Using Facial Recognition To Find the Best Bar

nonprofiteer writes "Soon bars will be using facial recognition technology to tell you who's there and their gender breakdown. A start-up called SceneTap is rolling out a new service next month for bars and the patrons who love them: facial detection cameras that will keep track of the number of people in a bar, including a running tally of ladies and gents. Smartphone users will be able to download a free app to 'tap the bar scene' before deciding where to go."

Comments

This important message

[Anonymous Coward]

Brought to you by: DHS. DHS, protecting you and your loved ones from cradle to grave.

Re:This important message

[wiedzmin]

Went to a bar in Vancouver BC once - they scan your ID and take a photo of you when you come in, apparently to reduce violence... but in a sense - they already have this gender recognition technology and with even more intrusion to your privacy! Suck that SceneTap.

Re:This important message

[GNUman]

Wow, what kind of bars do you go to? I've never had anything like that in Vancouver.

Re:This important message

[wiedzmin]

I think it was called Ceilis, on Granville.

Re:This important message

[GNUman]

Ah, I know it, been there once, but it was a private function, so maybe that was why I didn't get my picture taken.

I have had that in Mexico City in one place, scanned my ID but no photo... or at least it was not evident.

Finally!

[Anonymous Coward]

A way of finding out what bars people who make duck faces go to and avoid them!

Thanks technology!

Munchkins, all of them

[Mindcontrolled]

Gender ratio? Are we minmaxing on the chances for a bar hookup now? Powergaming the scene? Casual fucks for munchkins? Come on, guys, what happened to just hitting the road and, you know, just go out? First hole in the wall that strikes your fancy? You never know what you will find. Oh, and get off my lawn and take your smart-arse-phone with you.

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[travdaddy]

Look at it this way, now nerds are getting money for helping people hook up in bars. Of course, the nerds are still not hooking up in bars, but at least it's an improvement.

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Pope]

First hole in the wall that strikes your fancy? You never know what you will find..

Eh, I prefer bars to glory holes, but whatever floats your boat.

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[LordNimon]

I think you're really confused. "hole in the wall" != "glory hole".

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[hedwards]

This sounds more like an updated version of the let's enroll in home ec class in order to get a date scheme that many have had over the years. Chances are good that if you need to do that sort of thing, that you're still not going to get anywhere.

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Anonymous Coward]

Until you stick your dick in it.

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Kamiza Ikioi]

If you can't beat 'em, charge 'em.

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Anonymous Coward]

Slashdot - news for nerds, finding innovative new ways to get shut down.

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Anonymous Coward]

This Anon speaks truth!

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[gad_zuki!]

>Gender ratio?

Whoa, this place called the "Pink Triangle" is like 99% women!

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Mindcontrolled]

Yeah, well, that's the point I was on about stated a bit more seriously. In the end, it has no style. It's needy as hell. I don't prowl the streets for a hookup. I just, well, go out. If I meet a girl I like and something develops - fine. If not, then not. Checking the gender ratio in a bar? Please. If I like a bar, I like the bar. Mostly men in there, no "targets"? Fine. Maybe I find a decent new drinking buddy in there. Besides hooking up, bars tend to be a great place to drink in peace and have discussions over weird stuff and meet people you'd never get into contact with under other circumstances.

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Anonymous Coward]

I think you're humor-impaired.

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[DickBreath]

It's not true. Nobody would ever do such a thing at a bar.

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[gl4ss]

it sells, for a little while. still, a really blurry webcam feed would do the same thing. not sure about the facial recognition to gender thing though. maybe they should include also the weight. once the bar owners realize that this makes people come to the club later because other people didn't yet arrive they'll just throw it out. and who needs a full house when you have a full house? and aren't there queues to all the cool places anyways?

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Mindcontrolled]

Nah, no one is going to the cool places anymore. They are too crowded.

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Anonymous Coward]

...and 1% false negatives!

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Anonymous Coward]

Whoosh!

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Anonymous Coward]

sarcasm whoooooooosh

Re:Munchkins, all of them

[Eponymous Hero]

whoosh

Imagine the possiblities

[Anonymous Coward]

I can just see a drunk bunch of bridesmaids being guided to a biker bar.

Re:Imagine the possiblities

[PPH]

I can just see a drunk bunch of bridesmaids being guided to a biker bar.

You say that as if it were some sort of mistake on their part.

Re:Imagine the possiblities

[Rogerborg]

Sure, who wouldn't want to hook up with a bunch of fat middle-aged bankers and accountants?

Re:Imagine the possiblities

[Rogerborg]

Ooh, downmods from the stockbroker chapter of the Hells Angels.

Re:Imagine the possiblities

[GameboyRMH]

Or a LUG or LAN party! :D

Re:Imagine the possiblities

[treeves]

OK, I know about "lesbian until graduation", although I did not realize they had themed parties, but what does "LAN" stand for? Lesbian at night?

Avoid the sausage fest...

[Sponge Bath]

...and end up at a transvestite convention. Ah, technology!

Re:Avoid the sausage fest...

[Anonymous Coward]

You say that as if it were some sort of mistake...

It's a brave new world...

[mat catastrophe]

And we're all just amused to death.

Re:It's a brave new world...

[TaoPhoenix]

Mods, he's right.

Just think, you can pay the girls to optimize your gender ratios!

Also I love the Black Horse phrasing. They're putting facial recognition in bars and all they can figure out what to do with it is count gender ratios? What about the complete lists of patrons, tagged, who have ever been there?

Cops will luv this!

Re:It's a brave new world...

[cayenne8]

Just think, you can pay the girls to optimize your gender ratios!

Well, to be fair...bars already try to do this with things like "ladies night" with drink specials for women.

If the women are there...the men who drink and spend more will follow.

Possible failure case?

[Marc Madness]

Tranny night at the local watering hole: someone may wind up choosing a bar to go to based on ratio and show up with the wrong expectations. On a more serious note, if enough people know about and use this system, wouldn't this approximately model simulated annealing as people leave the bars with unfavorable ratios and go to bars with more favorable ratios? By the end of the night, all bars in a geographic area will probably exactly represent the ratio of all bar patrons that night divided according to gender preference. Thus defending the system against itself.

Re:Possible failure case?

[jeffmeden]

On a more serious note, if enough people know about and use this system, wouldn't this approximately model simulated annealing as people leave the bars with unfavorable ratios and go to bars with more favorable ratios? By the end of the night, all bars in a geographic area will probably exactly represent the ratio of all bar patrons that night divided according to gender preference. Thus defending the system against itself.

Think of it as creating a more efficient "market". Just as the electronic exchanges allow stocks and commodities to be traded with incredible efficiency, so to will these sorts of tools allow for the socializing "market" to be made much more efficient. Just think, no more sausage-fest over-supply of dudes at one bar and a severe under-supply at another just a few blocks away. I would think the equalization of supply and demand would be the ultimate goal of such a system. It will leave the free market forces to settle on the value of attractiveness in order to lure patrons. That is, until it starts porting the faces to hotornot.com, developing a "hotness quotient" for the bar's attendees...

Re:Possible failure case?

[Marc Madness]

Upon thinking about this a bit more, the real winners in this system will probably be the hot dog vendors on the street. Bar patrons will be so busy shuttling from one bar to another to find the one with the optimal gender ratio that they'll spend more time in transit than actually in the bar. Possible outcome: alcohol sales drop, hot dog sales skyrocket. On the other hand, less intoxicated people may be less inclined to want to buy street meat.

Re:Possible failure case?

[timeOday]

Yes, but the problem with efficiency is homogenization - there are no surprises. Instead of being sometimes awful and sometimes legendary, everything is just like it always is.

Re:Possible failure case?

[Mushdot]

I wonder how long before bars are allowed to pay a little extra to game the system e.g. tell males the bar is full of women or vice versa.

I can see promotions working quite well with this system too - "The next two men to come to this bar will get a free drink- hurry!"

Re:Possible failure case?

[cayenne8]

Upon thinking about this a bit more, the real winners in this system will probably be the hot dog vendors on the street. Bar patrons will be so busy shuttling from one bar to another to find the one with the optimal gender ratio that they'll spend more time in transit than actually in the bar. Possible outcome: alcohol sales drop, hot dog sales skyrocket. On the other hand, less intoxicated people may be less inclined to want to buy street meat.

Not sure how this would help hot dog vendors.

Most people DRIVE from bar to bar...not walking or taking a bus....at least in the US.

Re:Possible failure case?

[Anonymous Coward]

Thankfully not in NYC!

Re:Possible failure case?

[ArsenneLupin]

all bars in a geographic area will probably exactly represent the ratio of all bar patrons that night

... not all bars...

divided according to gender preference.

Exactly. While most will have 60%/40% (or whatever will be the gender ratio), some bars will have 99% men (plus 1% fruit flies), and a small number will be 99% women (and drop out of the system in order to keep it that way...).

Re:Possible failure case?

[jeffmeden]

How does that work again? If this system is used, they will know where the optimal location is *before* choosing their destination. It would work in the opposite way you described; people would be more likely to stay at the bar they first arrived at given that they know, before they arrive, whether or not it meets their qualifications for a good place to stay. The one possible echo effect would be the ability to qualitatively determine a bar isn't worth staying at, and then going back to your quantitative resource (the App in question) to decide on and travel to a new bar. However, that has been a problem (for patrons, and an opportunity for street vendors) for as long as bars existed in quantities greater than 1.

Re:Possible failure case?

[jeffmeden]

Most people DRIVE from bar to bar...not walking or taking a bus....at least in the US.

You're right... the real benefit will be felt by the cops out to arrest drunk drivers!

Re:Possible failure case?

[Marc Madness]

This works because different groups have differing opinions on what the optimal ratio is. For example, people seeking men will go to a bar with a higher male-female ratio causing the ratio to shift, therefore causing people to leave seeking a better ratio. Conversely, people seeking women, upon noticing the high male-female ratio (I'm assuming not everyone has the application so they may not know a priori what the ratio is), they will begin defecting to different bars. This will cause those with access to the app to start leaving as well as they see the ratio start to skew even more dramatically until eventually every bar in town has the same split. The simulated annealing involves the high "entropy" of bar patron movements at the beginning of the night toward a more stable system at the end.

Re:Possible failure case?

[Mindcontrolled]

Heh, viewing it as a simulated annealing prozess is quite interesting. However, I for one, do not welcome our new optimization overlords and rather stick with my personalized Monte Carlo approach to bar hopping - random jumps from bar to bar with the hopping frequency modified by the distance to my desired optimum, following the gradient of perceived quality while being between bars. Steepest descent, naturally :P

Re:Possible failure case?

[AvitarX]

I don't think that's true.

I'm not in a partituclarly big city (75k, no college) and the bars are generally in 2 clusters. I drive to a cluster and am then on foot.

I used to live close enough it was simply a long walk if I over-indulged, now I take a nap in my car for that.

Even without the issue of drinking and driving, I can't imagine driving from bar to bar

Re:Possible failure case?

[jeffmeden]

Ugh... That could take... HOURS! We have no problem dealing with things as trivial as securitized mortgages on exchanges that price-correct in a few milliseconds. Something as special as finding true love deserves at least that level of sophistication. I say bring on the market makers. (mostly because I am already married, and hence my only interest is the academic spectacle of such a well-recorded sociological system.)

Re:Possible failure case?

[NateTech]

You just described every theme park in America.

Re:Possible failure case?

[cayenne8]

Happens all the time.

Those parking lots full of cars at all the bars around town....aren't there for sale or asthetics....they are what brought patrons there...and what takes them to the next bar, or home...

That's why those same lots are empty at the end of the evening....and don't kid yourself that even a fraction of them are driving by a 'designated driver'.

What's next?

[zig43]

They should make something that can tell us how drunk they are too.

Re:What's next?

[Abstrackt]

The less clothing they're wearing, the more drunk they are. Unfortunately it also applies to men.

Re:What's next?

[tchdab1]

How attractive they are, and how drunk they are, and other things:
A real-time graph of local bars (and local parties with > 12 people so you can more easily crash them!) with amount of people, % of desirable gender, degree of attractiveness (important!) , % etoh consumed, and possibly other factors: type and loudness of music, price of drinks, cover charge, have the police been notified, is there parking or transportation available, how reliable are these statistics (how many sources), etc.

This would give Facebook a run, and also be shut down in days as disruptive flash mobs are attributed to it.

beer googles

[WizardMarnok]

Can this be combined with software to match the face to the "beauty mask" template, which measures the proportions of facial features to guage attractiveness? Adjusted for tolerance depending on how drunk the app user is / is prepared to get. I just want to coin the term "beer googles".

Law of Unintended Consequences...

[Anonymous Coward]

This will be one more great reason **NOT** to go to the bar

Re:Law of Unintended Consequences...

[Anonymous Coward]

I completely agree. It would be better if we could get a count of how many people at a location have this app installed on their phone, and then avoid those places. I would much prefer to go to the places where these people are not going.

Facial recognition is useless.

[Thanshin]

Looking for useful data?

1 - Replace camera for full body scanner.
2 - Order pictures by cup size.

Re:Facial recognition is useless.

[hedwards]

Ultimately, we're going to need genital recognition software to solve the problems this system is supposed to solve.

Re:Facial recognition is useless.

[Thanshin]

The main reason this technology doesn't advance is because of the difficulty of finding new employees.

Now many people would write in their CV "Expert in genital recognition software".

And you probably wouldn't want to know most of those who would.

Re:Facial recognition is useless.

[mmclean]

genital recognition

Isn't that the exact problem that chatroulette.com solves?

Re:Facial recognition is useless.

[Syberz]

Considering that some bars have policies similar to the TSA, I wouldn't be too surprised that this will happen one day.

Re:Facial recognition is useless.

[NateTech]

The developers of TSA scanners.

Re:Facial recognition is useless.

[treeves]

FYI, breasts are not genitals. Oh, you were talking about eliminating man-boobs. Good idea!

Re:Facial recognition is useless.

[Geminii]

So, do you prefer pre-op or post-op?

Will be exploited by bars who need more people

[suso]

So there is an application, that will try to indicate which bar is the hip one to be at? Yeah, that will last about a month before bars with less customers figure out how to fake their stats.

Re:Will be exploited by bars who need more people

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Arguably, this technology will actually help in selecting the best bar: Any bar for which facial recognition camera data are not available receives bonus points.

Re:Will be exploited by bars who need more people

[cayenne8]

Any bar for which facial recognition camera data are not available receives bonus points.

Yep...any bar that has this tech and uses it that I know of.....loses MY business, and I will pass the word around not to go to those either.

What's next...all this software is put up against what you order/drink, and sent straight to the squad car sent outside? Or maybe to your health insurer so he can see your 'healthy' habits and adjust your premiums accordingly?

WTF is with the war on every day life anonymity?

Re:Will be exploited by bars who need more people

[Lunix Nutcase]

So basically they will lose all of....1 person? OH NO HOW WILL THEY EVER SURVIVE?!?!?!?

Re:Will be exploited by bars who need more people

[cayenne8]

So basically they will lose all of....1 person? OH NO HOW WILL THEY EVER SURVIVE?!?!?!?

If you knew my avg. weekly bar bills, you'd understand what a big deal it is.

:)

Then again...I live in New Orleans....

Re:Will be exploited by bars who need more people

[interkin3tic]

Yep...any bar that has this tech and uses it that I know of.....loses MY business, and I will pass the word around not to go to those either

I'm guessing this will be utilized mainly by the "clubs" that have lines of undesirables waiting outside for a chance to get in. To make two generalizations that I think most people will agree with:

1. The jersey-shore types who wait in line for an hour to get into the "hottest" club and pay a 300% markup for a tiny fruity drink are the type who would look at you like you were talking about space aliens if you started talking about privacy. They're the ones who will find this just OMGF AMAZING!!1! They're the type who will be using this service and who will be abused by this service.

2. Slashdotters and most of their friends who -do- see this as an idiotic thing aren't going to be going to bars that would even consider this. If they go to any bar aside from the fridge in their parents' basement anyway. We already weren't going to those bars, or if we were, it's because we were forced to by a significant other or sheer desperation out of not having a significant other, and this won't change that.

Re:Will be exploited by bars who need more people

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

I suspect that the "see and be seen" crowd will be much less disconcerted by this(as they are with Facebook and friends), as you say.

I have to wonder, though, if they will ever find themselves becoming less sanguine when the camera analytics data(as seems more or less inevitable) start to mission creep. Somebody who as no theoretical privacy-related problems might grow a few practical ones when HR pulls up a slide deck containing your "Getting hammered with my Brewskis!!!" album and asks to have a little chat about your sick day last Monday...

what about ugly women or British men?

[Anonymous Coward]

Excuse me miss?

Whatdaya mean miss?

I'm sorry, I have a cold...

So you go into the bar

[wintercolby]

And the bar posts its Facebook page "Norm!"

Genetic Breakdown

[ffejie]

I read "gender breakdown" as "genetic breakdown." Needless to say, I was more excited before I re-read the post.

More importantly...

[mark_reh]

it'll tell you where the "beautiful people" are.

this place is a sausage-fest

[jsepeta]

i go there to drink in peace

Good

[Taibhsear]

It'll let me know what bars NEVER to go to.
Also, isn't this like a blatant rip off of some episode of that show where the main character reads micro-facial expressions to tell when people are lying? (which was a blatant parallel to facebook/Zuckerberg)

Re:Good

[mwvdlee]

"Micro-facial expressions"... Is that what people look like after they get really tiny facials (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_(sex_act))?
(ps I know you meant microexpressions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microexpressions)).

Re:Good

[Macgrrl]

"Micro-facial expressions"... Is that what people look like after they get really tiny facials

So, that would be slightly grossed out mixed in with a bit of relieved and somewhat sticky?

It's difficult to scan faces ...

[PPH]

... when they're all planted face down on the floor.

Good grief...

[Anonymous Coward]

This is what we do with technology? People can actually make money and buy food and houses (from people who do actual work) with shit like this?

Nerds helping people hook up!

[klashn]

Hi, my name is Werner Brandes. My voice is my passport. Verify me.

Re:Nerds helping people hook up!

[Anonymous Coward]

EPIC reference!

People are clueless.

[geekmux]

Completely floors me what people will give up with regards to privacy. Then again, this is yet another shining example that sex sells.

This is really necessary? I probably would NOT end up going to bars that use this technology, but then again, I'm not one of the ignorant sheep who feels this is an "innocent gesture" or a "cool app to have on my phone". Big Brother at it's finest, portraying themselves as the sheep in wolves clothing.

Oh and for you married folks out there, might want to reconsider hitting the bars looking for your next extramarital affair. I can already see this tech being (ab)used by divorce attorneys and private investigators.

Re:People are clueless.

[Lazy Jones]

I can already see this tech being (ab)used by divorce attorneys and private investigators.

And burglars, employers (dude called in sick? check out his favourite bar...) ... Of course it will also enable them to gather statistics regarding how much time you spent at which bar, send alerts to interested people if your face is recognized somewhere etc. etc. ...

Re:People are clueless.

[Anonymous Coward]

How many bars do you visit in a month anyway, Poindexter?

Re:People are clueless.

[ox01a4]

What till your insurance is able to pull up the amount of time that you spend in a bar. I'm sorry your rates are going up because you will need a new liver soon.

Re:People are clueless.

[cayenne8]

How many bars do you visit in a month anyway, Poindexter?

More like how many in a week? I'd say I'd easily average about 4-5/week...but I'm slowing down a bit in my old age.

And I do live in New Orleans....bars here are where business and social things happen.

Re:People are clueless.

[gstoddart]

Completely floors me what people will give up with regards to privacy. Then again, this is yet another shining example that sex sells.

This is really necessary? I probably would NOT end up going to bars that use this technology

That was my first reaction ... I'm not sure I'm comfortable with random commercial establishments doing full-on facial recognition. It's sure as hell not opt-in, and at what point does this happen every public place I'm in? Way too much erosion of privacy and way too much surveillance society.

The whole notion kind of skeeves me out a little ... as you say "Big Brother at it's finest, portraying themselves as the sheep in wolves clothing."

Do not want.

Re:People are clueless.

[elloGov]

Agreed, mod parent up! This is profiling. It's analytics to discriminate based on physical features. Profiling should be reserved to the individual, don't enhance it technologically. Until you are ready to discuss the the undesirable outcomes of your beautiful business model, you shouldn't immorally champion the good.

Re:People are clueless.

[Anonymous Coward]

Completely floors me what people will give up with regards to privacy. Then again, this is yet another shining example that sex sells.

This is really necessary? I probably would NOT end up going to bars that use this technology, but then again, I'm not one of the ignorant sheep who feels this is an "innocent gesture" or a "cool app to have on my phone". Big Brother at it's finest, portraying themselves as the sheep in wolves clothing.

Oh and for you married folks out there, might want to reconsider hitting the bars looking for your next extramarital affair. I can already see this tech being (ab)used by divorce attorneys and private investigators.

What are you giving up with privacy? It doesn't know WHO you are... it knows you're a man. A person can tell that.

Re:People are clueless.

[Anonymous Coward]

What till your insurance is able to pull up the amount of time that you spend in a bar. I'm sorry your rates are going up because you will need a new liver soon.

Devils Advocate: Doesn't that make sense? People who live less healthy lifestyles pay more in health insurance.

Re:People are clueless.

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it distinctly American that you walk into a privately owned bar and still think you're in a public place? Did your taxes pay for that bar?

There's several bars in my town that fingerprint you on the way in so they can track if you're a trouble maker who's been kicked out in the past and share your info with other bars and clubs in the area. This is entirely optional though. ...

The walking into the bar bit I mean.

Re:People are clueless.

[geekmux]

Is it distinctly American that you walk into a privately owned bar and still think you're in a public place? Did your taxes pay for that bar?

distinctly American? Perhaps you should re-read your history books regarding citizens Rights and taxes, for they are all cornerstones in the foundation of the justification of America.

And feel free to implement facial recognition and fingerprinting in your own "privately owned" residence and let me know how many guests you have after that...

Re:People are clueless.

[geekmux]

Completely floors me what people will give up with regards to privacy. Then again, this is yet another shining example that sex sells.

This is really necessary? I probably would NOT end up going to bars that use this technology, but then again, I'm not one of the ignorant sheep who feels this is an "innocent gesture" or a "cool app to have on my phone". Big Brother at it's finest, portraying themselves as the sheep in wolves clothing.

Oh and for you married folks out there, might want to reconsider hitting the bars looking for your next extramarital affair. I can already see this tech being (ab)used by divorce attorneys and private investigators.

What are you giving up with privacy? It doesn't know WHO you are... it knows you're a man. A person can tell that.

Uh, better yet, a person can tell that...IN PERSON. Who the hell thinks bars are somehow struggling these days to get patrons to justify this tech?

And I'm quite certain between this tech and Farcebook, the "WHO" issue will be addressed very soon too.

Re:People are clueless.

[RyuhoKudo]

I don't really care about this topic but saying stuff like 'ignorant sheep' makes you sound like a snobbish dick.

Re:People are clueless.

[treeves]

In this context, public does not mean owned by the government. It means a place where you can expect just about anyone to be, i.e. full of strangers, people you had no say in whether or not they are there.

Re:People are clueless.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds like everyone needs to start wearing V for Vendetta masks to the bars. Of course then the hipsters would find out that the bars are loaded with lots of "political dissenters" and the whole system would collapse. No-one wants to drink with those party-poopers...

Ain't it grand?

[Anonymous Coward]

This is what we do with technology? People can actually make money and buy food and houses (from people who do actual work) with shit like this?

And this app is so fucking stupid, it'll probably take off and make the developers and business guys really rich because you know that there's going to be a back end collection of personal data. And that data will be sold. And people won't give a shit. Privacy is dead and anyone who actually wants to keep it will be the weirdo.

The new economy: collecting terrabytes of data for sale to marketing people.

IT is turning into one big marketing sub-profession.

Don't care about faces

[chinton]

Turn the camera around and show me what bottles are on the shelves...

Re:Don't care about faces

[russotto]

Turn the camera around and show me what bottles are on the shelves...

Doesn't matter what's on the shelves, they're going to pull your booze from the well anyway.

Re:Don't care about faces

[chinton]

Corollary: Doesn't matter who is on the floor, your going home with horse-face.

Re:Don't care about faces

[HaZardman27]

What kind of shady bars do you go to? At any place I visit, if I ask for a liquor by name, that's what I get.

Re:Don't care about faces

[Hatta]

If all you care about is selection, skip the bar and hit the liquor store. More selection and cheaper too.

The only thing bars are good for are concerts.

Re:Don't care about faces

[Anonymous Coward]

I dunno where you live/go but around here the bars either have a DJ, a house band playing covers or karaoke...none a concert. There are a couple concert halls with balcony-bars but that's a different thing since you have to pay to see the concert and it's more than a normal bar/club might charge as a cover.

Re:Don't care about faces

[Hatta]

I've never lived anywhere where bars weren't also live music venues. e.g. The Haunt in Ithaca NY, The Green Room in Iowa City, or the Slowdown here in Omaha. Just go wherever college age kids hang out, look for concert posters. Most of them will be at bars.

Never been to a bar that charged a cover when there wasn't a show. Seems like a crappy deal to me.

the best bar

[GungaDan]

is the one that removes smartphones from the hands of douchebags taking pictures and drops them in the glass smasher. It's even better if they then make the douchebag reach in to retrieve the pieces.

Hm.

[Anonymous Coward]

In bars, I've seen men that look like women, and women that look like men. I wouldn't trust this technology, at all.

it will be manipulated

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure any enterprising bar owner will figure out a way to trick the system into reporting their bar has 100's of woman and only 2 men.

This is actually useful...

[The Man]

While everyone else is looking for bars packed with women, I'll be able to see which places with good beer selections have open seats at the bar. There's nothing better than a quiet bar with good beer and a friendly barkeep.

Re:This is actually useful...

[the eric conspiracy]

Bars packed with women are not necessarily a good thing if you find out on arrival that they are transvestite of lesbian bars.

Re:This is actually useful...

[Geminii]

Good bars aren't likely to be using this technology in the first place.

trannys

[Chuby007]

I hope it does a better job recognizing drag queens than I do...

Re:trannys

[gstoddart]

I hope it does a better job recognizing drag queens than I do...

Pro tip ... look for the Adams apple.

The plastic cigarette holder, cocktail gloves, and using the word "dahling" might help, but not in all cases. ;-)

Also, if they go into the men's room and use the urinal ... but I've actually seen women do that, so it's again not something which works in all cases. :-P

Re:trannys

[treeves]

Mod informative but scary. Yeeeeikes.

Stalking exes

[Anonymous Coward]

find out what your ex is doing

Re:Ladies Night

[TaoPhoenix]

Sure, but that's so "old school analog".

This story & spinoff tech is talking about micro-quanting the game. You open your phone and check the Barz app. "Joe's Irish has 7 women tonight... no, wait, that's now six, now ten, ... two more and our percentage ratio of boobs will reach the scientifically determined threshold whereupon men drink one extra drink each, so we want that revenue. We'll pay the square root of the price of 12 additional drinks divided by the two extra babes we need."

No Snooki

[Anonymous Coward]

I just want to be warned away from Snooki & Snooki look alike hangouts. got an App for that?

Re:Ladies Night

[Anonymous Coward]

What will happen is that the women at Bar A will discover there are more men at Bar B. They will then leave for Bar B. At the same time, the men at Bar B will discover there are more women at Bar A. They will then leave for Bar A...

Doomed Idea

[ThomasBHardy]

this whole idea is doomed to failure. Think this through.

Salesman: "Hey, barkeep. Would you like to hook up some cameras and advertise your male to female ratio?"
Barkeep: "Huh? What?"
Salesman: "It's a new thing. You put up some cameras and our software tracks how many males and females come in so guys around town can look up and see how many girls are at your bar. Cool, huh?"
Barkeep: "What's it cost?"
Salesman: "For only $1,200 you can get started today"
Barkeep: "How many guys in my town use your app?"
Salesman: "Seven"
Barkeep: "So let me see if I have this straight. I pay you $1,200 (salesman interrupts "plus $19.95 a month") to advertise to seven guys that my bar is filled with mostly guys."
Salesman: "Great, isn't it? Can i sign you up now?"
Barkeep: "GTFO and don't come back"

Facial recognition?

[nitehawk214]

I don't understand. All it needs to do is take a picture of the taps so I can see if there is any good beer on.

No need to go through this trouble

[dr_dank]

They're completely reinventing the wheel. Most places have barcode scanners or OCR cameras at the bouncer's station that record IDs as they come into the bar. Since most drivers licenses record gender info, why not tap into that?

Eugenics

[Anonymous Coward]

Does it tell you how attractive the people at the bar are?

Just imagine living in a country in which 95% of the women were '9s' or '10s'. Wouldn't that be fantastic?

Cue insane Slashdotters trying desperately to find reasons why that could be a 'bad thing'...

Uh oh. Cover fees

[djdanlib]

Just wait until they start using this to determine cover fees when a band is playing, or using it to game the system so they appear at the top of the list.

Bar owner via headset, from the back room on his computer: "It's mostly men at the EXTRA BRUTAL ANTI-WOMEN HARDCORE BAND concert that's playing. Bouncer, there aren't enough women." Or, "We are at 10th place on the guy/girl ratio list. We need to get to the top of that list. Bouncer, do what you need to do."
Bouncer: "Sorry dude at the door, until more girls show up, it'll be $7 for you to get in. But the girls get in free. You got any with you? No? Too bad."

You think I'm kidding, but I know plenty of bars that would do that, and some that do that without all the extra technology. I help out with sound and hang around my sound tech friends, so I always get in free no matter what... but I see all the junk that the bar/club owners do, and hear them talking about it at the end of the night after all the patrons went home and we're tearing down. If they can make a few extra bucks off guys by getting more girls in, they'll totally do it without a moment's hesitation.

Why would a bar agree to this?

[Anonymous Coward]

I have issues with the whole privacy aspect and big-brother thing. What I don't get, however, is why a bar would opt into this system. Your business could be destroyed if your ratio of male-female is off. It also shows when you are empty, which disuades the first handful of gets showing up and helping you get to critical mass. If your packed and want to be "exclusive" it also disuades people from showing up if they know they will have to wait on line. It also can expose you to burdensome police/lawyer/subpoena requests depending on how much video you store. Your patron shows up drunk, you're not supposed to server a drunk, then the guy gets in a fight/falls/splits his head/whatever.

Seems to add a lot of downside for the bar owner. Why share that information with other bars?

Gender ratios in such areas

[billstewart]

A friend of mine moved to San Francisco because his area of Silicon Valley didn't have very many single women at the local social venues, and he was tired of being single. The neighborhood he moved to _did_ have a lot of women frequenting the bars, but he wasn't the right gender to be their type. (On the other hand, a few months later he met somebody through other social activities he was already involved in, and they hit it off and soon got married, and he moved in to her place in another neighborhood.)

Re:Gender ratios in such areas

[UncleTogie]

When my wife and I go out to drink, we've found that avoiding the meat market is as simple as going to the nearest gay bar.

Cities vs. Burbs, and driving to bars

[billstewart]

One disadvantage of living in the burbs is driving to bars - I'll have my one drink at the pub and that's it, since I'm driving home. (Nominally I live in a city, but I'm in the residential area, two mile from downtown, and the dive bar I can walk to is really divey.)

In a Real City, you can walk to bars and restaurants, or take the bus or streetcar or subway if it's farther, and you can crawl home if the bus is too confusing.

Queing

[Anonymous Coward]

Need a camera on the que outside as well.

No point having to wait outside with 100's men waiting to get into a place the phone says is 70% women.

(ie: by the time you get in, it would be 80% men).

Next we will have the camera's live so the people in the que can watch the action inside while waiting outside.

While one poster mentioned expecting legal people looking at the footage, I suspect their will be a rise in flash crowds of women to through the unsuspecting male.

It won't be flawless, so it's a horrible idea...

[Anonymous Coward]

You just know this will lead a bunch of straight dudes to a gay bar...

How about the PGA golf tour?

[Vitriol Angst]

Some people are going to falsely show up as Male or Female.

>>> But is the Software accurate, if it says; "Wow, this bar has a lot of babes!" and it's a Lesbian bar?

Then again, some people might prefer the "more ambiguous" looking folks... .... so what we really want is few categories and a scatter chart of "ratio of feminie-looking to masculine-looking people".

ADD to that, a "how did our selection go?" response, would not rate the algorithm, but "modify" how that person ACTUALLY prefers people to look.

>> Seriously, wouldn't any lady preferring "Justine Bieber" skew the results?

The Conchords will be happy then..

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wl_uQOABxg

Simpler

[Anonymous Coward]

Couldn't this be solved much less intrusively by simply having the doorman's counter clicker having a separate button for men and women, and tying that to the system. And much cheaper too.

What happened to the bouncer with a clicker?

[Quila]

Give him two, one for guys and one for girls.