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Tag: Facial Recognition Software

  • Would You Wear These Goofy Glasses To Protect Your Privacy?

    Google Glass makes some people feel rather uncomfortable. The biggest concern seems to stem from the idea that Google Glass will eliminate more of our privacy with facial recognition software and the like. Despite Google banning such software on Glass, some developers are already working on privacy solutions.

    Japan’s National Institute of Informatics has unveiled what it calls privacy visor glasses. The glasses, which admittedly look far sillier than Google Glass, are equipped with near-infrared LEDs that emit a blinding light when viewed through a camera. Here’s how its inventor describes it:

    “You can try wearing sunglasses. But sunglasses alone can’t prevent face detection. Because face detection uses features like the eyes and nose, it’s hard to prevent just by concealing your eyes. This is the privacy visor I have developed, which uses 11 near-infrared LEDs.

    Light from these near-infrared LEDs can’t be seen by the human eye, but when it passes through a camera’s imaging device, it appears bright. The LEDs are installed in these locations because, a feature of face detection is, the eyes and part of the nose appear dark, while another part of the nose appears bright. So, by placing light sources mostly near dark parts of the face, we’ve succeeded in canceling face detection characteristics, making face detection fail.

    There are only two downsides to these glasses. First, they require electricity and therefore batteries; and secondly, they look way sillier than Google Glass. The latter issue might not be easy to overcome, but the team already has some ideas about the former. Equipping the glasses with reflective material would not only eliminate the electricity requirement, but it would also stop facial detection cameras that aren’t affected by infrared light.

    It should be reiterated that Google won’t allow facial recognition software on Glass for now. It wants to sort out all the privacy implications before allowing software that could potentially be abused onto Glass. Even with all those issues sorted out, you may still feel compelled by paranoia to wear something like this. Unfortunately, you’re probably not going to see it on the market anytime soon as it’s still a work in progress.

    [h/t: DigInfo]

  • Google Acquires Facial Recognition And Augmented Reality Company Viewdle

    Update: All Things D is sharing a statement from the company indicating that Google’s Motorola Mobility has indeed acquired Viewdle, under undisclosed terms:

    “Motorola Mobility today announced that it has acquired Viewdle, a leading imaging & gesture recognition company,” a Motorola representative said in a statement. “Motorola and Viewdle have an existing commercial agreement and have been collaborating for some time.”

    Original article: CNET is reporting that Google is “close to completing” a deal to buy facial recognition technology provider Viewdle. The company offers photo tagging technology.

    Obviously, this would make a great deal of sense in relation to Google+, especially considering that Facebook has acquired Face.com, which provides similar technology.

    Facebook bought Instagram, and Google countered that with Nik Software.

    Neither Google nor Viewdle is commenting on the alleged deal, so we’ll have to leave it in the rumor pile for the time being. We’ll update if we learn more.

  • FBI Spends $1 Billion On Nationwide Facial Recognition Program

    Privacy is dead. The Internet made sure of that a long time ago. It just takes a little snooping and people will be able to find all kinds of dirt on you. Even if our online identity is compromised, we can at least rest easy knowing that our physical appearance is still unknown to the masses, right?

    A report out of NewScientist reveals that the FBI is now beginning to roll out its $1 billion Next Generation Identification program. The program includes facial recognition software, iris scans, DNA analysis and voice identification. There was a report earlier that said the FBI would also create a tattoo database, but its unclear if that’s part of the same program. The program is being rolled out now and will be up across the entire nation by 2014.

    The program is obviously drawing tons of ire from privacy and civil rights proponents, but will the program actually help catch criminals? The FBI sure seems to think so as the software uses an algorithm to match faces up with criminal faces that they have on record. The software is reportedly even capable of picking criminals out of a crowd.

    The cause for concern comes from the FBI not being exactly open about the new technology. For now, they only have the faces of criminals in their database. What’s to stop them from collecting the faces of civilians though? What if the algorithm picks out the wrong person and the FBI ends up ruining the life of a completely innocent person?

    The cause for concern comes from how algorithms are currently used. Over the past two weeks, YouTube’s algorithm for catching copyrighted content flagged and took down live streams for the DNC and the Hugo Awards. Surely the FBI would use a far more sophisticated algorithm, right?

    Either way, your privacy has been dead for a long time. You already give to Facebook what the FBI wants out of this new software. All they really have to do is monitor Facebook for criminals. Most criminals appear to be stupid enough to use social networking sites while they’re in the act.

  • KLIK for iPhone: The First App With Facial Recognition Software

    Last month, WPN’s Abby Johnson spoke with Face.com CEO Gil Hirsch about his company, Face.com, and the potential of facial recognition software. In her interview with Hirsch, they touched on the potential of facial recognition software being used with social media sites in such a way that it could go beyond simply identifying the person to whom the face belongs but also determining the face/person’s age, gender, and even their mood.

    If you’re a little unnerved by how smart this photography software is – I know actual people who have more trouble recognizing faces than the Face.com API – I recommend you take in the video of the full interview below. As Hirsch (rather successfully) argues, facial recognition software shouldn’t be pigeon-holed for the draconian purposes of surveillance and security. In fact, when put into the hands of people, it can actually serve as a revolutionary utility for fun.

    Everybody got that? Face.com isn’t interested in security or surveillance applications for their software.

    So now that we the people are ready to try to have a little fun with facial recognition, Face.com has released KLIK 1.0 for iPhone, a camera app capable of automatically tagging photos of your Facebook friends via the innovative use of a real-time mobile facial recognition. However, before you allow those ebbing anxieties about software that can identify faces, this isn’t some Skynet protocol that’s matching up faces of strangers to some database of every face ever because… well, not only is that impossible, but it’s also not what Face.com is doing. Seriously.

    “Developing KLIK has proven that mobile real-time face recognition is possible, and not only adds value to the experience of taking and sharing photos, it also adds an element that’s almost like science fiction –only this is real life, and in the palm of your hand.”

    KLIK is able to identify faces is by connecting the app to your Facebook account. Through that, images captured on KLIK are matched with the photos of your Facebook friends in order to link your photo with the person. The app will automatically tag the photo of the person, which you can then choose to share on Facebook, Twitter, KLIK, or even just email it to someone. If for some reason your friend or friends have weird faces that aren’t so easily matched up with their Facebook photos, there’s a Learn option with KLIK that allows you to improve the recognition results.

    If you a Facebook user doesn’t have their photos available for public viewing, then KLIK won’t be able to tag that person in the photo you take with the app. In other words, KLIK isn’t going to breach any of your extant security settings on Facebook. I spoke with the Lead Product Manager of Face.com, Dan Barak, who assured that the use of KLIK doesn’t open up any additional privacy concerns. In function, the app is hardly any different than taking a photo on your iPhone, opening your Facebook app, uploading the photo, and then tagging your friend with it – except for the fact that KLIK expedites that process with rad facial recognition software.

    KLIK for iPhone

    Additional features of KLIK include a series of filters to dress up your photos so any of you Instagram-attached shutterbugs out there won’t have to go without the editing effects that you’ve grown to know and love.

    For a brief primer on how to use KLIK, check out the video Face.com put together below.

    The app is currently available in the iTunes App Store and, according to Barak, Face.com will soon be releasing versions supported by other platforms, like Android.

    Feel free to let us here at WPN know what you think about the app should you give it a try (you should – it’s actually kinda wild how well it matches faces in pictures). Like the case Hirch has made, why should such technology be terminally designated to oppressive police states? Go have fun with this app – finally, it’s the future we’ve been waiting for without the serving of dystopia.

  • New Japanese Facial Recognition Software Is Powerful, Scary

    Big brother alert!!! For those of you who don’t like the idea of CCTV monitoring your every move, the details a recent software breakthrough by Hitachi Kokusai Electric will probably make you soil your undergarments, or at least never leave the house without a mask. How does the idea of facial recognition software that can scan 36 million faces in one second sound? How about not only can the software scan that many different faces in such little time, but being able to actively index them as well?

    Scared yet?

    As pointed out by GeekOSystem.com, the applications for such software are naturally aimed at surveillance programs, ones that monitor a large number of people at a given time. Think sporting events, shopping malls, and public transportation hubs. Leading the article is a video that details the software, and shows the various applications its capable of. Let’s just say recognizing and storing these faces is only the beginning.

    Scanned faces can then be searched for in other footage, allowing the watchers to monitor the selected person’s activity, provided there’s additional footage of them available. GeekOSystem’s take on the application of such software is even more revealing:

    Once you have a face identified with the system, you can click the thumbnail and receive a wealth of search results, including every other clip the identified individual is in. This allows you to pick out someone sketchy in one scene and immediately see where they were before and after, plus it also allows you to upload a suitable photo and then use the system to see if the person is, or isn’t, in the area. That is, so long as they’ve glanced towards a camera.

    This sounds like something the British Government would wholly embrace.

  • iPhone-Based Facial Recognition Coming to a Police Department Near You

    Law enforcement officials are about to get some new technology that will help them quickly identify persons of interest while in the field.

    The MORIS case from BI2 Technologies is an iPhone add-on that allows police officers to take a quick photo with the device’s camera and cross-check criminal records databases to find a matching entry. And that’s not all it does. According to the Wall Street Journal –

    With the device, which attaches to an iPhone, an officer can snap a picture of a face from up to five feet away, or scan a person’s irises from up to six inches away, and do an immediate search to see if there is a match with a database of people with criminal records

    The gadget also collects fingerprints. Until recently, this type of portable technology has mostly been limited to military uses, for instance to identify possible insurgents in Iraq or Afghanistan.

    As soon as September of this year, over 1,000 MORIS units are expected to arrive at over 40 different police organizations across the country.

    They are about $3,000 a pop and will be available for Android OS in the future.

    How will various police departments use the new MORIS device? Simply, identification. If officers arrest an individual for a crime, they can use the MORIS to quickly determine the suspect’s actual I.D. and criminal history.

    Or, if police want to identify someone who isn’t carrying a valid photo I.D., viola!

    Of course, this is bound to raise serious concerns about privacy and constitutional rights. Would the snapping of a photo for use on the MORIS constitute an illegal search if it was done without a warrant and without resonable suspicion? If not, how about the iris scan? Under what circumstances will officers be able to force compliance with that measure?

    On the flip side, this tool could be wonderful for law-enforcement. Just imagine how many people are dishonest about their identity to police. What about wanted criminals who attempt to change their appearance to avoid capture? On site eye-scans would be a great tool in uncovering their deception.

    Here’s a video of the device in action –

    What do you think about the new tech? Let us know in the comments.