the-BA : The use of an ‘average face’ drastically improves facial recognition

Embargo: 11:30 Tuesday 11 September

Recent research shows that humans are surprisingly poor at matching a face in a photograph to that seen in real life. The situation is the same with automatic face recognition systems. In today’s surveillance society, correct photo identification is of the utmost importance and with the government’s proposed identity card scheme expected to begin in 2009; the ID issue is highly controversial.

Researchers from the University of Glasgow, led by Dr Rob Jenkins and Professor Mike Burton, have developed a new technology that drastically improves the success of both human and automated systems at matching a face to a photo. Dr Jenkins will be talking about this work at the BA Festival of Science on Tuesday at The BA Joseph Lister Award Lecture.

The team worked on the principle that the more familiar a person is with the face in question, the easier it is for them to recognise the face in a photograph. They collected different images of each person’s face and averaged them to make one image. Only 10 – 11 photos were required to stabilise the image, with any extra images after that making little difference. The average face image was also surprisingly resilient to errors, even with the ‘contamination’ of a third of the faces being of other people, the average face hardly changed.

Dr Jenkins said: ‘The resulting images are quite uncanny, seeming to bring out the true essence of each face.’
The averaged faces were then checked against the individual faces from which they were made. Both humans and machines were significantly better at recognising the average picture. Jenkins explained: ‘This is because the averaging process washes out aspects of the image that are unhelpful, such as lighting effects, while consolidating aspects of the image that are diagnostic of identity, such as the physical structure of the face.’

With the proposed identity card scheme looming, the breakthrough of better-than-photo recognition accuracy raises the question of whether face databases and ID documents should contain identity averages, rather than standard photographs.

‘This boost in face recognition accuracy has major implications for crime prevention and national security policies. It also demonstrates that with face recognition, as with so many other problems, we can improve machine performance by mimicking nature's solution’.

Dr Rob Jenkins will give his talk, ‘Identity and mistaken identity: face recognition in a surveillance society’ on 11 September at Physics PX/001, University of York as part of the BA Festival of Science.

The opportunity to present a popular and prestigious BA award lecture at the Festival of Science is offered to five outstanding communicators each year. The award lectures aim to promote open and informed discussion on issues involving science and actively encourage young scientists to explore the social aspects of their research, providing them with reward and recognition for doing so.
The BA Festival of Science will be in York from 9-15 September, bringing over 350 of the UK’s top scientists and engineers to discuss the latest developments in science with the public. In addition to talks and debates at the University of York, there will be a host of events throughout the city.
For further information about the BA Festival of Science, including an online programme, visit www.the-ba.net/festivalofscience.

This year’s BA Festival of Science is organised by the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) in partnership with the University of York, Science City York and the City of York Council. It is supported by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, BP and Yorkshire Forward.

ENDS

For further information please contact:
Lisa Hendry, Press Officer, the BA
Tel: 020 7019 4946
Email: lisa.hendry@the-ba.net
Or
Jessica Griggs, Press Assistant, the BA
Tel: 020 7019 4947
Email: jessica.griggs@the-ba.net

Note for editors

1. The BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) is the UK's nationwide, open membership organisation that exists to advance the public understanding, accessibility and accountability of the sciences and engineering. Established in 1831, the BA organises major initiatives across the UK, including National Science and Engineering Week, the annual BA Festival of Science, programmes of regional and local events, and an extensive programme for young people in schools and colleges. The BA also organises specific activities for the science communication community in the UK through its Science in Society programme. For more information about the BA, please visit www.the-ba.net.

2. Speakers have been asked to submit press papers for their talks, which include a summary of the talk and what is newsworthy about their research. Press papers will be available from late-August at www.the-ba.net/presspapers.

3. To register for access to the press papers or to the Press Centre at the BA Festival of Science, visit www.the-ba.net/pressregister.

4. The BA Festival of Science 2007 is being hosted in York by the University of York, Science City York and the City of York Council.

5. The University of York, founded in 1963, has nearly 12,000 students, 3,000 staff and more than 30 academic departments and research centres. It is one of Britain’s leading research-intensive universities, with a global reputation. The University concentrates on strong viable departments and teaching and research of the highest quality. It is rated sixth out of 172 UK higher education institutions for the quality of its research, with 18 of its 23 departments rated 5 or 5*. Ambitious plans for growth include a projected 50 per cent increase in student numbers, and significant research expansion and spin-out activity. For more information, visit http://www.york.ac.uk/.

6. Science City York is a successful business and skills development initiative, driving the creation and growth of business and employment opportunities across York and North Yorkshire in bioscience, IT & digital and creative technologies. Established in 1998 as a partnership between City of York Council and The University of York, Science City York is supported by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency for Yorkshire and the Humber. Further information available from http://www.sciencecityyork.org.uk//.

7. City of York Council serves over 180,000 residents, covering an area of 236km2 and providing a wide range of services. The council works with 70 schools across the city to provide high quality education to over 24,000 pupils. The authority employs over 7,000 staff and is York's largest employer. More information about the council and its services is available at http://www.york.gov.uk/.

	Home

	Press Office

	Press Releases

	2007 Press Releases

	2006 Press Releases

	2005 Press Releases

	2004 Press Releases