ACM TechBrief: Facial Recognition

Abstract

Facial recognition is not a monolithic technology or a particular technique. Rather, facial recognition refers to any technology that automatically processes and purports to identify faces in images or videos. While humans interpret faces easily, computers must extract patterns from data or humans must code patterns into the system. Applying these patterns yields the facial descriptors (often referred to as faceprints) on which facial recognition systems rely to achieve their function.