Bradford University scientists in with assistance from Aberystwyth University are working on a new lie detector which is currently 70% accurate. The new sensor based detector could one day replace the well known polygraph test.
The new system, which was unveiled at the British Science Festival in Bradford, uses a camera, high-resolution thermal imaging sensor to detect heat and specialized computer software to detect whether an individual is lying or speaking the truth.
As the individual is asked questions and answers them the system picks up signs like slip of the tongue, nose wrinkling, lip biting and blinking. The software then analyzes the tell tale signs and figures out if the individual is lying. With initial experiments the researchers have established a 70% accuracy for the system but they still have a long way to go to beat the polygraph test which has a 90% accuracy rate for lie detection.
Professor Hassan Ugail thinks there are many possible uses for the test. He added that they had brought together all this well-established work on expressions, these recent developments in thermal imaging, techniques for image tracking of subjects and our new algorithms into one operational system. He added that in a real, high stress situation, they might get an even higher success rate.