|
 |
|
|
|
Are you good at remembering faces? Most people learn to recognise thousands of faces during their lifetime. But imagine what it would be like if computers could learn what you looked like, and even recognise you by name! |
|
|
|
|
|
Imagine living in a world where your class register was taken every morning at school by a computer. And every time you got to your front door, it unlocked automatically and greeted you by name. |
|
|
|
|
|
This isn't science fiction - it's science fact! Scientists have recognised that we all have different faces and they've used that fact to build a very clever system called Mandrake. Mandrake can recognise you by both face and name, and is capable of storing thousands of faces. |
|
|
|
|
|
Fearne and Kate tested Mandrake out in the studio. A photo of Kate is loaded in... |
|
|
|
|
|
...ready for the test. So - how does it work? Well, a camera is connected to the computer. When someone stands in front of it, the computer looks for a match. When one is found, the green light illuminates and the door unlocks. |
|
|
|
|
|
So - Kate stands in front of the camera, and a live snapshot is taken. This is then compared with all the faces that are stored in memory and a match is found. |
|
|
|
|
|
Eureka! |
|
|
|
|
|
But can the system be fooled by a fake Kate? All these ladies are about the same height as Kate, have the same colour hair and are wearing similar clothing. |
|
|
|
|
|
The real Kate sneaks in between the fake ones... |
|
|
|
|
|
...and the first fake Kate approaches the door... Spanshot taken... compared... no match found. |
|
|
|
|
|
...the second Kate approaches... snapshot taken... compared... ...and again, no match! |
|
|
|
|
|
Here comes the real Kate. Snapshot taken... compared... ...a match is found and the door opens. |
|
|
|
|
|
So how does it work? It finds the eyes on every face that it sees and measures where they are. It can also take up to 40 other facial measurements, like cheekbones and nose. |
|
|
|
|
|
These measurements are then compared with every other face stored in the computer, which tells you if it has found a match. |
|
|
|
|
|
It's a great system because it will only let the people through the door that you want. And it's so clever, it can compare 10,000 faces per second! |
|
|
|
|
|
This system can be hooked up to a CCTV camera in a High Street or shopping centre. If it spots the face of a wanted person, which the police will have loaded into the system in advance, it can raise the alarm! |
|
|
|
|
|
The system is so advanced it can even identify a disguised face like this one here (it's really Kate, sporting a fetching hat and nice ginger beard!)... |
|
|
|
|
|
...a snapshot is taken and Kate is still identified by the system despite the disguise! |
|
|
|
|
|
This is a system could revolutionise the fight against crime - and you saw it first on Eureka TV! |
|
|
|
|