Thanks to Apple's 50-year-old facial recognition technology, it could go mainstream

　　On September 20, Bloomberg reported that facial recognition technology may finally explode in the consumer market, thanks to Apple's newly released 10th anniversary model iPhone  X. Let's follow the mobile phone handy editor to learn more about the relevant content.

　　The technology first appeared in the 1960s, and since then its use has been largely limited to government agencies and high-security companies, but if its development follows the same path as previous technologies introduced by Apple, such as fingerprint readers, it will only be a matter of time before it starts to appear in homes, stores and other phones.

　　While not everyone will buy the high-end $999 iPhone , rival electronics makers are already figuring out how to incorporate the technology into their products. Startups involved in the facial recognition technology market say  demand for their technology has risen in the consumer electronics industry since Apple released the iPhone X on Sept. 12 .

　　“Now we have industry leaders like Apple proving that this kind of technology can work,” said George Brostoff, chief executive of SensibleVision, a Florida start-up that makes software for tablets and smartphones. “That’s driving companies like Motorola and LG to come knocking on the door of companies like ours.”

　　Not seeking to be the first, but seeking to be the best?

　　As usual, Apple isn't the first mover in the latest technology it's touting. Amazon has applied for a patent that would allow selfie payments, similar to a service Mastercard launched in Europe last year. Financial company USAA has offered facial recognition through its apps for years. Before Apple got involved, the technology seemed to have trouble gaining traction with consumers, even with adoption by some big-name companies.

　　Apple has a history of taking already-used technologies and perfecting them — not to mention giving them a “cool factor” — a strategy that has allowed them to catapulted into the mainstream mass market. Think MP3 players and iPods, the entry into the tablet market with the iPad, and most recently, fingerprint readers.

　　Apple's Face ID feature works by projecting and analyzing more than 30,000 invisible dots to accurately build a depth map of the user's face. The infrared camera recognizes the pattern, captures the infrared image, and then confirms whether it matches. Apple says that its feature can be used in dark conditions, cannot be fooled by photos or masks, and can even work normally in cold weather conditions - something that fingerprint readers usually have difficulty doing.

　　While Samsung Electronics Co.’s flagship Galaxy Note 8 already offers facial recognition, it can be fooled by users’ photos, according to one developer. The software has also struggled in poor lighting conditions and failed to distinguish people of color — issues many wish Apple had addressed.

　　“This is now a consumer technology,” said Peter Trepp, chief executive of FaceFirst, an Encino, Calif., company that sells its facial-recognition software to law enforcement, airports and retailers. “We’re getting a lot of calls and interest in our technology. It’s clear this is going to be a big thing.”

　　Demand surge

　　According to market researcher Crone Consulting, facial recognition will account for more than half of all device logins and account verification activities for mobile financial services and mobile payments in the next three to five years as usage increases significantly. Today, the technology accounts for almost zero.

　　That's expected to be a huge boon to the industry behind the technology, which is expected to double to $6.84 billion in 2021 from $3.35 billion last year, according to MarketsandMarkets, another market research firm.

　　Blippar, a London-based company that recently launched an app that lets consumers show their moods, expects to double its revenue in the fiscal year that begins in April, said Ambarish Mitra, its chief executive. FaceFirst is working to help retailers use facial recognition to let consumers shop in unattended stores using their phones — much like Amazon Go. An early prototype will be in stores early next year. Meanwhile, SensibleVision said it is fielding calls from potential customers and would-be acquirers. Brostov, its chief executive, said he expects to sell his company within a year.

　　“We are currently working or negotiating with almost all the mobile phone manufacturers in the world,” he said, “except Apple.”

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