The Face ID security feature from Apple is one of the best form of facial recognition system found in a smartphone. But, it can apparently be made even more secure by making distinct facial expressions.

According to a BYU report (Via Gizmodo), facial recognition is one of the better forms of biometric security but there are still various tricks that can be used to circumvent the systems (including a static photo of one’s face). But now, researchers have developed a new algorithm that could help in deal with these issues by having the user register a distinct facial movement. This could even involve making funny faces while registering a new face into a smartphone.

Notably, the Cupertino based giant’s implementation of the facial recognition uses a front facing TrueDepth camera, which maps and matches the physical geometry of the users’ face. Meaning, a simple flat picture can not fool the system. Although, this system isn’t perfect either as researchers have found ways to circumvent Face ID as well, by accessing someone’s iPhone when they are asleep. D.J. Lee, as electrical and computing professor at Brigham Young University, proposed that there is a simple and effective method to greatly raise the difficulty of comprising a facial recognition system.

This system is called the Concurrent Two-Factor Identity Verification or C2FIV, which would require users to register themselves by performing a specific and easily repeatable facial motion that would only take a couple of seconds. In other words, people can just make a funny face, or silently read a secret phase, which would have their lips move. These motions would then be recorded along with the basic facial features as well. Basically, the system would record subtle ways one’s face changes as muscles expand and contract.

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The post Here’s how Facial Expressions could made Apple Face ID more secure appeared first on Gizmochina.

Railway stations in major cities will soon use facial recognition technology to assist in identifying criminals in India by the end of 2020. This move has been heavily criticized by digital rights campaigners that claim it is a significant breach in privacy in the absence of relevant laws.

The new facial recognition system will be installed in key railways stations and is being tested in India’s tech hub, Bengaluru. This system will have to scan approximately 500,000 commuters every day and will utilize artificial intelligence which will match scanned faces against the police database of criminals. A senior Indian Railway official has stated that the move will make the railways a “virtual fortress without a physical, brick and mortar boundary wall, we will be able to make the whole system more secure.”

The Indian Railways is one of the biggest railways networks in the world which spans across the entire nation and connects major cities to distant corners of the country, carrying about 23 million people or the entire population of Taiwan in a single day. However, despite its significance in transportation, it is also been known to have been used by human traffickers to lure millions of females and children. These criminals con people with attractive offers of jobs, but are then sold into slavery or bonded labor to pay of debt.

The idea behind the inclusion of the facial recognition technology to catch criminals is sound but could potentially carry a lot of risks as well. This has caused supporters and detractors of the new technology. On one hand, the system can be used to great effect and vastly improve security while others say it comes at a notable loss of privacy and perpetual surveillance.

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India is currently preparing to implement a nationwide facial recognition system, one of the largest in the world, which is already utilized in certain airports. However, as India advances in the technical field its laws have yet to catch up with modern laws concerning digital privacy. This has even led to a backlash from human rights group. In 2017, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that individual privacy is a fundamental right but the latest data protection bill which was introduced in parliament gives the Government the power to ask electronics based firms to hand over users’ data.

The Indian Railway’s facial recognition software will store a person’s face in the system for up to 30 days and will only be accessible to the Railway Protection force under an authorized person. According to Raman Jit Singh Chima, Access Now Director (an Asian digital rights group) the new system has been labeled “dangerous” since it did not reveal which third parties were involved and how data was handled or accessed.

Similar to railway stations, there are plans for including similar technology onboard trains as well, with security cameras being installed in 1,200 out of 58,000 carriages. The senior railway official also claimed that this was the only method through which a country like India with such a large population can be monitored and “policing has to be tech-based.”

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(Source,Via)

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When Apple announced the iPhone X with a full-view screen, apart from the expansive display one other feature which stood out is the 3D facial recognition technology which the device packs. The iPhone X represents a huge change in terms of design and features for the iPhone lineup, which ever since its inception had offered users a physical home button. However. Apple decided to ditch the home button and subsequently, the Touch ID on the iPhone X, replacing it with a facial recognition system dubbed Face ID.

The iPhone X’s Face ID feature has continued to receive positive reviews even though the device is still new in the market. The implication is that rival OEMs won’t waste time before debuting a similar feature on their models. Already, there are reports that Xiaomi, as well as Samsung, are working in conjunction with Qualcomm for the use of 3D Facial recognition on their flagships. OPPO has now been fingered to be working on a Facial Recognition technology with Qualcomm. The latest report is that Xiaomi and OPPO are fine-tuning arrangements with Qualcomm for the debut of the technology on their flagships next year.

The 3D Facial Recognition technology is said to be jointly developed by Qualcomm and Wonder Vision while the sensor module will be supplied by Reliance Optoelectronics. The facial recognition solutions would reportedly enter mass production around March and April next year. Apart from the trio mentioned here, Huawei is also tipped as working with Sunny Optical Technologies to develop 3D sensor solutions for its high-end models. In China, Ophelia optical technology is also said to be developing a similar technology and is expected to cooperate with domestic manufacturers in the near future.

Read Also: Qualcomm’s 3D Facial Recognition To Power Samsung, Xiaomi Flagships Next Year

First, it was the full-screen design that has turned into the current trend, are we about seeing another revolution in the industry that could see a reduction in the use of fingerprint recognition technology.By the way, we don’t see the fingerprint sensor going anywhere anytime soon.

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The post Xiaomi & OPPO Working On 3D Facial Recognition Similar to iPhone X appeared first on Gizmochina.

When a Facebook user is unable to sign in into his account, he can rely on the two-factor authentication that asks for a mobile phone number so that a confirmation code can be sent to it through SMS. It seems that apart from this method of regaining control of the account, Facebook will be soon provide another option of facial recognition to confirm the identity of the user for unlocking an account. Facebook has confirmed that it is currently testing the new account authentication feature.

According to Facebook, the facial recognition feature for verifying an account will be only available on those devices that users have already used to log in. Currently, it is testing it by making the feature available to a small number of users. If the feature proves to be reliable and cannot be fooled by hackers, it may be made available to wider audience. A screenshot of the new facial scanning feature has been shared by Matt Navarra from The Next Web.

NEW! Facebook working on a facial recognition feature to help secure your account

h/t Devesh Logendran pic.twitter.com/demol4dKj1

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) September 29, 2017

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Here is how the facial recognition feature will work on Facebook. Users will be required to hold their phone to their face and then the Facebook app will scan the face and compare it with the tagged images and videos of the user that are present on the site. Once a match is found, the account will be unlocked.

For wider acceptance, Facebook will have to ensure that the facial scanning feature is highly reliable and it cannot be hacked by using a picture of a user. The company is not new to facial scanning technology as it has been using it for years when it makes suggestions for tagging. When a photo is uploaded on Facebook, it is automatically scanned to detect faces it recognizes from the profiles of friends and then it provides suggestions on tagging. In the previous year, Facebook had acquired a company called FacioMetrics, a facial recognition software company. Facebook had claimed that it had bought FacioMetrics to rival with SnapChat for adding effects to photos and videos.

Do you think Facebook’s facial recognition feature will be reliable and unhackable? Share us your thoughts by adding your comments below.

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The post Facebook to Add Facial Recognition Feature Soon for Unlocking Account appeared first on Gizmochina.

The smartphone industry has evolved from the use of passwords to unlock the device to the use of fingerprint technology and then, there is iris recognition technology which does more things than just unlocking the device. Recently, we got words that Apple was developing a Facial recognition technology which would be used on the iPhone 8. It has now emerged that apart from Apple, Qualcomm and Xiaomi are also working on their own facial recognition technology which would feature on their flagship products. Xiaomi’s own facial technology is said o debut in the fourth quarter of this year, just in time for it to be used o the expected flagship Mi Mix 2.

Earlier reports had revealed that Apple’s own Facial Recognition technology will support 3D sensors and can achieve facial recognition in just milliseconds, meaning it is very fast. When Apple released the firmware for its HomePod smart speaker, developers were able to get information from the code regarding the iPhone 8’s facial recognition technology and that it won’t just unlock the device but will also support Apple Pay payment verification and other third-party applications, just like the Touch ID does.

This growing trend of using facial recognition instead of the fingerprint technology is predicted to grow wider due to the increasing use of full-screen display technology on most phones.  Full-screen phones are gradually expanding and are seen as a trend which would occupy up to half of the entire mobile phone market in the foreseeable future. Reseach firn CINNO Research places the market share of large display smartphones at 6% this 2017 but projects that the figure will get up to 50% in 2018 and by 2021, it would hit 93%.

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For now, not much is known as to how secure this technology is when compared to fingerprint recognition. We’ll find out more as time goes on but it must be noted that the emphasis on this technology is the 3D depth of field function and so a 2D photo taken in the past cannot be used to by-pass the system unlike fingerprint technology and thus, this improves security. No doubt, it sounds interesting and with Xiaomi adopting it so early, this might just keep fuel lingering talks of the company imitating Apple. What’s your take on this? Let us know in the comment section.

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