Master Face Recognition on Ubuntu with Python: Step‑by‑Step Guide

Environment Requirements

Ubuntu 17.10

Python 2.7.14

Environment Setup

Install the required packages:

# Install git
sudo apt-get install -y git
# Install cmake
sudo apt-get install -y cmake
# Install python-pip
sudo apt-get install -y python-pip

Compile and install dlib (required by face_recognition):

# Install boost libraries
sudo apt-get install libboost-all-dev
# Clone dlib source
git clone https://github.com/davisking/dlib.git
cd dlib
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -DDLIB_USE_CUDA=0 -DUSE_AVX_INSTRUCTIONS=1
cmake --build .
cd ..
python setup.py install --yes USE_AVX_INSTRUCTIONS --no DLIB_USE_CUDA

Install the face_recognition library (this will also install numpy, scipy, etc.):

# Install face_recognition
pip install face_recognition

Implement Face Recognition

Example 1 – One‑Line Command

Prepare a folder known_people with one image per person, named with the person’s name, e.g., babe.jpg, 成龙.jpg, 容祖儿.jpg:

Prepare another folder unknown_pic with the images you want to recognize (e.g., a picture containing a person not in the known set):

Run the command: face_recognition known_people/ unknown_pic/ The output lists the names of the recognized people:

Example 2 – Detect All Faces and Display

# filename: find_faces_in_picture.py
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
from PIL import Image
import face_recognition
image = face_recognition.load_image_file("/opt/face/unknown_pic/all_star.jpg")
face_locations = face_recognition.face_locations(image)
print("I found {} face(s) in this photograph.".format(len(face_locations)))
for face_location in face_locations:
    top, right, bottom, left = face_location
    print("A face is located at pixel location Top: {}, Left: {}, Bottom: {}, Right: {}".format(top, left, bottom, right))
    face_image = image[top:bottom, left:right]
    pil_image = Image.fromarray(face_image)
    pil_image.show()

Example 3 – Automatic Facial Feature Detection

# filename: find_facial_features_in_picture.py
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
from PIL import Image, ImageDraw
import face_recognition
image = face_recognition.load_image_file("biden.jpg")
face_landmarks_list = face_recognition.face_landmarks(image)
print("I found {} face(s) in this photograph.".format(len(face_landmarks_list)))
for face_landmarks in face_landmarks_list:
    facial_features = ['chin','left_eyebrow','right_eyebrow','nose_bridge','nose_tip','left_eye','right_eye','top_lip','bottom_lip']
    for facial_feature in facial_features:
        print("The {} in this face has the following points: {}".format(facial_feature, face_landmarks[facial_feature]))
    pil_image = Image.fromarray(image)
    d = ImageDraw.Draw(pil_image)
    for facial_feature in facial_features:
        d.line(face_landmarks[facial_feature], width=5)
    pil_image.show()

Example 4 – Identify Which Person Is in the Photo

# filename: recognize_faces_in_pictures.py
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import face_recognition
babe_image = face_recognition.load_image_file("/opt/face/known_people/babe.jpeg")
rong_zhu_er_image = face_recognition.load_image_file("/opt/face/known_people/Rong zhu er.jpg")
unknown_image = face_recognition.load_image_file("/opt/face/unknown_pic/babe2.jpg")
babe_face_encoding = face_recognition.face_encodings(babe_image)[0]
rong_zhu_er_face_encoding = face_recognition.face_encodings(rong_zhu_er_image)[0]
unknown_face_encoding = face_recognition.face_encodings(unknown_image)[0]
known_faces = [babe_face_encoding, rong_zhu_er_face_encoding]
results = face_recognition.compare_faces(known_faces, unknown_face_encoding)
print("Is the unknown face Babe? {}".format(results[0]))
print("Is the unknown face Rong Zhu Er? {}".format(results[1]))
print("Is the unknown face a new person? {}".format(not True in results))

Example 5 – Facial Features Beautification

# filename: digital_makeup.py
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
from PIL import Image, ImageDraw
import face_recognition
image = face_recognition.load_image_file("biden.jpg")
face_landmarks_list = face_recognition.face_landmarks(image)
pil_image = Image.fromarray(image)
d = ImageDraw.Draw(pil_image, 'RGBA')
# Example: color eyebrows, lips, and eyes
# (actual drawing code omitted for brevity)
pil_image.show()