Facial Recognition: Is It Viable?

1. Facial Recognition: Is It Viable? By: Mark J. Powell April 29, 2010

2. What is Facial Recognition? • Views an image or video of a person and compares it to a similar image stored in the database. • Compares structure, shape, and proportion of the face. “Facial Recognition,” 2010

3. What Does Facial Recognition Do? • Takes several pictures of a person at various angles and with numerous facial expressions. • Several landmarks of the face help to distinguish one person from another. • Peaks and valleys • Distance between the eyes, depth of eye sockets • Width of the nose • Shape of the cheekbones • Jaw line length “How Facial Recognition Systems Work,” 2010

4. How Is It Used? • To identify a person. • It detects a person, scans and measures the facial features and compares the photo taken to one saved in the database. • Increased security measures • Recognizes threats such as intruders and unauthorized users “How Facial Recognition Systems Work,” 2010

5. Who is using facial recognition? • The government • Departments of Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and State • Center for Identification Technology Research (CITer) • Law enforcement • Identify criminals and terrorists • Private firms • Identify employees (not widespread) “Federal Programs,” 2010

6. Costs of Facial Recognition • Used to cost tens of thousands of dollars • Government and large corporations only • Less expensive now • Few hundred dollars per desktop • More accessible to smaller businesses and individuals “Biometrics,” 2010

7. Facial Recognition: Pros/Cons Pros Cons Environmental conditions can alter photo capture Lighting, resolution, camera angle. Non-cooperation of person Not looking at camera, wearing articles of clothing such as hats and sunglasses, moving too fast to capture photo. Unreliable on its own Used best in combination with another identification method such as passwords or fingerprint scanning. • Contact free • Person can be scanned from a distance • Even when the person is not aware • Integrates with existing surveillance systems • Not required to install a new security system or change an existing system • Costs • Getting cheaper • Will continue to decrease if this technology becomes standard “Biometrics,” “How Facial Recognition Systems Work,” “Facial Recognition,” 2010

8. Recommendation • I would not recommend the use of facial recognition. • Should not be used as a sole security method • Despite costs going down, it is best used in conjunction with another security method • May result in an overall higher costs for the company • Unreliable due to outside factors • Captured picture may become altered from a variety of sources • Distorted pictures = useless security measure

9. References • “Biometrics.” Reference for Business.2010. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/A-Bo/Biometrics.html • Bonsor, K., and Johnson, R. “How Facial Recognition Systems Work.” How Stuff Works. 2010. http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/facial-recognition.htm • “Facial Recognition.” Biometric Solutions. 2010. http://www.findbiometrics.com/facial-recognition/ • “Federal Programs.” Biometrics.gov.2010. http://biometrics.gov/ReferenceRoom/FederalPrograms.aspx