Facial recognition software

Couple interesting posts about how this cool as hell (and rather scary) technology is making its creepy, but probably bloody effective, way into advertising.

First this one about Smile recognition from Switched

Smile-Measuring Device Knows How Happy or Sad You Are
by Evan Shamoon, posted Oct 12th 2007 at 9:17AM

Facial-recognition specialist OMRON has unveiled its latest catalyst in bringing about the impending marketing and focus-group apocalypse. It's a "smile detector" -- essentially a piece of software capable of objectively measuring the smiles of humans (and eventually humanoids, we presume), and attributing to them a percentage rating. Enjoying that television show/site/"adult film"? Pretty soon "They" will know, down to the nearest self-loathing grimace.

The system -- which was shown at the Japanese consumer electronics show CEATEC last week -- analyzes faces using a 3D model-fitting technique; it's able to tell identity people, estimate age and gender, and track pupil or eyelid movements. The company claims the OKAO, as the recognition-system is called, is also an "unbiased piece of software, capable of measuring the facial features of all ethnicities." Even Michael Jackson.

We tried out the age-recognition feature last week in Tokyo and were disappointed to see it get our age wrong by 10 years (that said, we were flattered, because OKAO thought we were a decade younger).

Of course, there are other, somewhat less apocalyptic uses for the technology as well, including identity theft prevention, building-entry management, driver monitoring systems in cars (to make sure you don't fall asleep and what not), access control for age-restricted content, and cameras that ensure everyone in the frame is smiling before the picture is taken.
Say (String) Cheese(TM).
From Gizmag

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And this from PSFK - Ads That Watch Their Audience
February 2, 2009

TruMedia Technologies and Studio IMC have developed technology that enables electronic advertisements to evaluate the age and gender of their audiences and track how long individuals are watching these ads. The technology utilizes small sensors or cameras that are embedded in or around video screens in combination with facial recognition software that manufacturers claim can accurately determine gender 85 to 90 percent of the time. Age is more difficult to predict and for the time being at least, falls into broader categorizations - child, teen, adult, senior - with a higher margin of error.

While the industry is still in its infancy, advertisers are starting to catch on, lured by the ability to measure the effectiveness of their ads in reaching a target demographic. The further applications of this technology allow advertisers a means of creating a tailored ad experience that can seemingly be changed on the fly depending on the person watching. Imagine a cosmetics commercial cutting to the latest brand of power tool as an adult male steps in front of the monitor and our Sci-Fi futures are being realized as we speak.

This worries some privacy advocates who feel this new technology smacks of Big Brother pervasiveness and for good reason, considering that most viewers won’t even be aware that they’re being watched. The makers, however, insist the technology is innocuous and assure that none of the information being gathered is stored for longer than the amount of time necessary to properly assess the audience. And while it remains to be seen how widely this service will be adopted, it’s a good reminder of our relationship to the advertisements that follow us throughout our daily lives. If they’re going to be observing us then perhaps we need to be holding them a little more accountable for what exactly it is they’re trying to sell us.