Apple patent uses FRT with ‘body data’ so cameras can ID people without seeing faces

Apple has been granted a patent for “identity recognition utilizing face-associated body characteristics.” The face recognition technology is anticipated to appear in a forthcoming smart security product from the tech giant.

Patent No. 12154386 2B, filed in May 2022 and granted on November 26, 2024, describes a system that associates facial recognition with other body characteristics, which might include things like clothing, gait, or gesture, to recognize certain people even if their faces are not visible to the camera.

The patent outlines the problem it intends to solve in clear terms: “sometimes a video camera may not be able to perform facial recognition of a person, given a particular video feed.”

It then describes the capability to monitor a video feed and determine, based on the analysis of video frames and previously stored face and body biometrics, whether an identification can be made with a primary body characteristic (face) or requires a secondary characteristic.

The system might work by linking a gallery of “body croppings” such as torso, arms or legs with their face biometrics, then comparing the data with a live video feed. It proceeds in a stepped approach, identifying face, then body parts, then, if needed, “physical characteristics” that could include body shape, skin color, or the texture or color of clothing. The order of operations is adaptable to the scenario.

The resulting data constitutes a cluster of “bodyprints” which can be assigned a confidence score against a person’s faceprint and other characteristics. Since there is a limited time in which certain identifiers are useful (clothing, for instance), the technology can utilize storage periods as brief as 24 hours.

Camera could recognize family members, people in ‘any suitable environment’

It all appears to add up to a smart camera system that knows a person’s face and walk, but re-registers his clothes in the morning, so that it is able to recognize him on his way home even if it can’t see his face, because it knows his Hawaiian shirt.

That said, Apple is not ruling out possibilities beyond the domicile. Per the text, “it should be understood that, although embodiments of the present disclosure are primarily directed to performing identity recognition in a home environment setting, embodiments should not be construed to be so limited.” Indeed, the system could apply in “any suitable environment, such as an office building, a warehouse, a parking lot, a public park, etc.”

As noted by 9 to 5 Mac, which gets credit for spotting the patent, Apple patents many technologies it never makes. But as markets for AI and facial authentication open up in law enforcement, border control, intelligence, access management, credentialing and event security, its interest in a smart AI camera that performs broad identity recognition is understandable.

Article Topics

Apple  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  gait recognition  |  home security  |  patents  |  person detection