February 28, 2006
Vodafone to launch a phone with both recognition and "star gazing" functions
Vodafone is to launch a phone in April with both facial recognition and "star gazing" functions. [Press Release]
Oki Elecltric's Face Sensing Engine (FSE), enables instant face recognition using the camera on mobile phones to restrict access to mobile phones.
FSE will be embedded in the Vodafone 904SH (manufactured by Sharp), which is planned for launch in late April 2006 and future Vodafone K.K. 3G mobile phones to be launched in Japan.
FSE can instantly verify the owner with the industry's fastest authentication speed, as soon as the owner looks into the camera.
A related article from the French AFP , ads that this new phone will also include a "seiza o sagaso" ("look to the stars") function, enabling a mobile user to reproduce on his/her cell phone screen, an image which is a reconstitution of a star filled sky, based on the date and location of the user - thanks to motion captors which can measure in real time, the position and orientation of the cameraphone in 3D.
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