The human face poses a challenge to engineers, computer scientists, and psychologists alike. This book integrates different contributions by combining detailed review articles with general overviews of the relationship between different kinds of research on faces and contemporary problems in vision and cognition. Theoretical developments in this area are increasingly dependent on computer technology, both because image-processing techniques allow us to display and manipulate faces for experiments in ways that were not feasible with old photographic technology and because theoretical ideas can be expressed and tested more rigorously using computer simulation. The psychological contributions in this volume illustrate current theoretical developments that are heavily dependent on image processing and computer simulation. As technology improves, so it becomes increasingly feasible to automate many aspects of face processing normally taken for granted to develop new technological aids. Therefore, this volume also includes examples of computing developments for forensic purposes, for the simulation of plastic surgery, and for automatic animation for applications in telecommunications and creative arts.
