A human detection method and apparatus are provided. In the method, a
person is detected from an image provided by a digital video camera. The
method includes (a) initializing parameters used for a user detection;
(b) determining a current mode; (c) when it is determined that the
current mode is the face detection mode, performing a face detection on
each of a plurality of image frames, and when a face is not detected even
after a predetermined number of face detection trials, selecting a motion
detection mode and going back to step (b); and (d) when it is determined
that the current mode is the motion detection mode, performing a motion
detection on a predetermined number of image frames at a time, and when
at least a predetermined number of motion detections are performed
successfully within a predetermined period of time, going back to step
(a).