Computer aided generation of prototypical facial expressions of emotion Computergestützte Generierung von prototypischem, Emotionen bezeichnendem Gesichtsausdruck

The present paper presents a method of producing prototypical facial expressions of different emotions based on computation and deformation of digitalized facial images. Facial expressions of six basic emotions were portrayed by subjects. Each individual facial image was then deformed so as to accommodate to a "face stencil" defned by standard points on the facial structure. Prototypes for the expressions of each emotion were created by averaging the images of all individual faces. In this way the physiognomic variability of individual subjects is reduced to a single computer generated face while retaining the facial expression. Further combinations of upper and lower face parts produced various facial expressions with less clear emotional meaning. Applications and possibilities for further development of this method are discussed. unknown publishedVersion