Question

You are designing a new product and your boss requests that you develop a small microcontroller-based system that tracks human faces. The system should identify faces and compare them to a database stored on the system. If a new face is discovered, it should be added to the database. The face recognition algorithm requires the implementation of rather complex 2D fourier transforms. Provide at least two reasons why you might recommend against a microcontroller-based design for this application.

Answer 1

While designing a face tracking system, the image captured by the camera is processed using fourier algorithm in a microcontroller.

Fourier transforms have the disadvantage of not being able to resolve sharp discontinuities which plays a vital role in distinguishing the human face from its surroundings. Higher resolution and deeper processing needs to be done to increase the efficiency. This leads to increased power consumption.

Microcontrollers are designed to handle low power circuits and to effectively recognize the face, employing higher technologies might hinder the outcome.