Apple makes 50-yr-old facial recognition go mainstream

Technology may now pop up at homes, in stores and on other phones

Thanks to Apple’s new iPhone X, facial recognition may finally be on the verge of breaking out with consumers.
 
The technology first developed in the 1960s has since been mostly relegated to the realm of government agencies and high-security firms. But if it follows the same path as Apple’s previous roll-outs, like fingerprint sensors, it’s just a matter of time before the technology starts popping up in homes, stores and on other phones, too.
 
While not everyone will buy the $999 high-end iPhone, rival electronics makers are already trying to figure out how they can incorporate the technology in their offerings. Start-ups selling their own versions of facial recognition say they’ve already seen a pick-up in demand since September 12, when Apple announced the iPhone X, aka 10.
 
“We now have a leader like Apple acknowledging that this makes sense,” said George Brostoff, chief executive officer of SensibleVision, a Cape Coral, Florida-based start-up that makes software for tablets and smartphones. “This makes companies like Motorola, LG come knocking on the doors of companies like ours.”
 
As is often the case, Apple isn’t the pioneer of the latest tech it’s now hyping. Amazon.com has filed for a patent to allow payments by taking a selfie, similar to a service Mastercard rolled out last year in Europe. Financial company USAA has offered facial recognition through its app for several years. Even with some heavy-hitters behind it, the technology seemed to be gaining little traction among consumers — until now.
 
Apple has a history of taking already in-use technologies and perfecting them — not to mention giving them the cool factor — so they can make the leap into the mainstream. Think of MP3 players and the iPod, tablets with the roll-out of the iPad and, most recently, with fingerprint readers.
 
Apple’s Face ID feature works by projecting and analysing more than 30,000 invisible dots to create a precise depth map of a user’s face. An infrared camera reads the pattern, captures an infrared image and confirms the match. Apple says its feature works in the dark, should resist getting tricked by photos or masks, and functions even when it’s really, really cold — something biometric fingerprint readers generally have a hard time with.
 
While Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 8 already offers facial recognition, it can be tricked with a photo, one developer claimed. In the past, the software also had trouble with bad lighting and with identifying people of colour — issues many hope Apple has solved.
 
“This is now a consumable technology,” said Peter Trepp, CEO of Encino, California-based FaceFirst, which sells its facial recognition software to law enforcement, airports and now retailers. “We are getting lots of calls, we are getting lots of interest. It’s clearly coming in a very big way.”

© Bloomberg