Second Story isn’t content to leave window shoppers guessing at whether or not they can afford that dress or buy it in mauve. A new project at the creative studio uses the combination of a Kinect for Windows sensor with a Planar LookThru transparent …
Don’t tell Google, but its latest X lab project is something performed by the great internet public every day. For free. Mountain view’s secret lab stitched together 1,000 computers totaling 16,000 cores to form a neural network with over 1 billion c…
If you’re not joining the Galaxy S III bandwagon and aren’t keen on feeling completely left out, the ISeeYou app can give you a hand. Mimicking Sammy’s SmartStay feature, the app prevents your ICS device from slipping into sleep mode when you’re star…
Facial detection is a big emerging technology in the smartphone space and Microsoft Research Asia is working on staying at the cutting edge. Microsoft scientists released a software development kit this week that includes several of Microsoft’s latest face detection algorithms, including a face detection system that “tries to detect every face that appears in an image” and “identifies the face position of individuals pictured in the image” — a face alignment feature that can locate the individual elements of each face, including the eyes, mouth and nose; and, most intriguingly, a face tracking feature that can find individual faces during live video streams and thus let users “use head movement to interact with a Windows Phone.” Microsoft has released three
Apple patent documentation made public this week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office indicates that the Cupertino-based company is exploring different ways to utilize the forward-facing camera on its devices. The patent, which was uncovered by AppleInsider, describes a system that could scan and detect a user’s face to unlock a device. If the user cannot be identified by the system, he or she would by asked to enter a security code, much like Google’s face unlock technology. Apple isn’t looking to use face detection to simply unlock a user’s device, however. After a user’s face is recognized, the software could be used to set pre-determined settings and launch various applications. “If the detected human face is recognized… an
Apple patent documentation made public this week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office indicates that the Cupertino-based company is exploring different ways to utilize the forward-facing camera on its devices. The patent, which was uncovered by AppleInsider, describes a system that could scan and detect a user’s face to unlock a device. If the user cannot be identified by the system, he or she would by asked to enter a security code, much like Google’s face unlock technology. Apple isn’t looking to use face detection to simply unlock a user’s device, however. After a user’s face is recognized, the software could be used to set pre-determined settings and launch various applications. “If the detected human face is recognized… an
The United States Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday published an Apple patent application related to face and presence detection that could be used to help keep iOS devices secure. Patently Apple said the company’s application describes a technology that could allow a user to unlock his or her device by simply looking at it. Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) already features face detection, but it can easily be tricked according to reports, and doesn’t always work. Apple’s solution details a way to analyze a user’s mouth, the tip of a nose and eyes, and the distances between each of those facial features to determine whether or not a person is is the owner of the iOS device. The reliance on 2D
It’s been a long time coming, but with the introduction of Ice Cream Sandwich, Android finally takes a significant leap forward in terms of camera and gallery features. The camera interface is completely new — it’s faster and easier to use with i…
