Apple is an innovator and when it comes to bringing new features to smartphones and tablets that have a practical use, Apple is the best at it. With the addition of the fingerprint scanner on the iPhone 5S, Apple has unfolded a whole new category for mobile security. Even though you do not have to use the fingerprint scanner to access your phone, those that use the iPhone for business are sure happy for the option to keep emails, texts and other information safe from others. The fingerprint scanner is just a few months old, but is already part of rumors that suggest it could be replaced.
Apple was reportedly granted a patent in the United States for an invention that would use facial recognition as a security measure on a personal computing device. The idea for using facial detection on a mobile device is for added security, as well as ease of use. The invention could be applied to the latest iPhone, iPad, or even Mac computers, which are used by millions of people all over the country every day. The patent was first filed back in 2008 and includes three parts, with the first being facial detection application, another for facial recognition application and an input/output control application.
With all of these parts working together, a device would be able to recognize a user and determine if the use has the access needed to be using the device. If the user is approved, the system then activates functions that will make the process easier and more convenient. According to online sources, the system would not only recognize your entire face, but even just parts of your face that are stored as a vector file. That data could be shapes, skin tones and even the distance between your eyes.
In the patent filing it states, “In practice, the detection application can scan a defined area where a user is expected to appear, using knowledge-based, feature-based or template matching techniques to identify faces. A number of features are taken into consideration with the matching techniques, including relationships of facial features, identification of facial structures like skin tone, shape, and skin texture, and encoded learning models.” Individual parts of the phone could be hidden unless authorized by the recognition software and that would help to secure files, emails, texts or even browser history.
