It may sound like Series 9 of 24, but it appears that facial recognition technology is getting closer and closer to implementation. And before you scoff, Facebook’s recent unveiling of its DeepFace research has revealed an algorithm using 3D analysis of human faces to identify them. It has a success rate of 97.25%: impressive when you learn that the human brain has a 97.5% success rate.

Intrusion Alert

The general consensus is that although it can be used in law enforcement and military applications, it may be best to leave it out of the consumer market, even though in certain cases it is already being used, for example, face unlocking Android phones.

In a consumer market, can this technology, and future advances in the field, become commonplace in the home and what are the implications for our civil liberties? (http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/178777-facebooks-facial-recognition-software-is-now-as-accurate-as-the-human-brain-but-what-now.) “Our biggest concern is that this can be used as the next mass surveillance tool. For all the good uses this may have, if it supercharges video surveillance at a biometric level then it could have a profound impact,” says Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst in the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.”Potentially, it is yet another source of personal information that’s valuable and vulnerable.”

Home Alone

But. And there is a but. Imagine how useful it could be in a home automation scenario? Face recognition at the door, on computers, on security cameras? If you think about it, the options are not as Big Brother as they may first appear. Take smart doorbells, which are popping up regularly and which work in conjunction with smartphones and/or tablets to send out alerts. 214 Technologies is now adding facial recognition with its Chui product. (http://www.electronichouse.com/article/chui_smart_doorbell_uses_facial_recognition_to_identify_visitors/.) This combines Wi-Fi, a camera, and facial recognition technology.

Volvo has revealed it is using face recognition technology to let a car know when the driver is tired or inattentive. “Since the car is able to detect if a driver is not paying attention, safety systems can be adapted more effectively. For example, the car’s support systems can be activated later on if the driver is focused, and earlier if the driver’s attention is directed elsewhere,” says Per Landfors, engineer at Volvo Cars and project leader for driver support functions.

Driver State Estimation (http://www.gizmag.com/volvo-automated-driver-monitoring/31257/) consists of small LED lamps that shine infrared light onto the driver’s face. Sensors then uses face recognition technology to determine the state of the driver.

They may not be so futuristic, but our range of Z Wave and Insteon products will help you implement the home automation you need.