Finite element modeling of facial deformation in videos for computing strain pattern

We present a finite element modeling based approach to compute strain patterns caused by facial deformation during expressions in videos. A sparse motion field computed through a robust optical flow method drives the FE model. While the geometry of the model is generic, the material constants associated with an individualpsilas facial skin are learned at a coarse level sufficient for accurate strain map computation. Experimental results using the computational strategy presented in this paper emphasize the uniqueness and stability of strain maps across adverse data conditions (shadow lighting and face camouflage) making it a promising feature for image analysis tasks that can benefit from such auxiliary information.