Software To Evaluate Facial Expressions Developed

The Technology Review site has up an article on new software that can do quantitative analysis of facial expressions, detecting whether a person is smiling. The software was developed by the Omron Corporation, and can also estimate a subject's age and gender, or verify a person's identity from a database. Though the company doesn't yet know whether it plans to release the software commercially, there are a number of obvious applications. "Omron envisions the smile software being used in marketing, perhaps to evaluate consumers' reactions to a new product or to an advertising campaign. A smile checker could also help train customer-service staff to meet Japan's legendarily high standards ... A smile in isolation is easy to detect, but the bigger challenge is to develop systems that can recognize the concerto of facial actions that make up complex expressions like confusion, fear, and disgust." Thanks to jamie for the link.

Comments

yea

[Mutagenic]

great now my sexbot will know how im feeling

Re:yea

[mh1997]

great now my sexbot will know how im feeling

Without seeing your face, I am going on a limb and guess "horny."

'Facial' Detection?

[EveryNickIsTaken]

Wow. I need to get my mind out of the gutter today.

Metaverse

[FiloEleven]

In a much overlooked section of Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson postulated that the real key to making the Metaverse a place where things happen and where people want to interact with each other was the inclusion of facial expressions. I tend to agree with him - look at how emoticons are used on the web today; we've had articles about their usage bleeding into corporate culture to help people understand the intended subtext of a message. A bunch of avatars walking around with a fixed look on their faces makes for a boring virtual world and more miscommunication than communication. Facial expression replication (which does not necessarily include recognition, but I think it'll help immensely) will be needed before virtual worlds really take off for society at large.

Re:Metaverse

[esecasco]

I have to agree...this tech could find very good usage in video games. In multi-player it could definitely add an element of interaction for all gestures. For example, if it can detect a facial expression, why not a head movement, so instead of a radio button to say "yes" you can just nod, and have your character do the same. Shake, tilt your head, etc, etc. Also, the element of expression could add a new level of interaction, in conjuction with voice communication. From someone screaming angrily with a war cry, to someone cowering as they see their allies die. And lets not forget single player. An NPC would be able to see if you're angry, or happy. NPCs could be coded to devise cunning ways of tricking you depending on what you're expressing.

But will it detect sarcasm?

[starglider29a]

A sarcastic smile? A sardonic smile? A wistful smile? A retail smile? The masked lie? "Mmmm... this casserole taste great, hunny"

Or the smile that Ballmer uses when describing Vista's security or sales milestones? The smile that Verizon execs wear when they promise "unlimited..."???

Analyze This!

[Sponge Bath]

:-)

Expression analyzed: Terrorist Alert!

Re:Airports

[Arthur B.]

What if they even use PEOPLE to gather that information, omfg !

Re:What are the non-enforcement uses?

[Speare]

How can this system be used outside of law enforcement?

Sony has already developed a camera with a simpler form of "smile detection." If engaged, the camera will scan the scene for all subjects to smile and then allow the shutter sequence to fire. Seems really gimmicky (useless in practice) to me, but a new tickbox on the carton equates to sales.

Sony Smile-Detecting Camera

Looking at the mouth, or eyes?

[jackpot777]

Plenty of people smile with their mouth, but their eyes tell how happy they aren't.

Probably why Japanese emoticons reflect their emotions with the eyes instead of the mouth.

(^_^)(^_^)

The mouth isn't smiling, but the eyes say PAAARTY!

Re:What are the non-enforcement uses?

[Froboz23]

There is a particularly scary application for this type of software. Imagine surveillance cameras scanning a political rally. (Putin's new Russia comes to mind, but you can insert your own favorite government here as you please.) An advanced system could detect dissent by individuals' facial expressions during the rally, and deal with it appropriately. Sometimes facial expressions happen subconsciously. You have to focus to maintain a poker-face.
</Paranoia>

From a computer-science perspective, I find this stuff fascinating. But anything that can gauge a person's emotions, especially if they don't know they're being watched, has a lot of room for abuse.