Shared DNN Backbone for Joint Facial Feature Extraction and Quality Estimation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing facial recognition systems face inefficiencies due to the complexity and resource-intensive nature of separate Deep Neural Network (DNN) backbones for facial feature extraction and quality prediction, leading to reduced accuracy and increased computational requirements.

Innovation Solution

A shared DNN backbone is trained for both facial feature extraction and quality prediction using a custom-labeled training dataset, allowing the model to jointly perform these tasks and reduce CPU and memory consumption by up to 50%.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If separate DNN backbones are used for facial feature extraction and quality prediction, then task specialization is improved, but device complexity and computational resource consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetask specialization accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges two separate DNN backbones into a single shared backbone that performs both facial feature extraction and quality prediction tasks. This consolidation reduces system complexity and computational overhead while maintaining functional separation through distinct output heads, directly resolving the contradiction between specialization and complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The shared DNN backbone is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously - extracting facial features for recognition and predicting image quality scores. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate specialized models, reducing device complexity while maintaining task performance through a unified architecture.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If separate DNN backbones are used for facial feature extraction and quality prediction, then functional independence is improved, but use of energy and computational resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefunctional independenceVSAvoidcomputational resource consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

By merging separate DNN backbones into a single shared model, the patent reduces redundant computational operations and resource consumption. The shared backbone processes inputs once and generates both feature embeddings and quality predictions simultaneously, eliminating duplicate computations while maintaining functional independence through separate output layers.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent recovers and reuses intermediate feature representations from the shared backbone for both facial recognition and quality assessment tasks. Instead of processing inputs separately through independent backbones, the system extracts features once and leverages these representations for multiple purposes, reducing overall computational energy consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #34Discarding and recovering

3Device complexity

If a shared DNN backbone is used for both facial feature extraction and quality prediction, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision may deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem complexityVSAvoidprediction accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The shared DNN backbone is segmented into distinct functional components with separate output heads - one for facial feature extraction and another for quality prediction. This segmentation allows each task to have specialized processing pathways while sharing the common backbone, maintaining measurement precision for both tasks despite the unified architecture.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different parts of the network are optimized for different tasks - the shared backbone learns general facial image representations, while task-specific output layers are fine-tuned for their respective functions. This local optimization ensures that each task maintains high precision despite sharing the underlying backbone architecture.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

4Reliability

If separate DNN backbones are used for facial feature extraction and quality prediction, then task-specific optimization is improved, but productivity decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetask-specific performanceVSAvoidprocessing efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines separate processing pipelines into a single unified model that performs both facial feature extraction and quality prediction in one forward pass. This merging eliminates redundant processing steps and improves computational efficiency, directly enhancing productivity while maintaining task-specific performance through specialized output layers.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The shared backbone enables continuous extraction of useful features that serve both tasks simultaneously. Instead of sequentially processing inputs through separate models, the system performs both functions in a continuous, integrated manner, maximizing processing efficiency and productivity without sacrificing task-specific optimization.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentUS11688200B2Joint facial feature extraction and facial image quality estimation using a deep neural network (DNN) trained with a custom-labeled training dataset and having a common DNN backbone
Publication Date: 2023.06.27 FORTINET INC
  • US11688200B2 patent drawing
  • US11688200B2 patent drawing
  • US11688200B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Systems and methods for joint feature extraction and quality prediction using a shared machine learning model backbone and a customized training dataset are provided. According to an embodiment, a computer system receives a training dataset including example images each labeled with a particular category of a set of categories, and trains a deep neural network (DNN) based on the training dataset to jointly perform for an input image (i) facial feature extraction in accordance with the facial feature extraction algorithm and (ii) a quality scoring in accordance with a quality prediction algorithm. In the embodiment, the DNN, once trained with the training dataset labeled using a custom labeling scheme is used for the facial feature extraction and the quality prediction. The facial feature extraction algorithm and the quality prediction algorithm share a common DNN backbone of the DNN.