Apple wants to make FaceID even smarter about recognizing facial changes

Apple wants to make its FaceID feature on the iPhone and iPad (and eventually, I hope, the Mac) even smarter about recognizing facial changes. The company has filed for a patent (number 10,503,992) for a “process for updating templates used in facial recognition.”

Templates for FaceID are generated from enrollment images of the user obtained by a camera associated with a device such as an iPhone or iPad. The selected images may be encoded to generate templates, where the templates include feature vectors to describe the facial features of the user. 

However, as we age, our facial features change. We may grow a beard. We may dye our hair. Apple wants to make it for the FaceID templates to be easily updated to “see” such changes.

Here’s the summary of the patent: “Templates used for a facial recognition process for authentication of a user to use a device may be updated by the device as features of the user change over time. Features of the user may gradually change over time due to changes such as facial hair changes, haircuts, gaining/losing weight, and/or aging. Updating the templates used for the facial recognition process may allow the user to continue being authenticated as features of the user change without the need for additional enrollments of the user.”