A research team from the Centre for Language Evolution Studies (CLES) at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, in collaboration with partners from Poland – the Department of Anthropology at IIET PAS and Wrocław University of Health and Sport Sciences – as well as from Spain (Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), has created ApeFD (Apemen Faces Database) – a unique collection of photorealistic images of faces inspired by the appearance of ancient hominins.

The database contains 620 images of 31 face models that combine the features of modern humans and their ancestors. Each face has been enriched with morphometric data and perceptual assessments (e.g. threat level, sociability, age, health). This tool enables research into how we perceive others – even when faces go beyond the range of human variability we are familiar with.

The images were created by combining artificial intelligence and manual graphic processing – the team used modern AI models and hundreds of hours of artistic work to obtain realistic and consistent visualisations.

ApeFD fills an important research gap: it allows psychological and neurobiological experiments to be conducted without the use of real images of people. It also has applications outside of science – in design, games, and film.

The database was described in the prestigious journal Scientific Data (IF 6.9, 140 MSHE points):

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-025-05813-z

On behalf of the IIET PAS, Dariusz Danel, PhD, DSc, is responsible for the research. It is being carried out as part of the NSC OPUS 25 project entitled ‘Human sclera: the role of colour and contrast in the perception of other people’s eyes’, conducted in consortium with the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (leader). The project manager is Sławomir Wacewicz, PhD, DSc. The funds allocated for the grant amount to PLN 1,181,305, of which PLN 581,153 is allocated to the IIET PAS.

Information about the research was also published in Forum Akademickie:

https://forumakademickie.pl/miedzy-ludzmi-a-malpami-nowa-baza-twarzy/

Graphic source: Scientific Data