Covid masks thwarting facial recognition tech, will investigate: US agency
Having a tough time recognising your neighbours behind their
pandemic masks? Computers are finding it more difficult, too.
A
preliminary study published by a US agency on Monday found that even the best
commercial facial recognition systems have error rates as high as 50% when
trying to identify masked faces.
The mask problem is why Apple earlier this
year made it easier for iPhone owners to unlock their phones without Face ID.
It could also be thwarting attempts by authorities to identify individual
people at Black Lives Matter protests and other gatherings.
The
National Institute of Standards and Technology says it is launching an
investigation to better understand how facial recognition performs on covered
faces. Its preliminary study examined only those algorithms created before the
pandemic, but its next step is to look at how accuracy could improve as
commercial providers adapt their technology to an era when so many people are
wearing masks.
Some
companies, including those that work with law enforcement, have tried to tailor
their face-scanning algorithms to focus on people's eyes and eyebrows.
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