What is Facial Recognition ?

Facial recognition technology works by mapping the underlying bone structure of the face, for example, the distances between eyes, nose, mouth and ears. The measurements are then digitally coded to be used for comparison and verification purposes.

A facial recognition device is one that views an image or video of a person and compares it to one that is in the database. It does this by comparing structure, shape and proportions of the face; distance between the eyes, nose, mouth and jaw; upper outlines of the eye sockets; the sides of the mouth; location of the nose and eyes; and the area surrounding the check bones.

Upon enrolment in a facial recognition program, several pictures are taken of the subject at different angles and with different facial expressions. At time of verification and identification the subject stands in front of the camera for a few seconds, and then the image is compared to those that have been previously recorded.

To prevent a subject from using a picture or mask when being scanned in a facial recognition program, some security measures have been put into place. When the user is being scanned, they may be asked to blink, smile or nod their head. Another security feature would be the use of facial thermography to record the heat in the face.

The main facial recognition methods are: feature analysis, neural network, eigenfaces, automatic face processing.

Biometric face recognition systems will collect data from the users' face and store them in a database for future use. It will measure the overall structure, shape and proportion of features on the user's face such as: distance between eyes, nose, mouths, ears, jaw, size of eyes, mouth and others expressions. Facial expression is also counted as one of the factors to change during a user's facial recognition process. Examples include, smiling, crying, and wrinkles on the face.