I am pretty sure Apple has the VO stuff worked out.
But MacRumors has an interesting post about Face ID. I will paste it below
How Face ID Scans Your Face
Face ID is enabled through a TrueDepth front-facing camera on the iPhone X,
which has multiple components. A Dot Projector projects more than 30,000
invisible dots onto your face to map its structure.
The dot map is then read by an infrared camera and the structure of your face
is relayed to the A11 Bionic chip in the iPhone X and transformed into a
mathematical model. The A11 chip then compares your facial structure to the
facial scan stored in the iPhone X during the setup process.
As with Touch ID, if there is a match between the two face scans, the iPhone X
will unlock. From there, you can swipe upwards to get to the Home screen.
Face ID in the Dark
Face ID uses infrared to scan your face, so it works in low lighting conditions
and in the dark. The TrueDepth camera also has what Apple calls a "Flood
Illuminator," aka an infrared light that illuminates your face in the dark so
the dot map and the infrared camera can do their jobs.
Fooling Face ID
First of all, Face ID can't be fooled by a photo because it takes a 3D facial
scan to unlock a device. Face ID is also "attention aware," a feature Apple
implemented for extra security.
Face ID will only unlock your device when you look in the direction of the
iPhone X with your eyes open, meaning Face ID only works when there's a live
person in front of it. Attention aware is optional, though, and can be turned
off if you choose. Most people will want to leave attention awareness on, but
for users unable to focus their attention on the iPhone, turning it off will
allow the iPhone X to unlock with just a facial scan.
Face ID is also sensitive enough to tell the difference between you and someone
who is wearing a mask of your face. Apple trained Face ID with hyperrealistic
masks created by Hollywood studios, ensuring a mask of a person wouldn't be
able to fool the Face ID system.
According to Apple, Face ID is more secure than Touch ID because there are
slimmer chances of a mismatch. There's a 1 in 50,000 chance someone will be
able to unlock your iPhone with their fingerprint, but a 1 in 1,000,000 chance
someone else's face will fool Face ID. That doesn't count for twins, though --
if you have an identical twin, that error rate increases.
Touch ID locks a device after five failed attempts, but with Face ID, Apple is
only allowing two failed attempts. After two incorrect scans, the iPhone X will
lock and require your passcode to unlock again.
Face ID With Hats, Beards, Makeup, and Glasses
Face ID works with hats, beards, glasses, scarves, and other accessories that
partially obscure the face. According to Apple, this is because the A11 Bionic
chip in the iPhone X uses machine learning and a neural engine to recognize
changes in your appearance.
It's also likely that Face ID, like other facial recognition systems, has a
match threshold that's below 100 percent, so even with part of the face not
visible, it recognizes the part that is visible.
Face ID also adapts to changes in your appearance over time, so it will
continue to recognize you as you grow a beard or grow your hair longer.
One caveat -- Apple doesn't mention sunglasses. There's a chance that Face ID
doesn't work when wearing sunglasses because it obscures your eyes, and eye
contact is required for unlocking the device. Attention aware can be disabled,
though, so Face ID may work with sunglasses in that situation.
Face ID When Unconscious or Sleeping
If someone knocks you unconscious or attempts to unlock your iPhone X with your
face while you're sleeping, it's not going to work.
As mentioned above, you need to look at your iPhone for Face ID to grant access
to your device.
Face ID Privacy
On iPhones with Touch ID, your fingerprint data is stored in a Secure Enclave
on the device, and the same is true of Face ID. Your facial map is encrypted
and kept in the Secure Enclave, with authentication happening entirely on your
device. No Face ID data is uploaded to iCloud or sent to Apple.
Multiple Faces in Face ID
When using Touch ID, multiple fingerprints can be added to a device so more
than one person can unlock it. That is not possible with Face ID. Face ID makes
a map of a single face and that's the only face that can unlock the iPhone X.
To add a new face, the existing face must be removed.
Face ID at an Angle
You don't need to hold the iPhone X right in front of your face for it to make
a Face ID scan. On stage at the keynote event, it was shown held at a
comfortable viewing angle and held flat downwards while making an Apple Pay
payment at payment terminal.
Face ID and Apple Pay
Face ID replaces Touch ID when authenticating Apple Pay purchases. When
checking out with Apple Pay, a glance at the iPhone X will authenticate a
payment, and a double click on the side button of the device will confirm it.
Face ID will also work in lieu of Touch ID for confirming iTunes payments,
accessing secure apps, and more. All third-party apps that use Touch ID will
also be able to use Face ID.
Face ID Special Features
With the "attention aware" feature, the iPhone X knows when you're looking at
it. Face ID will display notifications and messages on the Lock screen when you
look at the iPhone X, it will keep the screen lit, and it will automatically
lower the volume of an alarm or ringer when it knows your attention is on the
iPhone X's display.
Face ID Neural Engine
Face ID is powered by a two-core neural engine built into the A11 Bionic chip.
It works in real time and can process more than 600 billion operations per
second.
To train the neural engine, Apple used more than a billion facial images and
created several neural networks.
Face ID Growing Pains
Touch ID was slow and imperfect when it first launched, and Face ID may not be
perfect right away either. iPhone X hands-on reports were generally impressed
with the Face ID feature, but there were some reports of problems with the
feature not working until the display was turned on and off.
Apple will likely refine Face ID in software updates to further work out bugs,
and future iPhones will undoubtedly come with more advanced Face ID systems
that further improve the feature's functionality.
Apple says Face ID is the future of how we will unlock our smartphones,
suggesting Face ID will be the de facto Touch ID replacement in devices going
forward.
Related Roundup: iPhone X
Discuss this article in our forums
Original Article:
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/09/13/how-iphone-x-face-id-works/
On Wed, Sep 13, 2017 at 7:34 PM -0400, "David Chittenden"
<[email protected]> wrote:
My apologies. I have seen many doom and gloom responses over the past day, and
was in a rather negative interpretation space when I responded.
I have a few Android tablets. None of them have home buttons, and the
functionality of the home button is always available.
Kind regards,
David Chittenden, MSc, MRCAA
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +61 488 988 936
Sent from my iPhone
> On 14/09/2017, at 04:22, 'Catherine Turner' via MacVisionaries wrote:
>
> I don't think my questions were actually a "doom and gloom response".
> I was merely wondering how these things would be done with no home
> button, not saying it was impossible or terrible. it and hopeful that an
> easy, user-friendly alternative will be
> present.
>
> Catherine
>
>> On 9/13/17, David Chittenden wrote:
>> Start/stop VO will most likely be triple press of the power button.
>>
>> App switcher is easy, as is home button.
>>
>> I always find these doom and gloom responses which always come up to be
>> quite amusing.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>> David Chittenden, MSc, MRCAA
>> Email: [email protected]
>> Mobile: +61 488 988 936
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On 13/09/2017, at 16:03, 'Catherine Turner' via MacVisionaries
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Also without a home button I wonder how we'll start/stop VO, use the
>>> app switcher and get to home. Probably using the app switcher and
>>> going home could be done with gestures but what about
>>> starting/quitting VO...?
>>>
>>> Catherine
>>>
>>>> On 9/13/17, Simon Fogarty wrote:
>>>> Interesting,
>>>>
>>>> Samsung have a full screen no buttons face recognition and a finger
>>>> print
>>>> sensor.
>>>>
>>>> Why can’t apple do that also.
>>>> From: [email protected]
>>>> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mary Otten
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, 13 September 2017 3:40 PM
>>>> To: [email protected]; [email protected];
>>>> [email protected]
>>>> Subject: I’m worried that FaceID is going to suck—and here’s why
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I’m worried that FaceID is going to suck—and here’s why
>>>> Ars Technica / Ron Amadeo
>>>>
>>>> [Image removed by sender.]
>>>> Enlarge
>>>> /
>>>> This right here. This gesture. Doing this 80 times a day sucks.
>>>>
>>>> The all-new iPhone
>>>> X
>>>> is out, and it's packed with technology. But one thing it's not packed
>>>> with
>>>> is a fingerprint sensor. Like many phones in 2017, the iPhone X goes for
>>>> a
>>>> nearly all-screen design, which means there's no more room for a front
>>>> Touch
>>>> ID sensor. Rather than locate a fingerprint sensor on the back, like
>>>> many
>>>> phones have done, Apple chose to do away with Touch ID entirely.
>>>> Instead,
>>>> the X is relying only on the new "Face ID" facial recognition feature
>>>> for
>>>> biometric security.
>>>> Face ID on the iPhone X uses a "TrueDepth" camera setup, which blasts
>>>> your
>>>> face with more than 30,000 infrared dots and scans your face in 3D.
>>>> Apple
>>>> says this can "recognize you in an instant" and log you into your phone.
>>>>
>>>> None of that matters. Face ID is still going to suck.
>>>>
>>>> This is not the first phone we've tried with a facial recognition
>>>> feature,
>>>> and they all have the same problem. It doesn't matter how fast or
>>>> accurate
>>>> Face ID is, the problem is the ergonomics: you need to aim it at your
>>>> face.
>>>> This is slow and awkward, especially when compared to a fingerprint
>>>> reader,
>>>> which doesn't have to be aimed at anything.
>>>>
>>>> Consider the "taking it out of your pocket" use case: If you're good,
>>>> you'll
>>>> stick your hand in your pocket and grip the phone so your finger lands
>>>> on
>>>> the fingerprint reader. Touch ID works as both an "on" button and an
>>>> "authentication" button. In one touch, you've turned on the phone and
>>>> logged
>>>> in. You haven't even fully taken the phone out of your pocket yet, and
>>>> it's
>>>> already on and unlocked. By the time you bring the phone to your face,
>>>> the
>>>> unlock process is finished and you're looking at the home screen.
>>>>
>>>> To use the iPhone X's Face ID, you have take the phone out of your
>>>> pocket,
>>>> lift it up to your face, swipe up to turn it on, and only then can can
>>>> you
>>>> start the unlock process. The difference is probably one or two seconds,
>>>> but
>>>> for something you do 80 times a
>>>> day,
>>>> having the fastest possible unlock system really matters.
>>>> [Image removed by sender.]
>>>> Hardware involved in Apple's True Depth Camera system.
>>>> [Image removed by sender.]
>>>> Example of how Face ID maps and learns your face.
>>>> [Image removed by sender.]
>>>> Demo of Face ID setup.
>>>> [Image removed by sender.]
>>>> Animojis, which move to mimic your facial expressions.
>>>> [Image removed by sender.]
>>>> 3D mask produced with facial recognition on the iPhone X.
>>>> [Image removed by sender.]
>>>> Face ID recognition along with a tap of the side button can authenticate
>>>> Apple Pay.
>>>>
>>>> Consider authenticating with Apple Pay. With a fingerprint reader, you
>>>> can
>>>> slam your iPhone on the credit card terminal while holding your finger
>>>> on
>>>> the Touch ID button, and everything will just work. You're continuously
>>>> authenticating and beaming credit card data at the same time, which is
>>>> easy,
>>>> intuitive, and hard to mess up. According to Craig Federighi's Face ID
>>>> demo
>>>> during the keynote, you now have to open up Apple Pay first, then aim
>>>> the
>>>> phone at your face so Face ID can work. Only then can you tap against
>>>> the
>>>> credit card terminal. That's two extra steps.
>>>>
>>>> A fingerprint sensor, because it works by touch, is basically active all
>>>> the
>>>> time. Anytime you need it, you just press it, and it will work. Facial
>>>> recognition has to be specifically started by an app though. So to
>>>> authenticate a payment, you now have to open Apple Pay first, because
>>>> something has to tell the facial recognition system to turn on. If you
>>>> ignore this and just put the phone against a credit card terminal
>>>> without
>>>> authenticating, I suspect Apple Pay will open and ask for a Face ID
>>>> scan,
>>>> which won't work because the phone won't be aimed at your face.
>>>>
>>>> There's also the "on a table" use case: where before you could just
>>>> press
>>>> the home button to unlock the phone, now you'll need to pick it up and,
>>>> again, aim it at your face.
>>>> We've kind of already experienced this with the Galaxy
>>>> S8
>>>> (and Note
>>>> 8).
>>>> On that phone, Samsung didn't do away with the fingerprint sensor
>>>> entirely,
>>>> but it has such an awkward size and
>>>> location
>>>> that the S8 might as well have not had a fingerprint sensor at all. The
>>>> phone design asks users to rely on its Iris or face recognition for
>>>> biometrics, and it's just so slow. The "Let me take a selfie" pose that
>>>> you
>>>> have to make every time you unlock the phone is slow, tiring, and
>>>> annoying.
>>>> It requires a pause and a level of precision that just isn't needed with
>>>> a
>>>> fingerprint reader.
>>>>
>>>> I will admit I have not tried Face ID yet, but it's hard to imagine a
>>>> facial
>>>> recognition system that solves the problem of having to carefully aim a
>>>> phone at your face. We won't get a chance to try many of these scenarios
>>>> until we get some extended time with the phone, but it would take some
>>>> serious magic to solve them.
>>>>
>>>> With a nearly $1000 price tag, Apple is billing the iPhone X as its
>>>> super-high-end, no-compromise phone, but the lack of a fingerprint sensor
>>>> is
>>>> going to be a big downside. Sure, there's no room on the front anymore,
>>>> but
>>>> plenty of phones have an easy and ergonomic rear fingerprint reader, and
>>>> it's something Apple could have done while it waits for that mythical
>>>> under-screen fingerprint
>>>> technology
>>>> to work.
>>>>
>>>> Facial recognition is just not a good idea for a device that doesn't
>>>> always
>>>> need to be aimed directly at your face. I can't imagine Face ID won't
>>>> feel
>>>> like a big step backwards compared to Touch ID. If my experience with
>>>> the
>>>> Galaxy S8 is anything to go by, I suspect a lot of users will just opt
>>>> to
>>>> type in a PIN.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Original Article: https://arstechnica.com/?p=1164837
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
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