Application and evaluation of texture-adaptive skin detection in TV image enhancement

This paper evaluates a case study where a previously reported texture-adaptive skin detection algorithm is applied for TV image enhancement. A color-only skin detector of an existing high-end TV chip is extended with a texture feature, enabling exclusion of skin-colored textured areas. We report the performance in terms of detection result, and in terms of image quality in a cascade of three image enhancement functions. In terms of detection score, at 80% true positive rate, the false positive rate of the texture-adaptive skin detector is 29% lower than that of the color-only skin detector, forming a clear improvement. With respect to its application in enhancement, we assess the enhancement quality by measuring the RMS error of the enhancement output compared to an optimally enhanced image based on ground-truth skin areas. When using the texture-adaptive skin detector, the enhancement RMS error is 44% lower than the RMS error when using the color-only skin detector, thereby confirming the applicability of the proposal. Subjective evaluation indicates that the proposed algorithm is better suitable for mid/high-frequency boosting applications like sharpness enhancement, and less suitable for enhancements that operate on low frequencies like color correction functions ¹.