Assessing Face Overlay

Published

August 17, 2009

Author(s)

Mary F. Theofanos, Brian C. Stanton, Charles L. Sheppard, Ross J. Micheals, Yee-Yin Choong, John W. Wydler II, Kevin C. Mangold, Michelle P. Steves, Emile L. Morse

Abstract

The United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology's (US-VISIT) has embarked on an effort to improve the quality of facial images captured at US ports of entry. One aspect of this effort was the identification of usability and human factors issues that may impact face image capture. The report describes a usability test that assessed the use of a face overlay guide to assist the camera operator center and align the face image. Use of the overlay in this study showed that it could be used to frame a face with a camera without additional instruction with an effectiveness rate that was clearly superior to the images captured without benefit of the overlay. Additionally, there was no effect on task efficiency, and users who used the overlay were more satisfied with the image framing process than those who did not use the overlay.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 7578

Report Number

7578

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

"facial recognition, usability, biometrics, affordance"

Citation

Theofanos, M. , Stanton, B. , Sheppard, C. , Micheals, R. , Choong, Y. , Wydler, J. , Mangold, K. , Steves, M. and Morse, E. (2009), Assessing Face Overlay, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=902148 (Accessed October 10, 2025)