It's an idea that could have a big impact on security issues. Apple is set to improve the Photos app with a new patent that allows the iPhone to recognize the person in a photo not only through their face, but also through their gestures and body language.
It's been over 10 years since the Apple introduced the facial recognition in Photos, but even today the technology has a tendency to get confused. The idea is to eliminate recognition errors by introducing metrics that identify the person solely beyond the phase. This comes from body language, typical gestures and even static images of the person's torso, giving an idea of their volume, in order to draw a more accurate profile of their identity.
The patent is titled Recognizing People by Combining Face and Body Cues. The patent documentation Apple exemplifies situations where standard facial recognition may fail, detailing how gesture identification can add more accuracy to the feature:
Patent registered by Apple uses not only the face, but gestures and body language to recognize people in an image (Image: Apple/Disclosure)
“With the proliferation of mobile devices with cameras, users can capture multiple photos of different people and objects in different environments and geographic locations,” the patent states. “However, categorizing and organizing these images can be challenging. Facial recognition is often used to identify someone in multiple images, but it can fail to recognize them. For example, in cases of poor-quality images, the pose of the person or whether they are looking away from the camera.”
Because of these small details, the Apple suggests creating a “group” of features of an object in the photo, not just its face: “Images captured over a period of time can be grouped into ‘moments,’ where each moment represents a set of temporally consistent still images. Put another way, a ‘moment’ consists of images captured within the same generalized location (e.g., your home, a restaurant, or other place) and with the same estimated time of predetermined duration.”
The photos you take at home in the morning, for example, are analyzed by the image recognition algorithm. Apple, storing the information in what the company called “multidimensional abstract embedded space” – basically, a mini database with information relating to the person portrayed in the photos.
It continues: “This is not only based on facial features, but also on additional details about the body, such as the torso, of the people appearing in the photos,” commented the Apple, then highlighting that the characteristics would not always be the same – people change clothes, which already changes the presentation of the torso, for example. In other words, the face continues to be the primary identification of the target of the photo, but other details, such as body shape, clothing texture, poses and the like will also be considered by the system”.
The iPhone recognizing people by gestures is certainly a breakthrough for Apple. However, like any patent, it is not possible to say that this will, in fact, become a product or resource within any offering of the Apple. But the fact that the company has already acknowledged the possibility of using the new feature within its Photos app puts it ahead of other ideas. The company, however, has not committed to any launch.
Source: Apple Insider