AFD-StackGAN: Automatic Mask Generation Network for Face De-Occlusion Using StackGAN

To address the problem of automatically detecting and removing the mask without user interaction, we present a GAN-based automatic approach for face de-occlusion, called Automatic Mask Generation Network for Face De-occlusion Using Stacked Generative Adversarial Networks (AFD-StackGAN). In this appr...

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Main Authors: Abdul Jabbar, Xi Li, Muhammad Assam, Javed Ali Khan, Marwa Obayya, Mimouna Abdullah Alkhonaini, Fahd N. Al-Wesabi, Muhammad Assad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-02-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/5/1747
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author Abdul Jabbar
Xi Li
Muhammad Assam
Javed Ali Khan
Marwa Obayya
Mimouna Abdullah Alkhonaini
Fahd N. Al-Wesabi
Muhammad Assad
author_facet Abdul Jabbar
Xi Li
Muhammad Assam
Javed Ali Khan
Marwa Obayya
Mimouna Abdullah Alkhonaini
Fahd N. Al-Wesabi
Muhammad Assad
author_sort Abdul Jabbar
collection DOAJ
description To address the problem of automatically detecting and removing the mask without user interaction, we present a GAN-based automatic approach for face de-occlusion, called Automatic Mask Generation Network for Face De-occlusion Using Stacked Generative Adversarial Networks (AFD-StackGAN). In this approach, we decompose the problem into two primary stages (i.e., Stage-I Network and Stage-II Network) and employ a separate GAN in both stages. Stage-I Network (Binary Mask Generation Network) automatically creates a binary mask for the masked region in the input images (occluded images). Then, Stage-II Network (Face De-occlusion Network) removes the mask object and synthesizes the damaged region with fine details while retaining the restored face’s appearance and structural consistency. Furthermore, we create a paired synthetic face-occluded dataset using the publicly available CelebA face images to train the proposed model. AFD-StackGAN is evaluated using real-world test images gathered from the Internet. Our extensive experimental results confirm the robustness and efficiency of the proposed model in removing complex mask objects from facial images compared to the previous image manipulation approaches. Additionally, we provide ablation studies for performance comparison between the user-defined mask and auto-defined mask and demonstrate the benefits of refiner networks in the generation process.
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spelling doaj.art-356dc88a9cba48f39c4ddd525d7b96982023-11-23T23:45:35ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-02-01225174710.3390/s22051747AFD-StackGAN: Automatic Mask Generation Network for Face De-Occlusion Using StackGANAbdul Jabbar0Xi Li1Muhammad Assam2Javed Ali Khan3Marwa Obayya4Mimouna Abdullah Alkhonaini5Fahd N. Al-Wesabi6Muhammad Assad7College of Computer Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, ChinaCollege of Computer Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, ChinaCollege of Computer Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, ChinaDepartment of Software Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Bunnu 28100, PakistanDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Computer Science, College of Computer and Information Sciences, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 12435, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Computer Science, College of Science & Art at Mahayil, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi ArabiaInstitute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, AustraliaTo address the problem of automatically detecting and removing the mask without user interaction, we present a GAN-based automatic approach for face de-occlusion, called Automatic Mask Generation Network for Face De-occlusion Using Stacked Generative Adversarial Networks (AFD-StackGAN). In this approach, we decompose the problem into two primary stages (i.e., Stage-I Network and Stage-II Network) and employ a separate GAN in both stages. Stage-I Network (Binary Mask Generation Network) automatically creates a binary mask for the masked region in the input images (occluded images). Then, Stage-II Network (Face De-occlusion Network) removes the mask object and synthesizes the damaged region with fine details while retaining the restored face’s appearance and structural consistency. Furthermore, we create a paired synthetic face-occluded dataset using the publicly available CelebA face images to train the proposed model. AFD-StackGAN is evaluated using real-world test images gathered from the Internet. Our extensive experimental results confirm the robustness and efficiency of the proposed model in removing complex mask objects from facial images compared to the previous image manipulation approaches. Additionally, we provide ablation studies for performance comparison between the user-defined mask and auto-defined mask and demonstrate the benefits of refiner networks in the generation process.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/5/1747generative adversarial network (GAN)automatic mask removalimage restoration
spellingShingle Abdul Jabbar
Xi Li
Muhammad Assam
Javed Ali Khan
Marwa Obayya
Mimouna Abdullah Alkhonaini
Fahd N. Al-Wesabi
Muhammad Assad
AFD-StackGAN: Automatic Mask Generation Network for Face De-Occlusion Using StackGAN
Sensors
generative adversarial network (GAN)
automatic mask removal
image restoration
title AFD-StackGAN: Automatic Mask Generation Network for Face De-Occlusion Using StackGAN
title_full AFD-StackGAN: Automatic Mask Generation Network for Face De-Occlusion Using StackGAN
title_fullStr AFD-StackGAN: Automatic Mask Generation Network for Face De-Occlusion Using StackGAN
title_full_unstemmed AFD-StackGAN: Automatic Mask Generation Network for Face De-Occlusion Using StackGAN
title_short AFD-StackGAN: Automatic Mask Generation Network for Face De-Occlusion Using StackGAN
title_sort afd stackgan automatic mask generation network for face de occlusion using stackgan
topic generative adversarial network (GAN)
automatic mask removal
image restoration
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/5/1747
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