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Matsushita technology recognizes faces' features even in pitch dark+
[February 23, 2006]

Matsushita technology recognizes faces' features even in pitch dark+


(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, Feb. 23_(Kyodo) _ Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. said Thursday it has developed a low-cost, laser-based technology that enables human faces to be recognized even in the pitch dark or at condominium entrances that do not have consistently sufficient lighting.



The technology uses laser beams from light-emitting diodes to record images of the faces of visitors at the entrances of condos and office buildings, the company said.

The technology can then match the images obtained with electronic data on people qualified to enter the buildings input into the system beforehand.


Under conventional picture-based face-recognition technologies, it has been hard to identify people in cases where rays from the sun or lamps hit their faces at acute angles, as this causes the uneven or prominent parts of their faces to cast shadows.

Even if makers of such recognition systems correct and revise images taken of faces on the basis of correction software, it has remained difficult to accurately identify visitors.

But the new Matsushita technology takes pictures of faces only on the basis of reflections from laser beams from the diodes, the company said.

As a result, the technology makes it easy to recognize faces, even if a person's picture is taken near a window or inside a dimly-lit warehouse, it said.

The company is planning to market the new system for people in charge of security at condos, office buildings and other structures at a price lower than 1 million yen to make it more competitive than others on the market.

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