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Masha Borak

This article originally appeared on ABACUS
Chinese facial recognition companies are sharpening their algorithms to recognize people donning face masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus outbreak. The most recent example comes from FaceGo, a Beijing-based company that creates attendance software for workplaces based on scanning employees’ faces. And now the company says you can enter your office by scanning your face even with a mask on.
Other tech companies are coming up with their own novel solutions for life in China during the outbreak. Baidu said last week that it created the first free open-source face scan software to identify people who aren’t wearing protective masks. This means it can send an alert if someone enters an office or a public space without a mask. And Megvii introduced an AI remote fever detection system that locates a person’s forehead and takes their temperature. It does not, however, help them verify people’s identities, the company said.
Authorities in China have advised wearing masks to stop the spread of the Covid-19 disease that has taken more than 1,700 lives. This may have slowed down the country’s widespread surveillance network: Masks can reduce facial recognition accuracy to as low as 30%, according to some experts. But it also presents an unusual conundrum for those used to processing payments and unlocking their phones with just a glance.

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Facial recognition

Facial recognition companies update tech to contend with masks during coronavirus outbreak

A Beijing-based facial recognition company says it can screen your employees even when they’re wearing a mask. (Picture: EPA-EFE)

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From Megvii to Baidu, AI companies are developing algorithms to tackle face masks


Facial recognition companies update tech to contend with masks during coronavirus outbreak

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From Megvii to Baidu, AI companies are developing algorithms to tackle face masks

From Megvii to Baidu, AI companies are developing algorithms to tackle face masks