Animetrics Inc., a provider of face recognizing biometric solutions, has been awarded patents by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The patents are titled ‘Generation of Image Database for Multifeatured Objects,’ ‘Facial Recognition System and Method,’ and ‘Viewpoint-Invariant Image Matching and Generation of 3D Models from 2D Imagery.’ These patents are based on breakthrough technologies that are revolutionizing face biometric-based applications in the domain of surveillance, security, and computer vision.
According to Paul Schuepp, CEO and president of Animetrics, the company’s patents possess significant potential in the areas for face biometric applications in border control, military operations, and field identification. Schuepp added that some more patents are in the pipeline and that tests conducted by the U.S. government have proved the utility of face biometrics for non-studio situations. In these situations, the face is uncontrolled and the appearance of the face is also compromised by illumination and pose, resulting in unsatisfactory performance.
The new patents include Animetrics 2D-3D Facengine that allows a face to be matched through biometric techniques even in such difficult situations. Dr. Michael Miller, founder and chairman of Animetrics, adds that these developments would open up a range of applications and opportunities for the company.
These technologies covered by the patents offer techniques to create 3D models using an arbitrary quantity of uncalibrated photographs for any scale and operation. The technology will also create databases using 3D models that can be used for training or face recognition in biometric systems, as well as normalization-based face recognition systems using 3D models.
Animetrics, a leader in the domain of facial biometric technologies ever since 2003, is developing a facial-based surveillance system for the U.S. Army. The company is famous for its trade mark face recognition products known as Animetrics90 and its expertise in the 2D/3D facial creation technology that is available in its product line known as Animetrics Forensica. Udo Woermann, law enforcement forensic and biometric expert and president of UNIDAS, adds that Animetrics 2D to 3D conversion algorithms can precisely extract 3D facial geometries using 2D images.