IMUFace: Real-Time, Low-Power, Continuous 3D Facial Reconstruction Through Earphones

Facial expressions are vital for effective communication, conveying emotions and health status. Traditional analysis methods, like manual annotations and geometric models, are labor-intensive and inadequate for complex situations. While vision-based approaches improve accuracy, they often struggle with environmental constraints and privacy concerns. Non-visual wearables offer flexibility but can be uncomfortable and power-hungry. To overcome these issues, we introduce IMUFace, an innovative earplug platform that uses inertial measurement units (IMUs) for real-time facial expression reconstruction. IMUFace captures facial motion data through IMUs in headphones and processes it with a deep learning model to estimate facial landmarks accurately. These predictions are then fitted to the FLAME model, creating realistic 3D facial animations. Compact and low-power, IMUFace represents a significant advancement in generating 3D facial animations for everyday use.