facial

Finding faces in Google Maps terrain

Something our human eyes seem to do, without any prompting, is to pick out shapes and structures that resemble other shapes and structures. Called pareidolia, it's a form of pattern recognition -- and a good example is the way we often see a human face where only a random collection of shapes or shadows exists. This, it is now known, is the reason for the infamous face on Mars.

Our own Earth, as folded and rippled as it is, is also prone to this phenomenon when viewed from above: the Badlands Guardian, discovered on Google Earth in 2006, for example. But we're sure there are many more human-esque faces lurking in strange corners of the Earth.

That is the premise behind Google Faces, a project by Berlin design studio Onformative: can pareidolia be imitated by a machine? Using OpenFrameworks, the studio has created an application that crawls Google Maps, using facial recognition algorithms to seek out areas that look like faces. … Read more

The looming big business of facial recognition

The odds are you are not just a face in the crowd any longer. Even if your picture isn't plastered all over social-networking and photo-sharing sites, facial recognition technology in public places is making it harder if not impossible to remain anonymous.

Lesley Stahl reports on the new ways this technology is being used that even has one of its inventors calling it too intrusive. Her "60 Minutes" report will be broadcast Sunday, May 19 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Professor Alessandro Acquisti of Carnegie Mellon, who researches how technology impacts privacy, stunned Stahl with an … Read more

Facial-recognition tech played no role in ID'ing bomb suspects

While surveillance video provided key images of the men suspected of planting bombs at the Boston Marathon, police use of facial-recognition software proved unhelpful in revealing their identities.

Despite several images of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from the scene of the deadly bombings and the existence of images of the brothers in official government databases, facial-recognition software was unable to put names to their faces, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis told the Washington Post in an interview published Saturday. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has a Massachusetts driver's license, while Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder brother who died Friday after a shootout with … Read more

FTC releases guidelines for facial-recognition use

Facial recognition isn't just science fiction anymore, and that's causing the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to issue some usage guidelines to protect the privacy of consumers.

The FTC has some pretty obvious recommendations -- like not putting facial recognition-equipped digital signs in bathrooms or where children gather. But it also makes some good points, such as how to provide consumers with simplified choices and increase the transparency of the data collection.

Importantly, the FTC said services should be designed with privacy in mind. That includes integrating data-security protections that help prevent unauthorized scraping for unintended secondary uses. … Read more

Pay $7 to promote your Facebook status?

Thursday's CNET Update never forgets a face:

Today's tech news roundup begins with a look at Facebook. The network is testing a feature that lets you pay to get your posts seen by more friends. Facebook first began testing this concept in May and it's already in 20 other countries. But it's rolling out to some U.S. users now, and the idea is to pay to show off big news or get more attention to an event. Facebook hasn't set an official price for this, but CNET staffers with the feature are asked to … Read more

Google confirms it's buying facial recognition firm Viewdle

The rumors have been confirmed, Google's Motorola Mobility is indeed acquiring the facial recognition technology company Viewdle.

"Motorola Mobility today announced that it has acquired Viewdle, a leading imaging & gesture recognition company," a Motorola spokesperson told CNET today. "Motorola and Viewdle have an existing commercial agreement and have been collaborating for some time. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed."

CNET reported on Monday that Google was about to close a deal to buy Viewdle, which is a Ukrainian maker of facial recognition technology that automatically tags photos. Apparently the acquisition had been in … Read more

Google buying face recognition firm Viewdle

Google is close to completing its deal to buy Viewdle, a Ukrainian maker of facial recognition technology that automatically tags photos, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The acquisition, which has been in the works for more than a year, is expected to close this week, the person said.

Representatives from Google and Viewdle declined to comment.

The move makes sense for Google because Viewdle's technology provides a way for users of Google+, Android, Picasa, and other services on a range of devices to easily (even, automatically) tag photos of friends. Viewdle's SocialCamera app automatically tags … Read more

The software that stops you smiling in New Jersey

New Jersey is a sprawling, cheery place.

It's a place whose buses carry the aspiring and the ambitious in excessive proximity, each one of them dreaming of a studio in Brooklyn.

It's a place with few great restaurants, but many people just happy to live their lives and not have to watch NBA games anymore. Until they finally get that studio in Brooklyn, that is.

How odd, then, that New Jerseyites aren't allowed to express their inner contentment when they have their driver's license picture taken.… Read more

Facebook scores points in Europe after disabling facial recognition

Facebook has finally satisfied the European Union by disabling facial recognition tagging.

Facebook, which was subjected to an audit by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), was under pressure to implement a variety of changes in Europe, mostly dealing with privacy and security issues. Last December, Facebook had promised to make the changes outlined in the audit document in order to comply with European regulations.

One stumbling block was facial recognition tagging, which prompts your Facebook friends to "tag" or identify you in photos in which you appear.

Facebook has now turned off the feature for European users. … Read more

Why you should be worried about facial-recognition technology

It could be time for you to start worrying about what Facebook might be doing with the identity information collected on you and "tagged" photos.

The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information in Germany has announced legal action against the company and charged that Facebook's use of facial-recognition technology is illegal.

In addition, the Federation of German Consumer Organizations is ordering Facebook to stop giving third-party applications users' data without their consent.

If the social network doesn't do this by Sept. 4, the FGCO will sue. Earlier this month, Norway also announced … Read more