What is Face Recognition Technology? And its benefits

Gone are the days of feeling awed about fingerprint technology or voice technology! These are slowly but surely being replaced by Face Recognition Technology, which used to be a sci-fi fantasy until recently. It essentially means using technology to identify a person with the help of that their facial contours. To understand the answer to the question What is Face Recognition Technology, read along!

What is Face Recognition Technology?

Simply put, face recognition is recognizing a human face with the help of technology. There is biometrics in place that calculates the facial features from either a photograph or a video. These features are then compared with the database of already known faces. The Facial Recognition AI then presents the result with the most matched features.

The idea of this technology has been around since the 1960s. However, the turning point was 2001, when law enforcers used it to identify attendees at Super Bowl XXXV. The technology steadily developed until it became a common feature in computers by the 2010s. In the latter part of the last decade, we saw facial recognition in smartphones, laptops, and other personal devices. Though it has been cited as an invasion of privacy, tech giants are constantly improving Face Recognition Technology.

Unsurprisingly though, Facial Recognition is not just used to unlock your smartphones. Many sectors take the help of this unique technology, such as healthcare, education, law enforcement and banking. It is astounding to see how well it is flourishing all around!

How does Facial Recognition Work?

Facial recognition is pretty self-explanatory. Facial Recognition Technology works exactly how humans recognize others with their facial features. Instead of the brain, however, the system has a large-scale, algorithmic database. Once the face is put in, the technology tries to match it with the most similar face in the database.

Step One: The Facial Recognition Software detects the face and puts it in a bounding box. The algorithm then ensures whether it’s a face or not based on different data entries. It is better if the face in the photo is looking straight at the camera – or at least not sideways.

Step Two: The Facial Recognition AI then carefully maps out the facial features with the face’s geometry. This usually includes the distance between the eyes, the length of the face, the chin’s shape, the nose, and the mouth. These lengths are then fitted together to create their unique face signature.

Step Three: This signature features a unique mathematical formula. This formula is then compared with the facial database and used to recognize the person’s identity. In some Facial Recognition Software, people are categorized. In simpler words, the AI doesn’t confirm the identity but distinguishes the person into different groups, such as age, gender, race, etc.

Benefits of Face Recognition Technology

1. Helps in Finding Missing People or Criminals: 

Law enforcement agencies utilize Face Recognition System to find missing people, even if they have been missing for weeks, months or years. Inversely, such agencies can also identify criminals and lawbreakers. With the help of Facial Recognition AI and its close connection to live alerts, the law enforcers can get real-time results. 

2. Offers better Theft Protection:

Businesses and organizations, such as airports, shops, storage units and banks, need constant security and can benefit greatly from Face Recognition Technology. The mere presence of such a system is enough to ward off any lawbreaker, drastically reducing the possibility of theft.

3. Detects genetic disorders easily:

Medical spaces have lately been using Facial Recognition to detect and determine genetic disorders. How does facial recognition work here? It analyses the facial landmarks, finding out different genetic mutations. These mutations can decide if the patient has a particular disorder or not. The technology makes the process easier and more efficient.

4. Decreases the percentage of human interaction:

This technology needs no direct human touch – just show your face, and the process starts. Facial Recognition AI enables this automatic work, where you don’t have to perform functions like putting in the password or even unlocking the door. It is especially beneficial in the COVID-19-riddled world, where every touch can be potentially harmful.

ConclusionAdmittedly, a much-heated debate is going on about the advantages and disadvantages of Facial Recognition Technology. However, one has to understand that it is still developing and is bound to have a few chinks in its armour. And yet, the field in itself is booming; it won’t hurt you to look into it!