Arcsoft adds facial recognition feature to home surveillance system

Arcsoft announced at CES 2015 it has added a facial recognition feature to its Simplicam home and office wi-fi surveillance system, according to a report by The Verge.

The feature, which is currently in beta, is offered as a free update to anyone who previously purchased Arcsoft’s Simplicam camera and subscribe to its paid monthly recording service.

The system can store up to 10 people’s faces, notifying users which individuals have entered their home or office.

The new feature learns a person’s face over time. Once it does, it will automatically categorize any video where it’s identified a particular face and maintain an ongoing list of still images for people it recognizes.

As the user weeds out the wrong matches over time, the system improves. Users can also configure the system to delete footage when it records them or another person they have trained it to recognize, as well as to send alerts only when the camera picks up on individuals it does not already know.

Over time, users will no longer have to use Arcsoft’s geofencing feature, will receive less alerts, and the system will halt recording when the camera recognizes an individual who would normally be in the house.

Arcsoft was originally going to introduce the facial recognition feature last August, but it was postponed due to the complexity.

The feature uses 10 times the server-side processing as facial detection, said Caroline Tien-Spalding, director of marketing at Arcsoft.

In addition to the facial recognition feature, Arcsoft said it will release a software update later this month that will enable users to set up motion activity zones within the camera’s field of vision.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  CES  |  surveillance cameras