FaceSurv: A Benchmark Video Dataset for Face Detection and Recognition Across Spectra and Resolutions

Existing face recognition algorithms achieve high recognition performance for frontal face images with good illumination and close proximity to the imaging device. However, most of the existing algorithms fail to perform equally well in surveillance scenarios, where videos are captured across varying resolutions and spectra. In surveillance settings, cameras are usually placed far away from the subjects, thereby resulting in variations across pose, illumination, occlusion, and resolution. Current video datasets used for face recognition are often captured in constrained environments, and thus fail to simulate the real world scenarios. In this paper, we present the FaceSurv database featuring 252 subjects in 460 videos. The proposed dataset contains over 142K face images, spread across videos captured in both visible and near-infrared spectra. Each video contains a group of individuals walking from 36ft towards the imaging device, offering a plethora of challenges common to surveillance settings. Benchmark experimental protocol and baseline results have been reported with state-of-the-art algorithms for face detection and recognition. It is our assertion that the availability of such a challenging database will facilitate the development of robust face recognition systems relevant to real world surveillance scenarios.