On Gender Identification Using the Smile Dynamics

Gender classification has multiple applications including, but not limited to, face perception, age, ethnicity and identity analysis, video surveillance and smart human computer interaction. The majority of computer based gender classification algorithms analyse the appearance of facial features predominantly based on the texture of the static image of the face. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm for gender classification using the smile dynamics without resorting to the use of any facial texture information. Our experiments suggest that this method has great potential for finding indicators of gender dimorphism. Our approach was tested on two databases, namely the CK+ and the MUG, consisting of a total of 80 subjects. As a result, using the KNN algorithm along with 10-fold cross validation, we achieve an accurate classification rate of 80% for gender simply based on the dynamics of a person's smile.