Japanese scientists have developed special eye wear to protect users from unwanted facial recognition technologies, felt by many to infringe on privacy.
Japan’s National Institute of Informatics (NII) have created the new “Privacy Visor”spectacles which will help to keep you anonymous. Available from next year you will be able to hide from Big Brother for just $240.
The glasses are equipped with a near-infrared light source, which confuses the software without affecting vision.
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RT report: The trick lies in a series of crafted lenses that reflect, refract and absorb light in different directions and from different angles. The technology renders one’s face nearly unrecognizable to the face-detection software available on the market today.
“The Privacy Visor is the world’s first product with this technology,” said Professor Isao Echizen, who led the research. “We are often told not to unveil our personal information to others, but our faces are also a type of an ID. There should be a way to protect that.”
According to researchers the Privacy Visor was able to block facial recognition 90 percent of the time in tests using cameras on smartphones.
However scientists warn that it could be dangerous to use them while driving.
The Privacy Visors, made of titanium, are scheduled to hit the market in June 2016 for a price of ¥30,000 (US$240). The technology behind the new model is nothing like the previous version by the same developer, which relied on a set of flashing LEDs to blind facial recognition cameras.
Niamh Harris