Facial recognition is one of the trendiest new tech innovations, but what purpose does it actually serve? Here are just a few fantastic ways in which facial recognition technology could change our lives for the better.
Securing Your Phone
Modern smartphones are now incorporating facial recognition technology as a way of unlocking your phone. If fingerprint scanning wasn’t already a secure way of keeping strangers out of your phone, facial recognition makes it even more impossible for crooks to gain access, helping you to protect your personal data.
Tagging Photos On Social Media
The likes of Facebook have meanwhile employed facial recognition as a way of picking people out in photographs so that they can be tagged. This could be great if you’ve shared a photo containing a party of people and you want to quickly and conveniently let them all know that you’ve shared a photo of them.
Running Identity Checks
Facial recognition technology is also being used to check people’s face against their photo ID to ensure that they really are who they say they are.
Companies such as https://www.jumio.com/trusted-identity/netverify/ have started providing these tools to business so that they can screen clients and employees. Popular examples of usage include airport passport control centres and nightclubs.
Logging Into Online Banking
Some banks have also began using facial recognition as a secure means of logging in. If you’re the type of person that’s always forgetting your online banking log in details, this could be a great alternative.
This is best done using an app on your phone, unless you have a decent enough camera on your computer.
Recording College Attendance
Meanwhile, some colleges have recently been stamping down on slackers by using facial recognition software to keep a record of who is attending.
This could be useful in a lecture theatre where taking a register could otherwise take up valuable time. Such technology could also be used in the workplace to detect missing members in a large meeting.
This reminds me of the technology used in the TV show, Person of Interest. This may also help with missing persons but what if someone doesn’t want to be found?
Diagnosing Rare Illnesses
Facial recognition software has even found a use in the medical industry. There’s a rare condition known as DiGeorge syndrome that causes cognitive difficulties – it is extremely hard to detect other than a few minor facial symptoms.
Researchers have found a way of using facial recognition to diagnose this disease. The technology is thought to play a vital part in fighting the disease in Africa and South America where it is most prolific.
I recently heard of Doctors appointments via video chat which is fantastic for refilling prescriptions for things like birth control or flu and cold consultations. Add facial recognition into the mix and it could be the Doctor’s surgery of the future.
What could this mean for opticians and eye tests? If tech advances, which it will, going to the eye Doctor could be as easy as letting your computer scan your eyeballs, select your glasses and BOOM, they are delivered to your door the next day.
Finding Lost Pets
Apps such as Finding Rover are using facial recognition technology to also help find lost pets. By signing up a photo of your pet to https://findingrover.com/ and entering the location where you lost that pet, the app then searches all photos across the web in that area to help find your pet.
Someone may have shared a post on Facebook of your pet, which could then allow you to track your missing pet down. This app has already seen great results (many missing pets are often stolen – all it takes is for the thief to take a single picture of the pet and post it on social media and your pet could be found!).
I don’t know what I would do if Rambo ever went missing. Sure he has a microchip but this really blew my mind.
What are your thoughts on facial recognition technology and machine learning?