Robust Face Mask Detection by a Socially Assistive Robot Using Deep Learning

Wearing masks in indoor and outdoor public places has been mandatory in a number of countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Correctly wearing a face mask can reduce the transmission of the virus through respiratory droplets. In this paper, a novel two-step deep learning (DL) method based on our extended ResNet-50 is presented. It can detect and classify whether face masks are missing, are worn correctly or incorrectly, or the face is covered by other means (e.g., a hand or hair). Our DL method utilizes transfer learning with pretrained ResNet-50 weights to reduce training time and increase detection accuracy. Training and validation are achieved using the MaskedFace-Net, MAsked FAces (MAFA), and CelebA datasets. The trained model has been incorporated onto a socially assistive robot for robust and autonomous detection by a robot using lower-resolution images from the onboard camera. The results show a classification accuracy of 84.13% for the classification of no mask, correctly masked, and incorrectly masked faces in various real-world poses and occlusion scenarios using the robot.