Dell Webcam and facial recognition question

How well does the FastAccess facial recognition program work? Is it a gimmick?

Can I install the software on another Dell laptop with a built-in webcamera or is it somehow linked to one particular laptop?

I am going to order an Inspiron 1545 with the facial recognition, but my Studio 1537 is the laptop I use most frequently. It has a 2MP camera but somehow the FastAccess was not offered as an option. I would like to use the facial recog program on my Studio 1537 instead of the Inspiron 1545.

 

bttmft for update

 

I don't use Dell's "FastAccess" I use "Lenovo's VeriFace".
It works fine on my 1537, you can even use it for some passwords inside Windows as well.
Here's a link showing how it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRk5Gi1-F3U
PM me if you want more details.

 

How accurate is it? Does it take a few tries to get it correct?

 

Yes sometimes it's a bit tricky, depending on the angle you took your original pic & the amount of lighting.
But still pretty cool & if all else fails you can just use your password.

 

Very true. The advantage of the Dell system beyond that is that it doesn't just match against a single "original pic". It actually keeps learning what you look like automatically as you use the system. Any time you log in manually (or in fact any time it recognizes you but takes a while to do so), it captures more versions of what you look like. This has the effect of not only eliminating the need to go through the process of capturing that original pic in the first place, but also makes the recognition happen more often, more quickly, and quite a bit more accurately.

 

I think its pretty amazing, it knows my face well and i have tested it quite a bit with other people and it only ever recognises my face. Its nice cause you dont have to keep typing in a password, it recognises my face in like 2 seconds and them im on!

 

Does the camera stay always on when using windows?

 

The software is good and as evrybody is saying ur face position,angle and lighting affects the results.

Yes u can use it on any dell laptop.I installed it on my frnds inspiron 1525(I've a 1557).
The only problem that i noticed was that after installing the software on his laptop the blue led placed on the side of the laptop didn't turned off automatically after log-on.
I hope it doesn't happens to ur studio

 

Great question. It actually depends on the security mode that you're in. In Face Login mode, it essentially uses the camera to log you in and then stops until you either need to log in again or need to be recognized to log into a website. In User Switching and Continuous Secrity modes, FastAccess maintains a continual connection to the camera in order to provide the real-time features inherent to those modes.

 

I'm really glad that it's working well for you!

Regarding the LED, the exact behavior depends on the specific camera module on your laptop. Many but not all modules allow FastAccess to control the LED. Just FYI, although it may work on other machines, FastAccess is only licensed to be installed on the machine on which it came originally.

 

I have just purchased an Inspiron 15R with facial recognition software and, as you say, it works well and recognizes me instantly. However, I was a little disturbed when my wife was alllowed in although the log showed that she wasn't recognized! Is there some setting I am missing?

 

I've included several FAQs below that may or may not be relevant.

Question - you mentioned that the log showed that she wasn't recognized...what exactly did it say? If it said "Manual Login/Unlock, face not recognized" then the answer is simple - she knows your password. Once your password is compromised, your account is compromised - period - with or without FastAccess or any other biometric or security solution.

If this is the case, clear your biometric database, change your password to something that she doesn't know (instructions for that process are in other FAQs in the same site as the one below), and read the FAQs below for more detailed background info and explanations.

It recognized me as someone else!
How can multiple people use FastAccess on one computer?
Do I REALLY need to password protect my Windows account?
Too many people know my password. Can I fix this with FastAccess?

 

Guys, how did u install veriface? When i'm doing it the installer tels me that "veriface can only be installed on Lenovo computers" I'm trying to do it on my dell xps.

Edit: i got it from http://consumersupport.lenovo.com/en/DriversDownloads/drivers_show_1262.html

 

i don't use both. So uninstalled both.
Once I tried FastAccess facial recognition and in the next login it was unable to detect my face.

 

When you say "unable to detect", do you mean that you weren't able to get the four green detection "corners" around your face in the video at the login screen or do you mean that those green corners were there but that you weren't being recognized? It's an important distinction as the solutions to each are different.

If the former, make sure that you have sufficient lighting and that you're facing generally in the direction of the camera. If the latter, then go ahead and log in with your password a few times while you can see the green "corners" around your face. You may be recognized after only one manual login and you may not. As long as those green tracking corners are visible, however, FastAccess will learn pretty quickly and start recognizing you much more often - though never 100% of the time of course.