Review of Masked Face Recognition Based on Deep Learning

With the widespread adoption of face masks due to global health crises and heightened security concerns, traditional face recognition systems have struggled to maintain accuracy, prompting significant research into masked face recognition (MFR). Although various models have been proposed, a comprehe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bilal Saoud, Abdul Hakim H. M. Mohamed, Ibraheem Shayea, Ayman A. El-Saleh, Abdulaziz Alashbi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Technologies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/13/7/310
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850071286063038464
author Bilal Saoud
Abdul Hakim H. M. Mohamed
Ibraheem Shayea
Ayman A. El-Saleh
Abdulaziz Alashbi
author_facet Bilal Saoud
Abdul Hakim H. M. Mohamed
Ibraheem Shayea
Ayman A. El-Saleh
Abdulaziz Alashbi
author_sort Bilal Saoud
collection DOAJ
description With the widespread adoption of face masks due to global health crises and heightened security concerns, traditional face recognition systems have struggled to maintain accuracy, prompting significant research into masked face recognition (MFR). Although various models have been proposed, a comprehensive and systematic understanding of recent deep learning (DL)-based approaches remains limited. This paper addresses this research gap by providing an extensive review and comparative analysis of state-of-the-art MFR techniques. We focus on DL-based methods due to their superior performance in real-world scenarios, discussing key architectures, feature extraction strategies, datasets, and evaluation metrics. This paper also introduces a structured methodology for selecting and reviewing relevant works, ensuring transparency and reproducibility. As a contribution, we present a detailed taxonomy of MFR approaches, highlight current challenges, and suggest potential future research directions. This survey serves as a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners seeking to advance the field of robust facial recognition in masked conditions.
format Article
id doaj-art-e466210fb402401fa0384a651c2ab784
institution DOAJ
issn 2227-7080
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Technologies
spelling doaj-art-e466210fb402401fa0384a651c2ab7842025-08-20T02:47:21ZengMDPI AGTechnologies2227-70802025-07-0113731010.3390/technologies13070310Review of Masked Face Recognition Based on Deep LearningBilal Saoud0Abdul Hakim H. M. Mohamed1Ibraheem Shayea2Ayman A. El-Saleh3Abdulaziz Alashbi4Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Bouira, Bouira 10000, AlgeriaDepartment of Information Systems and Business Analytics, A’Sharqiyah University (ASU), Ibra 400, OmanDepartment of Electronics & Communications Engineering, Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Istanbul 34469, TurkeyDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering, A’Sharqiyah University (ASU), Ibra 400, OmanDepartment of Information Systems and Business Analytics, A’Sharqiyah University (ASU), Ibra 400, OmanWith the widespread adoption of face masks due to global health crises and heightened security concerns, traditional face recognition systems have struggled to maintain accuracy, prompting significant research into masked face recognition (MFR). Although various models have been proposed, a comprehensive and systematic understanding of recent deep learning (DL)-based approaches remains limited. This paper addresses this research gap by providing an extensive review and comparative analysis of state-of-the-art MFR techniques. We focus on DL-based methods due to their superior performance in real-world scenarios, discussing key architectures, feature extraction strategies, datasets, and evaluation metrics. This paper also introduces a structured methodology for selecting and reviewing relevant works, ensuring transparency and reproducibility. As a contribution, we present a detailed taxonomy of MFR approaches, highlight current challenges, and suggest potential future research directions. This survey serves as a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners seeking to advance the field of robust facial recognition in masked conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/13/7/310deep learningCNNface detectionobject detectiondatasetevaluation
spellingShingle Bilal Saoud
Abdul Hakim H. M. Mohamed
Ibraheem Shayea
Ayman A. El-Saleh
Abdulaziz Alashbi
Review of Masked Face Recognition Based on Deep Learning
Technologies
deep learning
CNN
face detection
object detection
dataset
evaluation
title Review of Masked Face Recognition Based on Deep Learning
title_full Review of Masked Face Recognition Based on Deep Learning
title_fullStr Review of Masked Face Recognition Based on Deep Learning
title_full_unstemmed Review of Masked Face Recognition Based on Deep Learning
title_short Review of Masked Face Recognition Based on Deep Learning
title_sort review of masked face recognition based on deep learning
topic deep learning
CNN
face detection
object detection
dataset
evaluation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/13/7/310
work_keys_str_mv AT bilalsaoud reviewofmaskedfacerecognitionbasedondeeplearning
AT abdulhakimhmmohamed reviewofmaskedfacerecognitionbasedondeeplearning
AT ibraheemshayea reviewofmaskedfacerecognitionbasedondeeplearning
AT aymanaelsaleh reviewofmaskedfacerecognitionbasedondeeplearning
AT abdulazizalashbi reviewofmaskedfacerecognitionbasedondeeplearning