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• Face recognition software was first conceived in the 1960s. For a long time it was simply an idea of science fiction rather than science. Since the turn of the 21st century, face recognition software has become more advanced and has even been employed by security companies and police, although not always with the best results. Several consumer products like iPhoto and Picasa use a form of face recognition to help users sort and group photographs of people.

• Fast Facts

  1. Uses facial features as markersHow Stuff Works: Facial Recognition
  2. Usually obscured by hats and masksHow Stuff Works: Facial Recognition
  3. Tested by Logan Airport in BostonHow Stuff Works: Facial Recognition
  4. Tested by Tampa Bay, Florida police departmentHow Stuff Works: Facial Recognition
  5. Faces can be scanned for recognition without the subject's knowledgeCVI-S: Facicial Recognition Technology
  6. Face recognition usually works regardless of cosmetic changes such as makeup and facial hair or potentially obscuring objects like sunglassesCVI-S: Facicial Recognition Technology
  7. Integrated into the iPhoto '09 software
  8. In late 2008, face recognition technology assisted Washington police to arrest a suspect in an ATM theft caseGovernment Computer News: Face-recognition Tool Nabs ID Theft Suspect (December 12, 2008)

• CES 2009

  At CES 2009 Apple announced that face recognition was now part of the iPhoto software functionality. This advanced feature would allow iPhoto users to let the computer sort and group their images of people based on facial features and measurements used by the software. In January of 2009, several tech blogs reported that, contrary to original reports that the technology would only work on human faces, iPhoto's "Faces" also correctly identified cat faces.MacLife: iPhoto's Faces Recognizes Cats (January 27, 2009)

• Background

  Face recognition software works by being able to distinguish certain aspects of a human face and assigning nodal points to the image in order to draw a pattern from the face. These points include things like the distance between the eyes, the width of the nose, the cheekbone shape and the length of the jaw.How Stuff Works: Facial Recognition

• Related Pages on Mahalo

  iPhoto | iLife | Mac | Apple | Mac OS X | Picasa | CES 2009

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