The ultimate disguise? New concept glasses make the wearer undetectable to facial recognition software and could help protect privacy from prying cameras
- Reflectacles IRpair make it impossible for cameras to capture a person’s identity
- They do this by turning the eye area black and reflecting infrared beams back
- Can be worn during the day and night, both in bright and dark environments
The world’s first light blocking glasses have been created to make the wearer unrecognisable to even the most advanced facial recognition software.
The pioneering Reflectacles IRpair act as a shield to make it impossible for smartphones or CCTV cameras to capture a person’s identity.
They do so by turning the eye area ‘black’ and invisible to any form of technology, reflecting infrared beams from any source and subsequently distorting facial data.
The specs can be worn during the day and night, and in both bright and dark environments.
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New look: The pioneering Reflectacles IRpair act as a shield to make it impossible for smartphones or CCTV cameras to capture a person’s identity
Reflectacles IRpair creator Scott Urban said: ‘The problem with facial recognition is that it has become so smart with infrared mapping and artificial intelligence that people can no longer choose if they want to be on the system or not.
‘They are clocked just by walking down the sidewalk. A profile is being built everywhere.
‘It is not to say I agree with using facial recognition to track everybody’s actions but my main concern personally is that I don’t want to be on these systems.
‘I’ve never had social media. I’ve never had a smart phone. I am still pre-2007 and I like it that way.’
The glasses come standard in a dark black translucent acetate with a glossy finish – giving the impression of traditional sunglasses.
They don’t affect the vision at all, but are capable of making the wearer anonymous in images or videos using a flash.
As well as a full frame, the specs are available as a clip-on pair which make it possible to wear with prescription lenses.
Would you wear them to protect your privacy? They don’t affect the vision at all, but are capable of making the wearer anonymous in images or videos using a flash
How it works: Specifically, the glasses are made with specially formulated optical filters that absorb the near infrared spectrum which is critical for 3D facial mapping, eye tracking and illumination on average infrared security cameras.
HOW DO THEY WORK?
The Reflectacles IRpair act as a shield to make it impossible for smartphones or CCTV cameras to capture a person’s identity.
They do so by turning the eye area black to any form of technology and reflecting infrared beams from any source to distort facial data.
Specifically, they are made with specially formulated optical filters that absorb the near infrared spectrum which is critical for 3D facial mapping, eye tracking and illumination on average infrared security cameras.
This means any device using infrared in the forms of laser or lamp will not be able to obtain the necessary eye biometrics for facial recognition.
They are made with specially formulated optical filters that absorb the near infrared spectrum which is critical for 3D facial mapping, eye tracking and illumination on average infrared security cameras.
This means any device using infrared in the forms of laser or lamp will not be able to obtain the necessary eye biometrics for facial recognition.
Reflectacles IRpair also filters out the visible blue light spectrum allowing your vision to be more bright, crisp and clear.
Instead they create more perception of depth and provide a reduction in the effects of smoke, haze and fog.
Urban said: ‘The technology that currently exists is able to scan everybody’s face at large and then associate it with a unique identifier.
‘This means a face, one’s new identity, can be tracked in all environments at all times.
‘People are giving up their facial data for free at the moment in exchange for convenience. I don’t want to participate in that system so that’s why I’ve created this to allow us to opt-out.’
A Kickstarter campaign has been set-up to launch the glasses with more than £25,000 pledged so far.
HOW DOES FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY WORK?
Facial recognition software works by matching real time images to a previous photograph of a person.
Each face has approximately 80 unique nodal points across the eyes, nose, cheeks and mouth which distinguish one person from another.
A digital video camera measures the distance between various points on the human face, such as the width of the nose, depth of the eye sockets, distance between the eyes and shape of the jawline.
A different smart surveillance system (pictured) can scan 2 billion faces within seconds has been revealed in China. The system connects to millions of CCTV cameras and uses artificial intelligence to pick out targets. The military is working on applying a similar version of this with AI to track people across the country
This produces a unique numerical code that can then be linked with a matching code gleaned from a previous photograph.
A facial recognition system used by officials in China connects to millions of CCTV cameras and uses artificial intelligence to pick out targets.
Experts believe that facial recognition technology will soon overtake fingerprint technology as the most effective way to identify people.
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