Remote Pulse

Video demonstrating the effect YouTube Link! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkW6tgWnUH8 YouTube Link! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rSNw7nGMog

This algorithm builds upon prior work by Verkyusse and implements a real-time non-contact pulse monitor. Please try out the code for yourself here and if you're curious, read on for more details!

The way it works is very similar to how Dithering allows you to see a greater bit depth than just a binary image and Delta sigma modulation on an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) can read at a very high bit depth using only 1 bit of resolution (sampled very quickly). By averaging over a spatial region, we minimize the additive Gaussian shot noise and increase the bit depth of our camera's ADC. We track the face using a face detector and Lucas Kanade point tracking.

More fancier algorithms like Eulerian Video Magnification and CardioCam seem to over-complicate the problem for this specific application and generally are not real-time.

More notes at Remote PPG Archive