Say Cheese: New Tech Knows When You're Smiling

Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:10AM EST

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Great Aunt Elsie will never have that disapproving frown on her face again, at least not in the family reunion photo shot. FotoNation is the company behind digital photography technologies like red-eye reduction and face tracking. Its software is built into many of the top consumer digital cameras.

FotoNation's FaceTracker looks for faces in a photo and focuses the camera on them. SmileCheck, a new technology to make sure the folks in your photo all look happy, is an extension of FaceTracker. When you push the camera's shutter button down halfway to properly focus and frame your photo, SmileCheck first looks for faces in the scene. Once faces are detected, the software looks for facial features associated with smiles. Called the Smile Shutter, the photo isn't snapped until every person in the shot is smiling. Imagine weeding out the "nobody is going to make me smile" kid from the class photo.

You can see a demonstration of the technology at FotoNation.com. It's being demonstrated at PMA—a photo marketing show being held in Orlando at the end of the month and it's sure to make a bunch of group photo enthusiasts "smile."

 

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  • 1 Posted by wwicks333 on Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:58PM EST Report Abuse

    That's amazing! I wonder if it says say cheese. XRFilm.com Has some amazing cameras for spring!! Hot Shots!

  • 2 Posted by rgbernabe2002 on Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:34AM EST Report Abuse

    That is a good idea but how can you really smile on the camera especially if you just buried one of your love ones in the cemetery that day... I think smiling in the camera is a case to case bases...

  • 3 Posted by tinkerbellpixie26 on Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:48AM EST Report Abuse

    I agree with rgbernabe....I am disney nut...lol as you see by the name...and some of the "characters" don't smile, or their costumes faces don't smile...so apparently that camera would do no justice because it won't take a picture....definetly not for me... I am also a scrap booker, and seeing other people's work there are many people who have pics of their kids frowning or crying or something or making a funny face...I think these cams shoudl have a setting to switch it on and off thats for sure...

  • 4 Posted by hoy_shane on Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:51AM EST Report Abuse

    Sony has been boasting of its SmileShutter since last year. it's practically the same feature as the one in this article. am i right?

  • 5 Posted by mps_resume on Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:56AM EST Report Abuse

    I have the Sony DSC-T200 that has the same technology. People are amazed by how well it works. It also has an adjustment for how sensitive you want it to be. The best thing is that you don't have to have it on; it's optional.

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