Showdown: Facial feature detection vs. Facial feature analysis
by Nomadix Media
Posted on August 20, 2018
Pablo Picasso once said, “Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?”
Today, the answer is advanced technology.
With so much technical jargon circulating these days, it is hard to decipher what technology is what, what it does, and what it is good for.
Otherwise known as facial feature recognition or landmark detection, facial feature detection (FFD) is able to analyse an individual’s facial features or ‘landmarks’ such as nose, mouth, eyes, and cheekbones. The software takes this information and uses an intuitive algorithm to – basically – turn the patterns of your face into a set of data. The algorithm uses this data to compare it to a bio-metric photo database, which then accurately identifies individuals from the stored information.
If you have recently been to an EU airport, you will have interacted with this software going through passport control. The technology is very powerful; the precision accuracy of the algorithms and vast bio-metric photo database has provided the opportunity for widespread security.
The technology is now being implemented into further roles, with plans to include FFD into the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Athletes, media, and volunteers will be required to verify their ticket with a face scanner to enter. The scanner will verify the individuals face against the ID card and stored the facial image (which will be submitted before the event) to gain access. Perhaps this technology could be introduced to prevent ticket touts? And even beyond the realms of security to create completely personalized advertisements?
Facial feature analysis (FFA) is much the same as FFD and measures the same ‘landmarks’ of an individual. However, this technology doesn’t use the data to identify individuals. Rather identify the characteristics of an individual (e.g. age and gender).
At NomadiX, we use FFA in our iWalker technology – which we think is something pretty special. Our iWalkers are able to read an audience and determine the age and gender of individuals, and then display tailored ads to the relating demographic. With the help of advanced algorithms, we can report to clients on the characteristics of an audience and levels of engagement with content. FFA is an revolutionary marketing and media tool, which allows us to individually target audiences in a way unmatched through traditional advertising and reduces 'advertising waste'.
Now, I know your dying to ask. GDPR recognises a person’s facial features, is well, personal to them and should be protected just as much as their bank details, the processing, and storage of this data should be done with the utmost security.
Our iWalker technology does not record the data against a biometric database – and is completely GDPR compliant. We store absolutely no personal information about the audience which could be used to identify them. While our software uses similar technologies to FFD, in terms of how what we measure faces, our algorithm produces data only on age and gender.
iWalker technology has the incredible potential to revolutionize the industry. Being able to read the demographics of an audience – and be GDPR compliant – is something unmatched globally. Our technology is pioneering in the field of media and advertising, we are the first to introduce this technology to the market in the hope we can change the landscape of the digital media industry and effectiveness of advertising.
If you would like to learn more about how you can deliver targeted advertising on a mass scale, get in touch today.