Apple filed a patent for face recognition.

WorldWide tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Yesterday Apple filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office that outlines a method of face recognition for taking an iOS device out of sleep mode.

Maybe an upcoming feature on the next version of the iPhone or iPad?

Apple mentions that the software would isolate unique facial features in addition to specific skin tones to recognize a face. The software would memorize the attributes to the face, but the user may potentially have to reset the scan after any form of facial plastic surgery or something as simple as a sunburn.  

Apple is already utilizing face detection in the iPhone 4S for photography. The camera automatically detects up to 10 faces within the picture and sets the focus on the most prominent face.

 It’s likely that the current face detection software will be customized to work with facial recognition elements. Apple calls the new technology “low threshold face recognition” and is designed to work in many situations where lighting can be an issue. Facial recognition technology already exists on Google Android phones with the recent release of the Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

Google warns users that facial recognition offers lower security that using a pin or other password to lock the Android device.

Apple filed this patent 18 months ago and hasn’t issued any official comment on how this technology will be utilized in future devices. Any announcement concerning the use of facial recognition on iOS devices will likely come at the next Apple press conference.   

Link to Apple´s patent

UK: New software brings facial-recognition technology to mobile phones

Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed software for mobile phones that can track your facial features in real-time. Eventually it will be able to tell who the user is, where they are looking and even how they are feeling.

The method is believed to be unrivalled for speed and accuracy and could lead to facial recognition replacing passwords and PIN numbers to log into internet sites from a mobile phone.

"Existing mobile face trackers give only an approximate position and scale of the face," said Dr Phil Tresadern, lead researcher on the project. "Our model runs in real-time and accurately tracks a number of landmarks on and around the face such as the eyes, nose, mouth and jaw line.

"A mobile phone with a camera on the front captures a video of your face and tracks twenty-two facial features. This can make face recognition more accurate, and has great potential for novel ways of interacting with your phone."

Originally intended as part of a face- and voice-verification system for access to mobile internet applications such as email, social networking and online banking, alternative uses for the device could include fun applications that, for instance, attach virtual objects to the user's face as they move around.

"At this stage, we're particularly interested in demonstrating uses for the face-tracking part of the technology, which is the area The University of Manchester is involved in," said Dr Tresadern, who is based in Manchester's School of Cancer and Enabling Sciences. "It is very fast and I can't find anything that can rival it on a mobile phone."

Face verification is already used in laptops, webcams and the Xbox 360 Kinect but this is the first time the technology is being used with such sophistication in mobile devices such as smartphones.

The new software, built on 20 years of research at the University, has been demonstrated on a Nokia N900 for the EU-funded "Mobile Biometrics" (MoBio) project.

For further information about the project visit: http://www.mobioproject.org

Media enquiries to:

Aeron Haworth
Media Relations
Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences
The University of Manchester

Tel: 0161 275 8383
Mob: 07717 881563
Email: aeron.haworth@manchester.ac.uk