After published in 2009, the HFB database has been applied by tens of research groups and widely used for Near infrared vs. Visible light (NIR-VIS) face recognition. Despite its success the HFB database has two disadvantages: a limited number of subjects and lacking specific evaluation protocols.

To complement the disadvantages of the HFB database, we collect a larger database called CASIA NIR-VIS 2.0 database, in which the images are captured using the same device as the HFB database. Compared to HFB, NIR-VIS 2.0 has the following new features:

1. The number of subjects in the NIR-VIS 2.0 database is 725, which is 3 times more than the HFB database.
2. We define a group of specific protocols for performance evaluation. On the contrary, the protocols of the HFB database are unclear for performance comparison or for reproducing experimental results.
3. In the new database, the age distribution of the subjects are broader, spanning from children to old people.
4. The face images are collected in four recording sessions, which are from 2007 to 2010.

The images in the NIR-VIS 2.0 database were collected in four recording sessions: 2007 spring, 2009 summer, 2009 fall and 2010 summer, in which the first session is identical to the HFB database. In summary, the NIR-VIS 2.0 database consists of 725 subjects in total. There are 1-22 VIS and 5-50 NIR face images per subject. Figure 1 shows some face images of a subject in the database.

Figure 1. VIS and NIR face images, with variations in resolution, lighting conditions, pose and age, of one subject in the NIR-VIS 2.0 database.

The NIR-VIS 2.0 database includes the following contents:

1. The raw images, including the VIS images in JPEG format and the NIR images in BMP format. Their resolutions are both 640X480.
2. The eye coordinates of the VIS, NIR images. They are automatically labeled by an eye detector, and several error coordinates are corrected manually.
3. Cropped versions of the raw VIS, NIR images. The resolution is 128X128, and the process is done based on the eye coordinates.
4. Protocols for performance evaluation. The protocols include two views: View1 for algorithm development,View2 for performance reporting.

Download Instructions:
To apply for the database, please follow the steps below:

1. Download and print the document Agreement for using CASIA NIR-VIS 2.0 database
2. Sign the agreement
3. Send the agreement to cbsr-request@authenmetric.com
4. Check your email to find a login account and a password of our website after one day, if your application has been approved.
5. Download the CASIA NIR-VIS 2.0 Face database from our website with the authorized account within 48 hours.

Copyright Note and Contacts:
The database is released for research and educational purposes. We hold no liability for any undesirable consequences of using the database. All rights of the CASIA NIR-VIS 2.0 database are reserved. Any person or organization is not permitted to distribute, publish, copy, or disseminate this database.

Publications:
[1] Stan Z. Li, Dong Yi, Zhen Lei, Shengcai Liao, “The CASIA NIR-VIS 2.0 Face Database”. In 9th IEEE Workshop on Perception Beyond the Visible Spectrum (PBVS, in conjunction with CVPR 2013). Portland, Oregon, June, 2013.