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Building a Facial Recognition System with Raspberry Pi

Building a Facial Recognition System with Raspberry Pi

Marcus Schappi |

Facial recognition technology has become increasingly accessible thanks to advancements in affordable hardware like the Raspberry Pi. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through setting up a facial recognition project using a Raspberry Pi and some essential components.

Required Components

  1. Raspberry Pi: We recommend using the latest Raspberry Pi 5 for optimal performance.
  2. Camera Module: Either the Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 or the Raspberry Pi Camera Module will work well.
  3. MicroSD Card: A minimum of 16GB is recommended for the Raspberry Pi OS and necessary software. You can find one here.
  4. Power Supply: Ensure you have a compatible power supply for the Raspberry Pi 5. Check options here.
  5. Optional: A case to protect your Raspberry Pi, available here.

Setting Up Your Raspberry Pi

  1. Install Raspberry Pi OS:

    • Download Raspberry Pi Imager from the official Raspberry Pi website.
    • Insert your MicroSD card into your computer.
    • Use Raspberry Pi Imager to install the Raspberry Pi OS onto the MicroSD card.
  2. Initial Setup:

    • Insert the MicroSD card into the Raspberry Pi.
    • Connect the Raspberry Pi to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
    • Power on the Raspberry Pi and complete the initial setup, including setting up Wi-Fi and updating the OS.

Installing Required Software

  1. Update the system:

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get upgrade
    
  2. Install Python and necessary libraries:

    sudo apt-get install python3-pip
    pip3 install opencv-python-headless
    pip3 install face-recognition
    
  3. Enable the Camera:

    • Open the Raspberry Pi configuration tool:
      sudo raspi-config
      
    • Navigate to Interface Options and enable the camera.

Setting Up the Camera

  1. Connect the Camera Module:

    • Ensure the Raspberry Pi is powered off.
    • Connect the camera module to the Raspberry Pi’s camera port.
  2. Test the Camera:

    • Boot up the Raspberry Pi and test the camera with the following command:
      raspistill -o test.jpg
      
    • This command captures an image and saves it as test.jpg.

Writing the Facial Recognition Script

  1. Create a Python Script:

    • Open a text editor and create a new file called facial_recognition.py:
      import cv2
      import face_recognition
      
      video_capture = cv2.VideoCapture(0)
      
      while True:
          ret, frame = video_capture.read()
          rgb_frame = frame[:, :, ::-1]
      
          face_locations = face_recognition.face_locations(rgb_frame)
          for top, right, bottom, left in face_locations:
              cv2.rectangle(frame, (left, top), (right, bottom), (0, 255, 0), 2)
      
          cv2.imshow('Video', frame)
      
          if cv2.waitKey(1) & 0xFF == ord('q'):
              break
      
      video_capture.release()
      cv2.destroyAllWindows()
      
  2. Run the Script:

    • Execute the script with:
      python3 facial_recognition.py
      

Conclusion

With these steps, you should have a basic facial recognition system up and running on your Raspberry Pi. For more advanced functionalities, consider exploring the extensive capabilities of the face_recognition library and OpenCV.

Feel free to explore additional accessories and modules on the Raspberry Pi Australia website to enhance your project further. Happy coding!