• by Andrew , April 9, 2007

Bioscrypt, a Toronto-based company who has pioneered the field of visual recognition and authentication, has developed a new product to use a users' face as the access control tool.  This new webcam-type device utilizes 3D face recognition technology to authenticate users.  So in order to access someone else's computer, I simply need to make a rubber mask of their face, right?

Maybe it's not quite that easy.  Bioscrypt has developed their system to use 40,000 points of recognition in a 3D mesh.  It will also accommodate varying head positions and a wide range of lighting conditions.  But just how accurate can this technology be?  I have doubts that this technology could recognize my face on a fairly consistent basis without telling me that I am not an authorized user.  And what happens if I my facial expression is different from uninterested and mundane expression that has been recorded in the database?  Will the system be able to tell the difference?  

Regardless, I think this technology is amazing.  Think about where this could take the video and photography industries.  If Bioscrypt has created cameras and algorithms that recognize 40,000 points on the human face, how will this technology be adapted in the use of 3D photographs, movies, and even holograms?  It sounds like something straight out of Star Wars.  In Star Wars, R2-D2 is famous for projecting the 3D video of Princess Leia begging Obi Wan Kenobi for help.  This technology can definitely revolutionize the world of 3D virtualization by replicating more realistic and accurate depictions of people, places, and objects.  Disney is releasing their newest animated feature film "Meet the Robinsons" today in Disney Digital 3D.  IMAX theaters have released 3D films as well.  But these all require that you wear special glasses to make the image appear 3D.  With the technology being utilized in Bioscrypt's face recognition system, the viewer would no longer need those dorky-looking glasses to see the video in three dimensions.  Think of it as being able to hop on down to the holodeck of the Starship Enterprise.