Speaker Detection and Recognition for a Welfare Robot

Computer vision and natural-language dialogue play an important role in friendly human-machine interfaces for service robots. In this paper we describe an integrated face detection and face recognition system for a welfare robot, which has also been combined with the robot's speech interface. Our approach to face detection is to combine neural network (NN) and genetic algorithm (GA): ANN serves as a face filter while GA is used to search the image efficiently. When the face is detected, embedded Hidden Markov Model (EMM) is used to determine its identity. A real-time system has been created by combining the face detection and recognition techniques. When motivated by the speaker's voice commands, it takes an image from the camera, finds the face inside the image and recognizes it. Experiments on an indoor environment with complex backgrounds showed that a recognition rate of more than 88% can be achieved.