@article{ART003300113},
author={Un-Yong Kim and Sungkuk Chun and Jeongrok Yun and Ju-Yeong Park and Sung-Hoon Hong and Hoe-Min Kim},
title={A Real-time Head Pose Estimation via YOLO-based Facial Landmark Detection using High-Fidelity Synthetic Data},
journal={Journal of The Korea Society of Computer and Information},
issn={1598-849X},
year={2026},
volume={31},
number={1},
pages={77-89}
TY - JOUR
AU - Un-Yong Kim
AU - Sungkuk Chun
AU - Jeongrok Yun
AU - Ju-Yeong Park
AU - Sung-Hoon Hong
AU - Hoe-Min Kim
TI - A Real-time Head Pose Estimation via YOLO-based Facial Landmark Detection using High-Fidelity Synthetic Data
JO - Journal of The Korea Society of Computer and Information
PY - 2026
VL - 31
IS - 1
PB - The Korean Society Of Computer And Information
SP - 77
EP - 89
SN - 1598-849X
AB - Data collection constraints and the Sim2Real gap are primary challenges in developing head pose estimation systems. This study adopts geometric landmark information, which is robust against visual noise, as a core feature to bridge this gap. The methodology consists of a two-stage pipeline. First, a large-scale synthetic dataset is constructed using Unreal Engine and MetaHuman. Second, the YOLOv11-pose model is trained as a facial landmark detector using a mixture of synthetic data and the real-world BIWI dataset. The system then estimates the three-axis angles—Roll, Pitch, and Yaw—in real-time based on the detected landmark coordinates. In evaluations using the BIWI dataset, the model achieved a low Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 1.00° in the near-frontal region. Furthermore, the final system ensured a real-time processing speed of 21.2 FPS in a webcam environment. In conclusion, the integration of synthetic and real data with a landmark-based approach demonstrates the feasibility of precise, real-time head pose estimation.
KW - Head Pose Estimation;Synthetic Data;YOLO;Landmark;Unreal Engine;MetaHuman
DO -
UR -
ER -
Un-Yong Kim, Sungkuk Chun, Jeongrok Yun, Ju-Yeong Park, Sung-Hoon Hong and Hoe-Min Kim. (2026). A Real-time Head Pose Estimation via YOLO-based Facial Landmark Detection using High-Fidelity Synthetic Data. Journal of The Korea Society of Computer and Information, 31(1), 77-89.
Un-Yong Kim, Sungkuk Chun, Jeongrok Yun, Ju-Yeong Park, Sung-Hoon Hong and Hoe-Min Kim. 2026, "A Real-time Head Pose Estimation via YOLO-based Facial Landmark Detection using High-Fidelity Synthetic Data", Journal of The Korea Society of Computer and Information, vol.31, no.1 pp.77-89.
Un-Yong Kim, Sungkuk Chun, Jeongrok Yun, Ju-Yeong Park, Sung-Hoon Hong, Hoe-Min Kim "A Real-time Head Pose Estimation via YOLO-based Facial Landmark Detection using High-Fidelity Synthetic Data" Journal of The Korea Society of Computer and Information 31.1 pp.77-89 (2026) : 77.
Un-Yong Kim, Sungkuk Chun, Jeongrok Yun, Ju-Yeong Park, Sung-Hoon Hong, Hoe-Min Kim. A Real-time Head Pose Estimation via YOLO-based Facial Landmark Detection using High-Fidelity Synthetic Data. 2026; 31(1), 77-89.
Un-Yong Kim, Sungkuk Chun, Jeongrok Yun, Ju-Yeong Park, Sung-Hoon Hong and Hoe-Min Kim. "A Real-time Head Pose Estimation via YOLO-based Facial Landmark Detection using High-Fidelity Synthetic Data" Journal of The Korea Society of Computer and Information 31, no.1 (2026) : 77-89.
Un-Yong Kim; Sungkuk Chun; Jeongrok Yun; Ju-Yeong Park; Sung-Hoon Hong; Hoe-Min Kim. A Real-time Head Pose Estimation via YOLO-based Facial Landmark Detection using High-Fidelity Synthetic Data. Journal of The Korea Society of Computer and Information, 31(1), 77-89.
Un-Yong Kim; Sungkuk Chun; Jeongrok Yun; Ju-Yeong Park; Sung-Hoon Hong; Hoe-Min Kim. A Real-time Head Pose Estimation via YOLO-based Facial Landmark Detection using High-Fidelity Synthetic Data. Journal of The Korea Society of Computer and Information. 2026; 31(1) 77-89.
Un-Yong Kim, Sungkuk Chun, Jeongrok Yun, Ju-Yeong Park, Sung-Hoon Hong, Hoe-Min Kim. A Real-time Head Pose Estimation via YOLO-based Facial Landmark Detection using High-Fidelity Synthetic Data. 2026; 31(1), 77-89.
Un-Yong Kim, Sungkuk Chun, Jeongrok Yun, Ju-Yeong Park, Sung-Hoon Hong and Hoe-Min Kim. "A Real-time Head Pose Estimation via YOLO-based Facial Landmark Detection using High-Fidelity Synthetic Data" Journal of The Korea Society of Computer and Information 31, no.1 (2026) : 77-89.
