Facial recognition’s biometric software can identify facial structures, contours and expressions, making it a no-brainer for security and identification purposes.
Facial recognition’s biometric software can identify facial structures, contours and expressions, making it a no-brainer for security and identification purposes.
While many people today associate facial recognition with unlocking their iPhone, the technology can be applied in many other fields.
Mouthwash brand Listerine, for example, has created an app that uses facial recognition to notify the blind if they are being smiled at. Facial recognition may also enable checkout-free retail shops, eliminate concerts tickets, among other purposes.
In a report recently released by CB Insights, 16 industries are listed as having the potential to be transformed by facial recognition. Among them are retail,
casino, consumer electronics and
public events.
“While the technology is still developing, many companies (including Amazon) are banking on it as a disruptive force in a myriad of markets,” CB Insights says in the report.
Retail shops
Facial recognition presents a big opportunity in retail. The technology could capture what a shopper is looking at so that merchants may later serve up related promotions via email or online ads, CB Insights says.
Big brands have dabbled with facial recognition. Walmart has a patent that would capture and analyze face expressions of people waiting in lines to gauge their satisfaction.
e-commerce giant JD.com in China is using facial recognition in physical stores to identify shoppers. While exiting, customers will stand at a “Stand Here” sign marked on the floor, where all the merchandises carried by the customers are scanned, while the camera runs the facial recognition algorithm to charge the customers.
Estee Lauder-owned Smashbox partnered with Modiface, an augmented reality beauty company, “to use customer eye tracking insights to heat map the areas receiving more attention,” CB Insights’ report says. The retailer can then find out which features are more attractive and “iterate on its website to make the beauty shopping experience more relevant for consumers.”
At events
A company called Blink Identify last year received US$1.5 million from investors including Live Nation (which owns Ticketmaster) and Techstars Ventures. The company uses facial recognition to identify people entering an event without a ticket, reportedly in less than a second.
The technology may also be applied to recognize VIPs such as all-access or season ticket holders at events.
“Of course, this requires stadiums, arenas, concert halls and other venues to be equipped with facial recognition cameras or kiosks, and would still require some crowd control, including ways to remove those who aren’t authorized to be there,” CB Insights says.
Gambling & casinos
In casinos, facial recognition is closely associated with security. The technology can “spot regulars who might get VIP treatment, cut down on people known for cheating the house, and reduce incidents resulting from upsetting losses,” the report says.
The technology has recently been applied to gather business insights. “It helps provide insight on table games so that companies can optimize their casinos for maximum profit.”
Consumer electronics
Big brands like Apple, Microsoft and Samsung are already using face scanning to unlock phones, tablets or computers. Up to 54% of Americans are either using a facial recognition-equipped gadget or planning to use one to protect personal data, CB Insights notes.
HiMirror is a case in point. With facial recognition, the voice-controlled
smart mirror provides beauty advice to users. It also integrates
AI to offer daily skin analysis and personalized recommendations as well as augmented reality to allow users to try on makeup virtually.
Facial recognition can be very useful for the blind too. OrCam, for example, provides a wireless smart camera that reads text and identifies faces for the visually impaired.