Future forensic biometrics directions revealed in new patent, investor presentation

Two leading facial recognition providers are making moves to innovate forensic biometrics, as they see it, with patent protection for Clearview AI and a new technique in development by Corsight.

The method of populating a biometrics database with data collected from public repositories on the internet used by Clearview AI has been approved for a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The filing for “Methods for Providing Information About a Person Based on Facial Recognition” is the first of its kind for a facial recognition company, according to the announcement. The patent describes a system for applying facial recognition to information gathered from the public internet, such as social media platforms, mugshot directories and news sites. Clearview says its database now includes more than 10 billion images.

The patent is scheduled to be issued on February 15, 2022, according to the USPTO website.

“This distinction is more than an intellectual property protection; it is a clear acknowledgement of Clearview AI’s technological innovation in the artificial intelligence industry,” comment Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That.

The company also refers to its results in recent NIST benchmarking as demonstrating the power and reliability of its biometric identification technology.

Corsight plans cross-modal biometrics products

A presentation delivered to investors by Corsight AI and reported by MIT Technology Review shows the company is working on a project it refers to as “DNA to Face.”

The presentation for the 2021 Imperial Capital Investors Conference was spotted by IPVM (subscription required and recommended).

The product would construct an image based on the biometric analysis of genetic material, and while CEO Rob Watts told IPVM that details are confidential pending a product launch, the presentation does not appear to clearly indicate that the resulting image would be intended for use with the company’s facial recognition algorithms.

Corsight’s overall product roadmap, based on the presentation, also includes gait biometrics and “facial cues” based on voice recognition, which also appear to be in development.

The Review notes that Parabon NanoLabs provides a product, ’Snapshot,’ which produces 3D face renderings from DNA, but does not offer facial recognition, and warns law enforcement clients against using the feature with facial recognition systems. A director with the company tells the Review that the feature does not yield exact measurements for features, which biometric algorithms depend on for accurate results.

Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn tells the Review that the idea is “pseudoscience.”

A similar idea has been explored by a team of researchers at KU Leuven, which they suggested could be used to help “rule people out.”

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometric identifiers  |  biometrics  |  Clearview AI  |  Corsight  |  face biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  forensics  |  Parabon NanoLabs  |  patents