The Faces of Faces

It turns out that Big Frank really didn't know what a big deal face recognition is. The variation in faces is a known issue and one that causes issues with face recognition, not only for us - the lay people, the citizens, and face gazers, as it were, but especially for those scientists who are madly scrambling to get the face recognition software in place so that cameras can be mounted, crowds can be scanned, and our faces can be read like fingerprints. This is done by use of an algorithm that can analyze the relative position, size, and/or shape of different parts of the face. Then these features are used to search for other images with matching features. There are also newly emerging technologies that focus on distinctive characteristics of the face using 3D technology, and skin texture analysis is also being looked into. Still, while the systems have seen some success with full frontal recognition, when the person turns more than 20 degrees there is a problem. Profiles present major issues.

There are a number of databases available on the web - some for free. The pictures above were taken from a couple that can be found here. There is a lot of work being done in this as can be seen from the the number of universities, and private companies involved. However, aside from the privacy issues, once this software is down just imagine that great things that can be done with it. One thing would be the start of a database/website where people could go. In it, for example, could be a section where you can find people that look like you and could start a club where everyone looked exactly like you!