Google Files Facial Password Patent: Making A Crazy Face Could Unlock Your Device

Google has filed a facial password patent, which will allow users to place a password with a facial expression. The search giant had previously introduced Face unlock along with ICS Android platform. But the introduction of facial gestures should eliminate the possibility of the Face Unlock facility being fooled by photos.

BBC found a document which suggested that the new software will not only track facial landmark, but will also check if the user has carried out the right action, to confirm that he/she is the device owner.

The document also mentions examples of such a gesture:

a frown
a tongue protrusion
an open-mouth smile
a forehead wrinkle
an eyebrow movement

The document also explains how the software checks, if the person behind the device is actually the owner and not a manipulated photograph. The check will compare two images taken from a captured video stream of the user's face, to see if the gesture was made. The software will also examine other frames from the captured video stream, to check if the person has made a sequence of movements to achieve the predefined facial gesture. The document adds that the software can also examine the changes in angel of a person's face, to ensure that it is not being showed a still images or fake animated images.

Last year Google introduced a new feature called "liveness check", which required users blink at their device. This was meant to prevent the facial recognition from being fooled. However a few users were able to fool the system anyways. The video below shows exactly how this can be done. Maybe the new patented software from Google will not be so easy to crack.

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