Android Face Detection With Examples [Latest]

Face Detection, Barcode Detection and Text Detection. In this tutorial, we’ll develop an android face detection application that lets you do detect human faces in an image.

Android Face Detection

Android Face detection API tracks face in photos, videos using some landmarks like eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, and mouth.

Rather than detecting the individual features, the API detects the face at once and then if defined, detects the landmarks and classifications. Besides, the API can detect faces at various angles too.

Android Face Detection – Landmarks

A landmark is a point of interest within a face. The left eye, right eye, and nose base are all examples of landmarks. Following are the landmarks that are possible to find currently with the API:

1. left and right eye
2. left and right ear
3. left and right ear tip
4. base of the nose
5. left and right cheek
6. left and right corner of the mouth
7. base of the mouth

When ‘left’ and ‘right’ are used, they are relative to the subject. For example, the LEFT_EYE landmark is the subject’s left eye, not the eye that is on the left when viewing the image.

Classification

Classification determines whether a certain facial characteristic is present. The Android Face API currently supports two classifications:

• eyes open : getIsLeftEyeOpenProbability() and getIsRightEyeOpenProbability() method are used.
• smiling : getIsSmilingProbability() method is used.

Face Orientation

The orientation of the face is determined using Euler Angles.
These refer to the rotation angle of the face around the X, Y and Z axes.

• Euler Y tells us if the face is looking left or right.
• Euler Z tells us if the face is rotated/slated
• Euler X tells us if the face is looking up or down (currently not supported)

Note: If a probability can’t be computed, it’s set to -1.

Let’s jump into the business end of this tutorial. Our application shall contain a few sample images along with the functionality to capture your own image.
Note: The API supports face detection only. Face Recognition isn’t available with the current Mobile Vision API.

Android face detection example project structure

Android face detection code

Add the following dependency inside the build.gradle file of your application.

compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-vision:11.0.4'

Add the following meta-deta inside the application tag in the AndroidManifest.xml file as shown below.

<meta-data
            android:name="com.google.android.gms.vision.DEPENDENCIES"
            android:value="face"/>

This lets the Vision library know that you plan to detect faces within your application.

Add the following permissions inside the manifest tag in the AndroidManifest.xml for camera permissions.

<uses-feature
        android:name="android.hardware.camera"
        android:required="true"/>
    <uses-permission
        android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>

The code for the activity_main.xml layout file is given below.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ScrollView xmlns:android="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    xmlns:tools="https://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">
    <android.support.constraint.ConstraintLayout xmlns:app="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
        xmlns:tools="https://schemas.android.com/tools"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        tools:context="com.journaldev.facedetectionapi.MainActivity">
        <ImageView
            android:id="@+id/imageView"
            android:layout_width="300dp"
            android:layout_height="300dp"
            android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
            android:src="@drawable/sample_1"
            app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
        <Button
            android:id="@+id/btnProcessNext"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
            android:text="PROCESS NEXT"
            app:layout_constraintHorizontal_bias="0.501"
            app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/imageView" />
        <ImageView
            android:id="@+id/imgTakePic"
            android:layout_width="250dp"
            android:layout_height="250dp"
            android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
            app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/txtSampleDescription"
            app:srcCompat="@android:drawable/ic_menu_camera" />
        <Button
            android:id="@+id/btnTakePicture"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
            android:text="TAKE PICTURE"
            app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/imgTakePic" />
        <TextView
            android:id="@+id/txtSampleDescription"
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:layout_marginBottom="8dp"
            android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
            android:gravity="center"
            app:layout_constraintBottom_toTopOf="@+id/txtTakePicture"
            app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/btnProcessNext"
            app:layout_constraintVertical_bias="0.0" />
        <TextView
            android:id="@+id/txtTakePicture"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
            android:gravity="center"
            app:layout_constraintLeft_toLeftOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintRight_toRightOf="parent"
            app:layout_constraintTop_toBottomOf="@+id/btnTakePicture" />
    </android.support.constraint.ConstraintLayout>
</ScrollView>

We’ve defined two ImageViews, TextViews and Buttons. One that would loop through the sample images and display the results. The other is used for capturing an image from the camera.

The code for the MainActivity.java file is given below.

package com.journaldev.facedetectionapi;
import android.Manifest;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
import android.graphics.Bitmap;
import android.graphics.BitmapFactory;
import android.graphics.Canvas;
import android.graphics.Color;
import android.graphics.Paint;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Environment;
import android.provider.MediaStore;
import android.support.annotation.NonNull;
import android.support.v4.app.ActivityCompat;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.SparseArray;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;
import com.google.android.gms.vision.Frame;
import com.google.android.gms.vision.face.Face;
import com.google.android.gms.vision.face.FaceDetector;
import com.google.android.gms.vision.face.Landmark;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity implements View.OnClickListener {
    ImageView imageView, imgTakePicture;
    Button btnProcessNext, btnTakePicture;
    TextView txtSampleDesc, txtTakenPicDesc;
    private FaceDetector detector;
    Bitmap editedBitmap;
    int currentIndex = 0;
    int[] imageArray;
    private Uri imageUri;
    private static final int REQUEST_WRITE_PERMISSION = 200;
    private static final int CAMERA_REQUEST = 101;
    private static final String SAVED_INSTANCE_URI = "uri";
    private static final String SAVED_INSTANCE_BITMAP = "bitmap";
    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
        imageArray = new int[]{R.drawable.sample_1, R.drawable.sample_2, R.drawable.sample_3};
        detector = new FaceDetector.Builder(getApplicationContext())
                .setTrackingEnabled(false)
                .setLandmarkType(FaceDetector.ALL_CLASSIFICATIONS)
                .setClassificationType(FaceDetector.ALL_CLASSIFICATIONS)
                .build();
        initViews();
    }
    private void initViews() {
        imageView = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.imageView);
        imgTakePicture = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.imgTakePic);
        btnProcessNext = (Button) findViewById(R.id.btnProcessNext);
        btnTakePicture = (Button) findViewById(R.id.btnTakePicture);
        txtSampleDesc = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.txtSampleDescription);
        txtTakenPicDesc = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.txtTakePicture);
        processImage(imageArray[currentIndex]);
        currentIndex++;
        btnProcessNext.setOnClickListener(this);
        btnTakePicture.setOnClickListener(this);
        imgTakePicture.setOnClickListener(this);
    }
    @Override
    public void onClick(View v) {
        switch (v.getId()) {
            case R.id.btnProcessNext:
                imageView.setImageResource(imageArray[currentIndex]);
                processImage(imageArray[currentIndex]);
                if (currentIndex == imageArray.length - 1)
                    currentIndex = 0;
                else
                    currentIndex++;
                break;
            case R.id.btnTakePicture:
                ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(MainActivity.this, new
                        String[]{Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE}, REQUEST_WRITE_PERMISSION);
                break;
            case R.id.imgTakePic:
                ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(MainActivity.this, new
                        String[]{Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE}, REQUEST_WRITE_PERMISSION);
                break;
        }
    }
    @Override
    public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode, @NonNull String[] permissions, @NonNull int[] grantResults) {
        super.onRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode, permissions, grantResults);
        switch (requestCode) {
            case REQUEST_WRITE_PERMISSION:
                if (grantResults.length > 0 && grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
                    startCamera();
                } else {
                    Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Permission Denied!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
                }
        }
    }
    @Override
    protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
        if (requestCode == CAMERA_REQUEST && resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
            launchMediaScanIntent();
            try {
                processCameraPicture();
            } catch (Exception e) {
                Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Failed to load Image", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
            }
        }
    }
    private void launchMediaScanIntent() {
        Intent mediaScanIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_MEDIA_SCANNER_SCAN_FILE);
        mediaScanIntent.setData(imageUri);
        this.sendBroadcast(mediaScanIntent);
    }
    private void startCamera() {
        Intent intent = new Intent(MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
        File photo = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory(), "photo.jpg");
        imageUri = Uri.fromFile(photo);
        intent.putExtra(MediaStore.EXTRA_OUTPUT, imageUri);
        startActivityForResult(intent, CAMERA_REQUEST);
    }
    @Override
    protected void onSaveInstanceState(Bundle outState) {
        if (imageUri != null) {
            outState.putParcelable(SAVED_INSTANCE_BITMAP, editedBitmap);
            outState.putString(SAVED_INSTANCE_URI, imageUri.toString());
        }
        super.onSaveInstanceState(outState);
    }
    private void processImage(int image) {
        Bitmap bitmap = decodeBitmapImage(image);
        if (detector.isOperational() && bitmap != null) {
            editedBitmap = Bitmap.createBitmap(bitmap.getWidth(), bitmap
                    .getHeight(), bitmap.getConfig());
            float scale = getResources().getDisplayMetrics().density;
            Paint paint = new Paint(Paint.ANTI_ALIAS_FLAG);
            paint.setColor(Color.GREEN);
            paint.setTextSize((int) (16 * scale));
            paint.setShadowLayer(1f, 0f, 1f, Color.WHITE);
            paint.setStyle(Paint.Style.STROKE);
            paint.setStrokeWidth(6f);
            Canvas canvas = new Canvas(editedBitmap);
            canvas.drawBitmap(bitmap, 0, 0, paint);
            Frame frame = new Frame.Builder().setBitmap(editedBitmap).build();
            SparseArray<Face> faces = detector.detect(frame);
            txtSampleDesc.setText(null);
            for (int index = 0; index < faces.size(); ++index) {
                Face face = faces.valueAt(index);
                canvas.drawRect(
                        face.getPosition().x,
                        face.getPosition().y,
                        face.getPosition().x + face.getWidth(),
                        face.getPosition().y + face.getHeight(), paint);
                canvas.drawText("Face " + (index + 1), face.getPosition().x + face.getWidth(), face.getPosition().y + face.getHeight(), paint);
                txtSampleDesc.setText(txtSampleDesc.getText() + "FACE " + (index + 1) + "n");
                txtSampleDesc.setText(txtSampleDesc.getText() + "Smile probability:" + " " + face.getIsSmilingProbability() + "n");
                txtSampleDesc.setText(txtSampleDesc.getText() + "Left Eye Is Open Probability: " + " " + face.getIsLeftEyeOpenProbability() + "n");
                txtSampleDesc.setText(txtSampleDesc.getText() + "Right Eye Is Open Probability: " + " " + face.getIsRightEyeOpenProbability() + "nn");
                for (Landmark landmark : face.getLandmarks()) {
                    int cx = (int) (landmark.getPosition().x);
                    int cy = (int) (landmark.getPosition().y);
                    canvas.drawCircle(cx, cy, 8, paint);
                }
            }
            if (faces.size() == 0) {
                txtSampleDesc.setText("Scan Failed: Found nothing to scan");
            } else {
                imageView.setImageBitmap(editedBitmap);
                txtSampleDesc.setText(txtSampleDesc.getText() + "No of Faces Detected: " + " " + String.valueOf(faces.size()));
            }
        } else {
            txtSampleDesc.setText("Could not set up the detector!");
        }
    }
    private Bitmap decodeBitmapImage(int image) {
        int targetW = 300;
        int targetH = 300;
        BitmapFactory.Options bmOptions = new BitmapFactory.Options();
        bmOptions.inJustDecodeBounds = true;
        BitmapFactory.decodeResource(getResources(), image,
                bmOptions);
        int photoW = bmOptions.outWidth;
        int photoH = bmOptions.outHeight;
        int scaleFactor = Math.min(photoW / targetW, photoH / targetH);
        bmOptions.inJustDecodeBounds = false;
        bmOptions.inSampleSize = scaleFactor;
        return BitmapFactory.decodeResource(getResources(), image,
                bmOptions);
    }
    private void processCameraPicture() throws Exception {
        Bitmap bitmap = decodeBitmapUri(this, imageUri);
        if (detector.isOperational() && bitmap != null) {
            editedBitmap = Bitmap.createBitmap(bitmap.getWidth(), bitmap
                    .getHeight(), bitmap.getConfig());
            float scale = getResources().getDisplayMetrics().density;
            Paint paint = new Paint(Paint.ANTI_ALIAS_FLAG);
            paint.setColor(Color.GREEN);
            paint.setTextSize((int) (16 * scale));
            paint.setShadowLayer(1f, 0f, 1f, Color.WHITE);
            paint.setStyle(Paint.Style.STROKE);
            paint.setStrokeWidth(6f);
            Canvas canvas = new Canvas(editedBitmap);
            canvas.drawBitmap(bitmap, 0, 0, paint);
            Frame frame = new Frame.Builder().setBitmap(editedBitmap).build();
            SparseArray<Face> faces = detector.detect(frame);
            txtTakenPicDesc.setText(null);
            for (int index = 0; index < faces.size(); ++index) {
                Face face = faces.valueAt(index);
                canvas.drawRect(
                        face.getPosition().x,
                        face.getPosition().y,
                        face.getPosition().x + face.getWidth(),
                        face.getPosition().y + face.getHeight(), paint);
                canvas.drawText("Face " + (index + 1), face.getPosition().x + face.getWidth(), face.getPosition().y + face.getHeight(), paint);
                txtTakenPicDesc.setText("FACE " + (index + 1) + "n");
                txtTakenPicDesc.setText(txtTakenPicDesc.getText() + "Smile probability:" + " " + face.getIsSmilingProbability() + "n");
                txtTakenPicDesc.setText(txtTakenPicDesc.getText() + "Left Eye Is Open Probability: " + " " + face.getIsLeftEyeOpenProbability() + "n");
                txtTakenPicDesc.setText(txtTakenPicDesc.getText() + "Right Eye Is Open Probability: " + " " + face.getIsRightEyeOpenProbability() + "nn");
                for (Landmark landmark : face.getLandmarks()) {
                    int cx = (int) (landmark.getPosition().x);
                    int cy = (int) (landmark.getPosition().y);
                    canvas.drawCircle(cx, cy, 8, paint);
                }
            }
            if (faces.size() == 0) {
                txtTakenPicDesc.setText("Scan Failed: Found nothing to scan");
            } else {
                imgTakePicture.setImageBitmap(editedBitmap);
                txtTakenPicDesc.setText(txtTakenPicDesc.getText() + "No of Faces Detected: " + " " + String.valueOf(faces.size()));
            }
        } else {
            txtTakenPicDesc.setText("Could not set up the detector!");
        }
    }
    private Bitmap decodeBitmapUri(Context ctx, Uri uri) throws FileNotFoundException {
        int targetW = 300;
        int targetH = 300;
        BitmapFactory.Options bmOptions = new BitmapFactory.Options();
        bmOptions.inJustDecodeBounds = true;
        BitmapFactory.decodeStream(ctx.getContentResolver().openInputStream(uri), null, bmOptions);
        int photoW = bmOptions.outWidth;
        int photoH = bmOptions.outHeight;
        int scaleFactor = Math.min(photoW / targetW, photoH / targetH);
        bmOptions.inJustDecodeBounds = false;
        bmOptions.inSampleSize = scaleFactor;
        return BitmapFactory.decodeStream(ctx.getContentResolver()
                .openInputStream(uri), null, bmOptions);
    }
    @Override
    protected void onDestroy() {
        super.onDestroy();
        detector.release();
    }
}

Few inferences drawn from the above code are:

• imageArray holds the sample images that’ll be scanned for faces when the “PROCESS NEXT” button is clicked.
• The detector is instantiated with the below code snippet:

  
  FaceDetector detector = new FaceDetector.Builder( getContext() )
          .setTrackingEnabled(false)
          .setLandmarkType(FaceDetector.ALL_LANDMARKS)
          .setMode(FaceDetector.FAST_MODE)
          .build();
  

  Landmarks add up to the computation time, hence they need to be explicitly set.
  Face Detector can be set to FAST_MODE or ACCURATE_MODE as per our requirements.
  We’ve set tracking to false in the above code since we’re dealing with still images. It can be set to true for detecting faces in a video.

• processImage() and processCameraPicture() methods contain the code where we actually detect the faces and draw a rectangle over them
• detector.isOperational() is used to check whether the current Google Play Services library in your phone supports the vision API(If it doesn’t Google Play downloads the required native libraries to allow support).
• The code snippet that actually does the work of face detection is :

  
  Frame frame = new Frame.Builder().setBitmap(editedBitmap).build();
              SparseArray faces = detector.detect(frame);
  

• Once detected, we loop through the faces array to find the position and attributes of each face.
• The attributes for each face are appended in the TextView beneath the button.
• This works the same when an image is captured by camera except the fact that we need to ask for the camera permissions at runtime and save the uri, bitmap returned by the camera application.

The output of the above application in action is given below.

Try capturing the photo of a dog and you’ll see that the Vision API doesn’t detect its face (The API detects human faces only).

This brings an end to this tutorial. You can download the final Android Face Detection API Project from the link below.

Reference: Official Documentation