Automatic and robust head pose estimation by block energy map

It is a crucial problem to estimate head pose automatically and robustly in many visual applications. In order to solve this problem, we propose in this work a novel and simple face image descriptor (i.e., block energy map) and, based on which, complete schemes for automatic and robust head pose estimation using support vector regression and Gaussian processes regression, respectively. The proposed descriptor and schemes contrast with many of the previously published ones that rely on manual assistance to locate the face position in an input image and/or are sensitive to factors such as identity and misalignment. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed descriptor and schemes.