Spy-blocking goggles take camera-shyness to a new level.

Privacy Visor Near-infrared lights create noise that prevents a camera's facial recognition software from registering your features. National Institute of Informatics

Worried about people stalking you on Facebook Graph Search? Soon you may be able to pose for every picture in a privacy visor that would prevent facial recognition software from identifying you in photographs.

Japanese scientists are developing a pair of glasses that can protect against facial recognition software used by social networks and in hidden cameras.

To obscure a person's face, the "privacy visor" uses a near-infrared light source that human vision cannot see, but a camera can. The small lights around your eyes and nose inhibits facial recognition software from registering your features when your photo is taken.

The prototype's creator, Isao Echizen of the National Institute of Informatics in Japan, says the glasses would be reasonably priced. Companies have expressed interest in commercializing the product since it was broadcast on TV Tokyo last year.

On the down side, they're not quite as fashionable as Google Glasses, and require lugging around a pocket power supply.

[BBC]

10 Comments

Hint....a mask would work just as well, and honestly would probably freak fewer people out (means less attention drawn toward you).

I miss the days, when spies wore funny mustaches, big rubber noses, wigs, glasses, strange cloths and walked with limp ..... Nostalgia sigh....

Oh, and made communications with their shoe phone! ;)

Bagpipes, the best solution is often the simplest and who could argue with a price under $2?

Well, Robot, completing a call from a pair of platforms with a 6 inch heel might be conspicuous, but entertaining to onlookers nonetheless.

nkfro,
Get Smart, did not have a 6 inch heel.... oi.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Smart

i think you guys are over estimating the look of these things, the light is invisible to the naked eye, all that you would see staring at these glasses is somebody wearing some cool see through glasses. the same technology can be adapted to just about any pair of eye glasses to the point where all that people would notice is a dude wearing some glasses.

i have a pair of aviators, if i find some time i'll do the same thing with them...

to mars or bust!

Protected from facial recognition maybe, but from ridicule...

I think I can identify this gentleman in a line up, with or without his glasses, lol.

You know, we can always fall back to the old tools, humans find humans and if the software finds 50 similar looking people, but did not identify the person we are looking for precisely, the software is still helpful.

How about this, I will add a routine to my picture\video identity software call Red Flag Null Factor.

When searching, if the program comes across of a face
that is similar to what I am looking for and when looking at the ....

EYES = NULL, nothing, not human.
NOSE = NULL, nothing, not human.
MOUTH = NULL, nothing, not human.

....I display a REDFLAG to get attention of human to look
at the picture\video more closely!



June 2013: American Energy Independence

Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.


Online Content Director: Suzanne LaBarre | Email
Senior Editor: Paul Adams | Email
Associate Editor: Dan Nosowitz | Email
Assistant Editor: Colin Lecher | Email
Assistant Editor: Rose Pastore | Email

Contributing Writers:
Rebecca Boyle | Email
Kelsey D. Atherton | Email
Francie Diep | Email
Shaunacy Ferro | Email

circ-top-header.gif
circ-cover.gif