Image courtesy of Projo.com

Michael Tarr, codirector of the Center for Vision Research at Brown University, focuses on the correlation between what the human brain processes and what the eyes see. His work helps other scientists develop and improve technology that allows computers to recognize faces.

Tarr believes that face recognition technology will soon become a common feature in future applications. Some programs, like Google’s photo-sharing client Picasa, already utilize this technology.

Picasa uses face recognition technology to identify faces in photos, improving album organization and searches. According to Tarr, Picasa’s technology can correctly identify faces 80 to 90 percent of the time. As Tarr’s research continues, the technology accuracy will increase.

“Five years from now,” Tarr says, “it’s going to be high 90s.”

With this technology steadily improving, Tarr can imagine it applied in various fields, such as law enforcement, marketing and even in home apppliances. [ProJo]