2/24/25, 5:13 PM OpenCV C++ Program for Face Detection - GeeksforGeeks

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OpenCV C++ Program for Face Detection
Last Updated : 12 Apr, 2023

This program uses the OpenCV library to detect faces in a live stream
from webcam or in a video file stored in the local machine. This program
detects faces in real time and tracks it. It uses pre-trained XML
classifiers for the same. The classifiers used in this program have facial
features trained in them. Different classifiers can be used to detect
different objects. Requirements for running the program: 1) OpenCV
must be installed on the local machine. 2) Paths to the classifier XML
files must be given before the execution of the program. These XML
files can be found in the OpenCV directory “opencv/data/haarcascades”.
3) Use 0 in capture.open(0) to play webcam feed. 4) For detection in a
local video provide the path to the video.
(capture.open(“path_to_video”)). Implementation:

CPP

// CPP program to detects face in a video

// Include required header files from OpenCV directory

#include "/usr/local/include/opencv2/objdetect.hpp"
#include "/usr/local/include/opencv2/highgui.hpp"
#include "/usr/local/include/opencv2/imgproc.hpp"
#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

using namespace cv;

// Function for Face Detection

void detectAndDraw( Mat& img, CascadeClassifier& cascade,
CascadeClassifier& nestedCascade, double scale );
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2/24/25, 5:13 PM OpenCV C++ Program for Face Detection - GeeksforGeeks

string cascadeName, nestedCascadeName;

int main( int argc, const char** argv )

{
// VideoCapture class for playing video for which faces to be detected
VideoCapture capture;
Mat frame, image;

// PreDefined trained XML classifiers with facial features

CascadeClassifier cascade, nestedCascade;
double scale=1;

// Load classifiers from "opencv/data/haarcascades" directory

nestedCascade.load( "../../haarcascade_eye_tree_eyeglasses.xml" ) ;

// Change path before execution

cascade.load( "../../haarcascade_frontalcatface.xml" ) ;

// Start Video..1) 0 for WebCam 2) "Path to Video" for a Local Video

capture.open(0);
if( capture.isOpened() )
{
// Capture frames from video and detect faces
cout << "Face Detection Started...." << endl;
while(1)
{
capture >> frame;
if( frame.empty() )
break;
Mat frame1 = frame.clone();
detectAndDraw( frame1, cascade, nestedCascade, scale );
char c = (char)waitKey(10);

// Press q to exit from window

if( c == 27 || c == 'q' || c == 'Q' )
break;
}
}
else
cout<<"Could not Open Camera";
return 0;
}

void detectAndDraw( Mat& img, CascadeClassifier& cascade,

CascadeClassifier& nestedCascade,
double scale)
{
vector<Rect> faces, faces2;
Mat gray, smallImg;

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2/24/25, 5:13 PM OpenCV C++ Program for Face Detection - GeeksforGeeks

cvtColor( img, gray, COLOR_BGR2GRAY ); // Convert to Gray Scale

double fx = 1 / scale;

// Resize the Grayscale Image

resize( gray, smallImg, Size(), fx, fx, INTER_LINEAR );
equalizeHist( smallImg, smallImg );

// Detect faces of different sizes using cascade classifier

cascade.detectMultiScale( smallImg, faces, 1.1,
2, 0|CASCADE_SCALE_IMAGE, Size(30, 30) );

// Draw circles around the faces

for ( size_t i = 0; i < faces.size(); i++ )
{
Rect r = faces[i];
Mat smallImgROI;
vector<Rect> nestedObjects;
Point center;
Scalar color = Scalar(255, 0, 0); // Color for Drawing tool
int radius;

double aspect_ratio = (double)r.width/r.height;

if( 0.75 < aspect_ratio && aspect_ratio < 1.3 )
{
center.x = cvRound((r.x + r.width*0.5)*scale);
center.y = cvRound((r.y + r.height*0.5)*scale);
radius = cvRound((r.width + r.height)*0.25*scale);
circle( img, center, radius, color, 3, 8, 0 );
}
else
rectangle( img, cvPoint(cvRound(r.x*scale), cvRound(r.y*scale)
cvPoint(cvRound((r.x + r.width-1)*scale),
cvRound((r.y + r.height-1)*scale)), color, 3, 8, 0);
if( nestedCascade.empty() )
continue;
smallImgROI = smallImg( r );

// Detection of eyes in the input image

nestedCascade.detectMultiScale( smallImgROI, nestedObjects, 1.1, 2
0|CASCADE_SCALE_IMAGE, Size(30, 30

// Draw circles around eyes

for ( size_t j = 0; j < nestedObjects.size(); j++ )
{
Rect nr = nestedObjects[j];
center.x = cvRound((r.x + nr.x + nr.width*0.5)*scale);
center.y = cvRound((r.y + nr.y + nr.height*0.5)*scale);
radius = cvRound((nr.width + nr.height)*0.25*scale);
circle( img, center, radius, color, 3, 8, 0 );
}

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2/24/25, 5:13 PM OpenCV C++ Program for Face Detection - GeeksforGeeks

// Show Processed Image with detected faces

imshow( "Face Detection", img );
}

Output:

Face Detection

Next Article: Opencv Python Program for face detection References: 1)

http://docs.opencv.org/2.4/modules/contrib/doc/facerec/facerec_tutorial.h
tml 2)
http://docs.opencv.org/2.4/doc/tutorials/objdetect/cascade_classifier/casc
ade_classifier.html

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