Facial recognition specialist Sensory announced at Mobile World Congress 2018 that it is adding 3D camera and IR imaging support to its TrulySecure facial recognition. Not only can TrulySecure now parse images from 3D and infrared imaging modules, it can even combine them with traditional 2D images. This means vastly more accurate facial recognition in normal lighting, and the platform now has the ability to see users in the dark. Infrared technology can work in the dark, and many 3D cameras have some sort of external depth-sensing equipment that may or may not work in the dark, depending on how it’s implemented.
3D camera setups that utilize two or more normal 2D cameras usually use a system called time-of-flight to determine depth based on calculations involving the speed of light and the visual properties of objects in the frame. 3D facial recognition with these sorts of systems are now supported in TrulySecure. Other 3D imaging setups are mostly supported as well, including combination cameras that use a 2D sensor with infrared, sonic, and other special modules, such as the Microsoft Kinect. All of these sorts of imaging methods can be used independently by TrulySecure, or have their data combined across almost any configuration.
The implications of this development are actually more vast than they may initially appear. Sensory does sell its facial recognition technology to a number of tech firms around the world, and the software ends up in a number of top-selling smartphones, tablets, and laptops, among other devices. The enabling of 3D and IR facial recognition technology with such a popular solution may mean that we will see such hardware on popular consumer devices more often going forward. In this regard, it certainly doesn’t hurt that Sensory is reportedly working with top sensor makers to help propagate the spread of 3D imaging technology and its own software. With the rise of 3D facial recognition, the likes of device thieves and hackers will find it much harder, if not impossible, to spoof facial recognition systems with a picture or by presenting an individual who looks similar to the device owner.