A patent granted recently details Apple's pursuit of face recognition to use in its devices. Rather than using a fingerprint sensor that is used in the iPhone 5s, the device will use the device's camera to scan your face and log you in similar to how the Xbox One does with Kinect. All your settings and messages will be switched to your own. This should open up multiple profiles for iPads and such where there's different users. I'm hoping that the fingerprint sensor would do that as well but there's nothing pointing to it.
The invention, in various embodiments, addresses deficiencies in the prior art by providing systems, methods and devices that enable a personal computing device to detect the presence of at least one user, without the need for receiving active user input information, and control certain device operations depending on whether a user is present.
In one aspect, a personal computing device includes a user interface that generates one or more user information outputs and receives one or more user information inputs. The device also includes an image sensor for capturing one or more images. The device further includes a processor that detects one or more faces in the captured images and controls the generation of the user information outputs and the receiving of the user information inputs in response to the detection of the one or more faces.
In one configuration, controlling is in response to identifying one or more detected faces in the captured images. In one feature, identifying includes determining that at least one of the detected faces in the captured images is associated with an authorized user of the device. Face detection may be based on a pattern recognition algorithm. The pattern recognition algorithm may include a statistical model.
In another configuration, detecting includes employing at least one of face detection, face recognition, object recognition, view-based recognition, computer vision, and machine learning. Face detection may be based on at least one of knowledge-based methods, feature invariant approaches, template matching methods, and appearance-based methods.
The invention, in various embodiments, addresses deficiencies in the prior art by providing systems, methods and devices that enable a personal computing device to detect the presence of at least one user, without the need for receiving active user input information, and control certain device operations depending on whether a user is present.
In one aspect, a personal computing device includes a user interface that generates one or more user information outputs and receives one or more user information inputs. The device also includes an image sensor for capturing one or more images. The device further includes a processor that detects one or more faces in the captured images and controls the generation of the user information outputs and the receiving of the user information inputs in response to the detection of the one or more faces.
In one configuration, controlling is in response to identifying one or more detected faces in the captured images. In one feature, identifying includes determining that at least one of the detected faces in the captured images is associated with an authorized user of the device. Face detection may be based on a pattern recognition algorithm. The pattern recognition algorithm may include a statistical model.
In another configuration, detecting includes employing at least one of face detection, face recognition, object recognition, view-based recognition, computer vision, and machine learning. Face detection may be based on at least one of knowledge-based methods, feature invariant approaches, template matching methods, and appearance-based methods.
