Towards Robust Real-Time Valence Recognition from Facial Expressions for Market Research Applications

A novel system for facial expression recognition is presented. It is designed to assess valence (positive or negative feeling) in the context of market research applications. Other design parameters that were met are real-time capability and robust results even when using off-the-shelf equipment (standard web cam and lighting). The paper further presents an empirical study that attests the system satisfying predictive validity for market research applications as long as very small absolute valence values close to zero are not interpreted.