Pop-Sci Core77 Design Challenge/ Description MEMORY 7/16/03

Description of Design

Design Description. "Face Saver" Phone Ever forgotten a persons name? It’s easy to do. It’s quite likely in fact that at some time or another most people in the world have done so. And the only thing worse than forgetting a persons name is calling them by the wrong name. The kind of mistake that can sour friendships, limit job prospects, ruin relationships… Fortunately technology has come to the rescue, in the form of a high tech. mobile (cellular) phone, equipped with an in-built face recognition video camera, and digital sound recorder. Operation Any time the phone owner meets someone new, as the other person says their name, the owner presses and holds down a button on the side of the phone. This does three things simultaneously. 1 the camera built into the phone captures several seconds of medium resolution images of the other persons face. 2 This image is converted into a digital signature, by face recognition software, which is saved in the phones memory. 3 The phone records the sound of the other persons voice, saved as a high compression digital sample. As the phone owner releases the button, the medium resolution image of the other persons face and sound sample are instantly sent and saved on the hard drive of the owners home computer. At a later date, if the phone owner meets someone that they think they know, they press down another button on the side of the phone, while discreetly aiming the phone in the direction of the other person for a few seconds. The face recognition software in the phone will compare the images captured with the digital signatures in the phones memory. A message will then be displayed on the phones screen, announcing whether a match has been found. Details For discrete and unnoticeable operation the camera built in to the phone does not feature a flash. The camera is located in the top of the phone so that photos can be taken while holding the phone at a natural angle. A wide angle lens is used to maximize the capture area for the face recognition software. The outer phone casing is formed of chrome plated castings, while a satin black finish is used to help conceal the camera lens. Technology Summary Video cameras with face recognition capability/software are a proven technology, and mobile phones with built in video cameras are commercially available. Advances in data storage technology should make the hardware necessary for face recognition capability small enough to be featured in a mobile phone.