Research Article

Boosted LightFace: A Hybrid DNN and GBM Model for Boosted Facial Recognition

Volume: 39 Number: 1 February 2, 2026
EN

Boosted LightFace: A Hybrid DNN and GBM Model for Boosted Facial Recognition

Abstract

Facial recognition technology has seen significant advancements, impacting security, surveillance, and personal identification. Deep neural networks have enhanced accuracy and reliability, with integration into everyday devices further accelerating adoption. Researchers explore combining Deep Neural Networks with Gradient Boosting Machines for improved performance. This paper proposes Boosted LightFace, a hybrid Deep Neural Networks and Gradient Boosting Machines model leveraging robust facial recognition and face detection models. The architecture first integrates predictions from five high-performing DNN models. Their distance metrics and classification outcomes are engineered into a tabular dataset of 6,000 image pairs with 13 features. This dataset is then trained using a highly efficient LightGBM model with a low learning rate of 0.01 and 1000 estimators, incorporating an early stopping mechanism, and employing 10-fold cross-validation to maximize generalization. Recent research identifies FaceNet512d as a robust model, surpassing human recognition on the Labeled Faces in The Wild dataset with 98.4% score. Boosted LightFace achieves 99.1% accuracy, surpassing human recognition by 1.6% and outperforming the best single model in LightFace by 0.7%, underscoring the potential of integrating Deep Neural Networks and Gradient Boosting Machines models in advancing facial recognition technology. Furthermore, Boosted LightFace not only outperforms individual models in terms of accuracy but also surpasses them in precision, recall, F1, and AUC scores, highlighting its comprehensive superiority.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Computer Vision

Journal Section

Research Article

Early Pub Date

February 2, 2026

Publication Date

February 2, 2026

Submission Date

October 1, 2025

Acceptance Date

December 21, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 39 Number: 1

APA
Serengil, S. I., & Özpınar, A. (2026). Boosted LightFace: A Hybrid DNN and GBM Model for Boosted Facial Recognition. Gazi University Journal of Science, 39(1), 452-466. https://doi.org/10.35378/gujs.1794891
AMA
1.Serengil SI, Özpınar A. Boosted LightFace: A Hybrid DNN and GBM Model for Boosted Facial Recognition. Gazi University Journal of Science. 2026;39(1):452-466. doi:10.35378/gujs.1794891
Chicago
Serengil, Sefik Ilkin, and Alper Özpınar. 2026. “Boosted LightFace: A Hybrid DNN and GBM Model for Boosted Facial Recognition”. Gazi University Journal of Science 39 (1): 452-66. https://doi.org/10.35378/gujs.1794891.
EndNote
Serengil SI, Özpınar A (March 1, 2026) Boosted LightFace: A Hybrid DNN and GBM Model for Boosted Facial Recognition. Gazi University Journal of Science 39 1 452–466.
IEEE
[1]S. I. Serengil and A. Özpınar, “Boosted LightFace: A Hybrid DNN and GBM Model for Boosted Facial Recognition”, Gazi University Journal of Science, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 452–466, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.35378/gujs.1794891.
ISNAD
Serengil, Sefik Ilkin - Özpınar, Alper. “Boosted LightFace: A Hybrid DNN and GBM Model for Boosted Facial Recognition”. Gazi University Journal of Science 39/1 (March 1, 2026): 452-466. https://doi.org/10.35378/gujs.1794891.
JAMA
1.Serengil SI, Özpınar A. Boosted LightFace: A Hybrid DNN and GBM Model for Boosted Facial Recognition. Gazi University Journal of Science. 2026;39:452–466.
MLA
Serengil, Sefik Ilkin, and Alper Özpınar. “Boosted LightFace: A Hybrid DNN and GBM Model for Boosted Facial Recognition”. Gazi University Journal of Science, vol. 39, no. 1, Mar. 2026, pp. 452-66, doi:10.35378/gujs.1794891.
Vancouver
1.Sefik Ilkin Serengil, Alper Özpınar. Boosted LightFace: A Hybrid DNN and GBM Model for Boosted Facial Recognition. Gazi University Journal of Science. 2026 Mar. 1;39(1):452-66. doi:10.35378/gujs.1794891