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Updated: Jul 23, 2026

Protocol for Data Collection and Analysis Applied to Automated Facial Expression Analysis Technology and Temporal Analysis for Sensory Evaluation
Published on: August 26, 2016
Automated prediction of preferences using facial expressions
David Masip1, Michael S North2, Alexander Todorov3
1Estudis d'Informatica Multimedia i Telecomunicacions, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain ; Computer Vision Center, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract:
We introduce a computer vision problem from social cognition, namely, the automated detection of attitudes from a person's spontaneous facial expressions. To illustrate the challenges, we introduce two simple algorithms designed to predict observers' preferences between images (e.g., of celebrities) based on covert videos of the observers' faces. The two algorithms are almost as accurate as human judges performing the same task but nonetheless far from perfect. Our approach is to locate facial landmarks, then predict preference on the basis of their temporal dynamics. The database contains 768 videos involving four different kinds of preferences. We make it publically available.
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