. E-Motions is a three-step system that analyzes broad facial expressions such as anger or happiness, more localized facial points, and specific point-to-point facial features.

The final result is two- or three-dimensional facial animation sequences. USC researchers believe the program could be useful in entertainment, clinical psychology diagnosis, virtual environments, and customer service. ATM machines and customer service kiosks are among the applications USC is targeting.

More information on the program is available through the Integrated Media Systems Center in Adobe Acrobat and PowerPoint presentations.