Avoiding Facial Recognition of the Future 258
hypnosec writes "A New York-based designer has created a camouflage technique that makes it much harder for computer based facial recognition. Along with the growth of closed circuit television (CCTV) , this has become quite a concern for many around the world, especially in the UK where being on camera is simply a part of city life. Being recognized automatically by computer is something that hearkens back to 1984 or A Scanner Darkly. As we move further into the 21st century, this futuristic techno-horror fiction is seeming more and more accurate. Never fear though people, CV Dazzle has some styling and makeup ideas that will make you invisible to facial recognition cameras. Why the 'fabulous' name? It comes from World War I warship paint that used stark geometric patterning to help break up the obvious outline of the vessel. Apparently it all began as a thesis at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University. It addressed the problems with traditional techniques of hiding the face, like masks and sunglasses and looked into more socially and legally acceptable ways of styling that could prevent a computer from recognizing your face. Fans of Assassin's Creed might feel a bit at home with this, as it's all about hiding in plain sight."
Re:Cure worse than disease? (Score:4, Informative)
I agree, The best one I have seen so far was to hot glue IR Diodes to the brim of a baseball cap and wire them to a small battery pack inside the cap. All of the cameras are extremely sensitive to IR (So they can see at night) and it has the effect of whiting out your face to the camera but being unseen by anyone else.
Re:Cure worse than disease? (Score:5, Informative)
It would seem anyone running around painted this way would attract more police attention than just wearing a slouch hat.
With more and more automation in law enforcement, it isn't about fooling the police anymore, it's about fooling machines. As of late, law enforcement is pushing hard for automated electronic solutions which replace the venerable eyeball. GPS trackers are replacing stakeouts, speed and traffic light cameras replace traffic police, and facial recognition may be reducing the number of beat cops. When it comes to the state of the art with data mining and machine learning, there are a ton of corner cases to choose from -- a sight that may draw significant attention to a human being might be quickly discarded by an artificial neural network. Nobody will even care to look at the wig you're wearing as everyone's heads are now buried in their phones.
Re:We need a new fashion (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, they should - because that's the way they tend to catch idiots misusing MIRTs [wikipedia.org] - the pulse pattern is visible on the cameras.
Re:We need a new fashion (Score:2, Informative)
If you really want a good way to hide your license plate. Buy one cheap license plate cover, the kind with the acrylic cover and a fancy bezel. Pick up a couple of low power laser emitters and spread prisms. Search online for laser light plane, assemble it all into the license plate cover. Find a transparent film you can apply over the inside of the acrylic cover to filter the laser light (wouldn't want to blind anyone). Before you know it, your license plate will be a glowing rectangle on camera, but perfectly visible to the unaided eye.
If you put in some extra research on the types of cameras used, you can find the wavelengths they pick up and plan your laser purchases accordingly.