Original title: Google’s new Pixel 7 series mobile phones are released, and the probability of facial recognition fraud is more than 20%
Smart things News October 8, this Thursday, Google released the new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro mobile phones to re-enable the facial recognition function. Previously, due to cost and performance challenges, Google smartphones briefly stopped using facial recognition systems.
The Pixel 4 series mobile phones released by Google in 2019 used the uDepth infrared depth sensing device to achieve a high level of face recognition, but the performance was still not as good as Face ID.
The recognition accuracy of the facial recognition function of the new Pixel 7 series phones is not comparable to the uDepth in the Pixel 4 series to some extent.
That’s because the facial recognition systems in Google’s new phones struggle to cope with low light conditions and are more likely to be fooled by fake faces like those in photos. In addition, Google officials revealed that the facial recognition feature of the Pixel 7 series phones is not secure enough to log into apps or make payments.
▲ Schematic diagram of the Google Pixel 7 series mobile phone
Previously, Google had very limited facial recognition on its phones, partly due to questions about its performance with dark-skinned faces. Since Google launched the Pixel 4 series of phones in 2019, the company has spent a lot of time testing facial recognition features, according to people familiar with the matter.
1. Google was under pressure from Apple’s Face ID, but uDepth development was forced to stop production due to cost
It took at least a decade for Google to get face unlock on Android phones, and when Apple released Face ID in September 2017, it put a lot of pressure on Google at the time. The accuracy of Apple’s Face ID can reach one part in a million, which is 20 times more accurate than its Touch ID fingerprint unlock.
▲ Apple Face ID function
At the time, Google had been working to design a new facial recognition system that would work quickly and not be fooled by things like photos, sources said. Google engineers have considered asking users to smile or wink to prove they are “alive” as a countermeasure to fraud, but the method is clumsy and slow.
Apple’s Face ID uses a depth-sensing device called TrueDepth and an infrared camera to map the details of a person’s face, and after the release of Face ID, Google executives approved a study of a similar technology, which was released in 2019 by the Google Pixel 4 series called the infrared depth sensing device on the phone in uDepth.
A Google official said that uDepth performed well, and even in a dark environment, the chance of unlocking a face that was not recorded on the phone was less than 1 in 50,000. But the set is expensive, and Apple sells about 240 million iPhones a year, while Google’s Pixel tops out at just a few million, preventing Google from buying parts at volume discounts like Apple does .
Google dropped uDepth in the 2020 Pixel 5 series of phones for cost reasons.
2. The probability of being cheated by facial recognition on Pixel 7 series mobile phones is more than 20%, and Google is still optimistic about fingerprint unlocking
The face unlock of the Pixel 7 series phones relies on the front camera, but unlike the previous uDepth system, it does not securely log in to apps and make payments, and its chances of being scammed are more than 20 % and more than 7% the safest threshold.
▲ Pixel 7 mobile phone front view (Source: Jugo Mobile)
Google refused to answer some specific questions about its history of facial recognition, but the company responded in general: “Thanks to a machine learning model of facial recognition, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro have facial recognition, which we use through the front camera Good. facial accuracy performance is achieved.”
A Google spokesperson said that low light and sunglasses can also cause problems with face unlock, so fingerprint unlock is still an option.
Conclusion: Google’s facial recognition cost problem is difficult to solve
Google has been researching in the field of face recognition for at least 10 years, and the Pixel 4 series 2019 mobile phones have a uDepth device, which can recognize faces more accurately even in low light environments. But in the end, due to the low number of mobile phones issued and the high cost of product components, the facial recognition function was stopped short.
Although the Pixel 7 series phones have facial recognition, it is much less effective than previous phones with uDepth. Although Google has been researching the field of facial recognition for many years, it is still difficult to install a high-level facial recognition system on its mobile phones due to its low mobile phone shipments and high supply chain costs.
Source: ReutersReturn to Sohu, see more
