Patent ID: 7359529

Claim:
A monitoring system to detect and record an image at a monitored position, the system comprising: an image-capturing photographing unit adapted to capture at least one photographic image and communicate said image as an image video signal; a candidate area detection and decision unit adapted to evaluate said image video signal to detect a human skin color candidate area within said image and if detected, to direct said image-capturing photographing unit to capture at least one enlarged photographic image of said human skin color candidate area and output said enlarged photographic image as an enlarged image video signal; a face detection unit adapted to evaluate said enlarged image video signal to detect a face video signal within said enlarged image video signal, wherein said face detection unit comprises a first face candidate area detection unit adapted to use a pattern with said enlarged image video signal to detect a face candidate area, a second face candidate area detection unit adapted to use a low-resolution support vector machine to detect a specific candidate area within said detected face candidate area, and a final face detection unit adapted to use a high-resolution support vector machine to detect the face video signal within said specific candidate area; and a storage and retrieval unit to receive and store said detected face video signal.