An innovative, more precise and faster facial recognition technologyβcompared to the current state of the artβdeveloped through the has been licensed to human analytics company Kairos.Β The Miami-based startup will incorporate this new computer vision technology within its core facial recognition product designed to serve enterprise customers within a variety of industries including hospitality, workforce and electronic payment industries.
Under the leadership and direction of professor Mubarak Shah, a widely recognized leading expert in computer vision research, the ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Center for Research in ComputerΒ Vision developed the technology to significantly improve the ability to accurately complete facial identification of individuals in photos and video. The video capability is especially exciting for the industry, as traditional technologies have lacked accuracy, are typically cumbersome to operate, as well as expensive to launch and maintain.
βThe capability of this facial recognition technology is very exciting to us,β said Brian Brackeen, CEO of . βFacial recognition technology has been developing over the past few decades, however, videoβwith its motion and variations in illuminationβhas long been the challenge.Β Dr. Shah and his team have developed the right solution that combines accuracy, speed and deployability for the commercial market.βΒ Β ΜύΜύ
The technology is based on an algorithm developed by the ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ team to focus on specific facial features that then converts a photo into a checkerboard of patches and extracted tiny snapshots of the most significant facial parts. The computer program than compares the photo against a database of photos, feature by feature, and identifies the match.Β This is highly attractive within the hospitality, amusement, healthcare and electronic payment industries where organizations find it beneficial to quickly and reliably identify consumers, whether for promotional opportunities or access issues.
In its application for video, the technology provides an end-to-end face recognition system that addresses the difficult problem of identifying a video face track using a large database of still face images. Traditional technologies are based on an expensive frame-by-frame method.Β Dr. Shah and his team of researchers developed a novel algorithm Mean Sequence SRC that performs video face recognition using a joint optimization leveraging all of the available video data and the knowledge that the face track frames belong to the same individual.
Whereas the defense and security industries feature a number of facial recognition technologies and companies, Kairos is targeting the enterprise market, which it believes is underserved and therefore represents a significant opportunity.Β Key industries include hospitality, amusement, workforce, gaming, healthcare and electronic payment industries.
βWorking with Kairos provides the perfect illustration of how ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ research and ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½-developed technologies are not only brought to fruition but are also applied to the commercial marketplace,β said Narasimha Nagaiah (Raju), licensing associate with , who facilitated the license agreement.
Brackeen, who believes ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs computer vision program is one of the top programs of its kind, expressed significant satisfaction in his experience working with ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs Office of Technology Transfer.
βIn our efforts to identify a leading-edge facial recognition technology, we were quickly able to come across
ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs computer vision program and identify Dr. Shahβs research as groundbreaking,β said Brackeen. βThe response by the Office of Technology Transfer was exceptional and thorough in its support of our effort to take this technology to the commercial market.β
In addition to working with ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs Office of Technology Transfer, Kairos recently received investment support through the Florida Angel Nexus and the . Kairos plans to work closely with ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ and the computer vision program, as the company grows and adds talent.
About Kairos
Kairos is a human analytics company designed for innovative, data driven businesses. Its core business offerings provide facial recognition, crowd analytics and emotion analysis solutions. The company provides multi-dimension analysis of human beings by capturing decisive moments in people’s behavior. This intelligence empowers companies with meaningful metrics. Kairosβ mission is to radically change how companies understand people. For more information, visit,