New Software Brings Facial-Recognition Technology to Mobile" Phones

Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed software for mobile phones that can track your facial features in real-time. Eventually it will be able to tell who the user is, where they are looking and even how they are feeling. Resource Shelf reports.

The method is believed to be unrivalled for speed and accuracy and could lead to facial recognition replacing passwords and PIN numbers to log into internet sites from a mobile phone.

"Existing mobile face trackers give only an approximate position and scale of the face," said Dr Phil Tresadern, lead researcher on the project. "Our model runs in real-time and accurately tracks a number of landmarks on and around the face such as the eyes, nose, mouth and jaw line.

"A mobile phone with a camera on the front captures a video of your face and tracks twenty-two facial features. This can make face recognition more accurate, and has great potential for novel ways of interacting with your phone."

Read full press release from The University of Manchester. Watch video demo on YouTube. Further information about the project at www.mobioproject.org

Apple's White iPhone launch delayed (again) or cancelled?

The launch of Apple's white iPhone 4 has now been postponed until Spring 2011.

According to Cult of Mac, the white phone has manufacturing problems related to light leaking into the camera sensor.

Boy Genius Report even claims the white iPhone 4 has been secretly canceled.

Testing a Bar Code Technology for 2-D Smartphones

The New York Times reports on Albany’s transit system which has been blanketed with the bar codes — also called quick response or QR bar codes — which consumers can scan with their smartphone and, within seconds, connect to a Web site, photo or video. In the Albany test, users access QRiousAlbany.com, where they can register for a contest to win an iPad.

Bar code campaigns are cropping up in other transit hubs, as well. In Denver International Airport, for example, Colorado-based FirstBank began to offer this month a free download of an e-book to passengers scanning the bar code on posters mounted in terminal corridors.

Read full article.

Augmented Reality Sex Offender Tracker App for iPhone

BeenVerified.com has just launched the first augmented reality app for iPhone that keeps tabs on sex offenders.

The Sex Offender Tracker App uses the latest in augmented reality technology to locate registered sex offenders that are near your current location. This combination results in a live visual representation of the exact location of sex offenders as related to a specific physical location.

5% of the sales of the $1.99 app will go to Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network(RAINN), which works to promote issues related to the prevention of sexual assault.

Full press release.

Related - The Offender Locator app, one of the top 10 paid iPhone apps, shows you registered sex offenders living around you.

Related: - GigaOM on Augmented Reality or Futuristic Invasion of Privacy

Warner Bros. uses mobile tags to promote DVD/Blu-ray launch

Warner Bros. is promoting its film “Inception” by having consumers snap a photo of the tag that gives them new content each week leading up to the DVD/Blu-ray launch. Mobile Marketer reports.

The tag is featured on the Inception Facebook page, TV commercials, posters and on the DVD cover. Users can participate by taking a photo and sending it to a short code.

“Mobile 2D codes can help engage the consumer and create a dialogue of interaction between consumer and brand by activating traditional and/or digital media,” said Laura Marriott, board member at NeoMedia.

Read full article.

Online video use expanding on mobile phones

The latest survey of web video usage from Bytemobile shows that smartphone users are watching it in ever larger quantities. ComputerWorldUK reports.

For the third calendar quarter, the Bytemobile data shows:

-- User-generated videos on YouTube and Google on average are about 48% of total network video traffic (adult content is 31% of the total)

-- Video content is already a significant percentage of smartphone data traffic, with iPhone users currently generating more of it than Android: For iPhone users on average, 42% of their total data traffic is video, the number for Android user is 32%.

-- Video traffic picks up and grows steadily throughout the day, but the peak hours are in the evening, which also tracks the distribution of mobile users. Bytemobile says this indicates video is increasingly an entertainment-based selection, outside of work hours.

Read more.

Parents Angry Over Cellphone Video of Daughter Killed in Crash

A Georgia couple were devastated to learn that a someone took a graphic cell-phone video of their daughter moments after she was killed in a car crash and shared the footage with others. And they're angry because they say it shows the first responders didn't rush to check on her. AOL News reports.

Sheriff's investigators from Spalding County confirmed the video was taken by one of its firefighters on his personal cell phone and shared with colleagues, Fox 5-TV reported. A second firefighter took it to a bar, where he texted it to people there, and it kept spreading, the station said.

The sheriff has apologized but is unsure if any laws were broken, NBC reported.

Read full article.

Related: - Cameraphones misuse and indecency

'Ugly Meter' iPhone App Analyzes Photos of Faces to Determine unAttractiveness

Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? A new app will solve this riddle for you, but be warned, you may get your feelings hurt in the process.

ABCNews reviews a new iPhone application called "Ugly Meter". It lets users take photos of their faces and then analyzes their facial structure in real-time. Once the app is done scanning, it delivers a score on a 10-point scale.

Pew Report: Skype, Apple FaceTime, Google Chat Spur Video Calling

Roughly 20 percent of online U.S. adults have conducted video calls via the Web or their cell phones, according to Pew Research Center's Internet & American Project. Apple FaceTime, Skype and Google Chat will fuel the rise. eWeek reports.

Users joined video calls, chats or teleconferences from the Web via their computers to the tune of some 23 percent, while 7 percent have used their phones for such tasks.

Often, people placed video calls on both the Internet and their cell phone, but Pew only counted those who said they had used both mediums to participate in video calling once.

Read full article. Pew report: "Video calling and video chat".

Amazon's iPhone barcode scanner takes impulse buying to a new level

According to News.com, Amazon's updated iPhone app makes it easier to instantly shell out for wares.

The latest version of Amazon Mobile, 1.2.8, contains a barcode scanner in its search screen. As with barcode scanners in other mobile apps, Amazon Mobile uses your iPhone's camera to take in a product's zebra-striped barcode. Amazon's servers then find a match, and after you select the item, you can sign in to your account to purchase the product on the spot.

As on the regular Amazon Web site, you've got gift options and a choice of multiple shipping addresses. Just like before, you can also add the product to your wish list or cart for later purchasing.

Read more.

How a cell phone picture led to girl's suicide

A student bullied at school leads to yet another tragic suicide.

[via CNN]

Cell phones bring spectroscopy to the classroom

University of Illinois chemistry professor Alexander Scheeline wants to see high school students using their cell phones in class. Not for texting or surfing the Web, but as an analytical chemistry instrument.

[via R&D]

President to Sign Video Description Bill

The 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act, a bill that will reinstate mandatory video description, is scheduled for a presidential signing ceremony tomorrow. Television Broadcast reports.

The bill requires wireless providers to make Wi-Fi phones, Web browsers, text messaging and e-mail on smart phones fully accessible to people with vision and/or hearing impairment. It covers emergency broadcast information and allocates $10 million a year for developing assistive technologies.

Read full article and press release.

Augmented Reality: Rogue Art Exhibition at MoMA

On Saturday, October 9th, NYC's Museum of Modern Art will be home to a rogue augmented reality art exhibition. Visitors with Android or iPhone devices will be able to admire an unofficial showing -- with or without the museum's permission.

The show will not be visible to regular visitors of the MoMA, but those using a smartphone application called “Layar Augmented Reality browser” will be able to see additional works on each of the floors, put there using a location-based augmented reality technique.

[Wired via Mobile Behavior]

Instagram launches iPhone app to connect through photos

Vator News gives photo sharing iPhone app Instagram a glowing review.

Instagram allows users to snap photos on their iPhones, use any number of filters to give it a unique look (vintage Polaroid look, black and white, pink cast, yellow cast, etc.), and then share the photo on several different social networks at once (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, or Foursquare), with a caption and location.

Generally, when you upload a photo to Facebook, you’re only sharing with your friends, but the app allows for more openness so you can share with and follow other app users within the app itself.

The app seems to act as a photo-sharing social network in itself, complete with news feed, updates, the ability to follow, and more.

Read full review.

PayPal iPhone App Lets Users Deposit Checks by Taking a Photo

A new update to the PayPal iPhone app now allows users to deposit money into their online accounts simply by taking a photo of a check.

[via Switched]

Related:

-- USAA Bank To Allow Check Deposits via iPhone - It was installed 150,000 times and has processed $1.5 million in deposits in its first three days.

-- JPMorgan Chase updated its iPhone app to let customers electronically deposit checks

Google Goggles Lands on the iPhone

Google Goggles, the tech giant’s mobile app for searching just by taking a picture, is finally making its debut on the iPhone. Mashable reports.

Google Goggles launched as an Android app in Google Labs in December of last year. The app processes pictures taken with the phone and recognizes the text within it, creating search results for things like books and business cards. It also recognizes landmarks, paintings or other historical objects. Earlier this year, Google Goggles gained the ability to translate text in photos.

Read full article.

Footage aired of Israeli soldier 'dancing round blindfolded Palestinian woman'

According to the BBC, Israel's army is investigating a video which appears to show a soldier dancing around a bound and blindfolded Palestinian woman.

The YouTube video, which looks like it has been filmed on a mobile phone, appears to show an Israeli soldier in uniform dancing to Arabic music around a female Palestinian prisoner.

Related: - The Military and Iraq. Images and Issues