Face Models: How Good Does My Data Need To Be?

Face models are widely used in image processing and other domains. The input data to create a 3D face model ranges from accurate laser scans to simple 2D RGB photographs. System designers must choose a source of input data and then choose a reconstruction method to obtain a usable 3D face. If a particular application domain requires accuracy X, which kinds of input data are suitable? This paper takes a step toward answering this question. A variety of common input data types such as 2D landmarks and 3D scans are constructed from an existing high quality dataset. A morphable face model is then used to reconstruct 3D faces. By comparing to ground truth, an analysis of the relative error between different data types is obtained.