Official News page 5

REAL LIFE NEWS: PHOTOS FOOL SOFTWARE

by Hazed

In Japan, some cigarette vending machines are using face-recognition software to try to stop kids from buying smokes. One such system, developed by Fujitaka, snaps a picture of the would-be buyer using a camera built into the machine, and software then analyzes the face for things that indicate how old the person is, such as wrinkles around the eyes and sagging skin.

So far, so good - except that it turns out to be laughably easy to fool. A Japanese reporter has discovered that holding up family photos or cut-outs from magazines can fool the machines. He tested a machine in Osaka and another in Kobe, and in both cases was able to buy his cigarettes. His tests included various sizes of photo, and the machines were quite happy to accept 3-inch wide snaps - although they drew the line at 1-inch photos.

Fujitaka admit that its software can be fooled by photographs - "on occasion" is the phrase they use. But they say they are developing more advanced facial recognition software for the machines. So kids with an addiction will just have to come up with even cleverer ways to get around the restrictions!

It also occurs to me that if they make the software too restrictive, adults who have had facelifts or use Botox may not display enough wrinkles for the machines to accept they are grown-ups...

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