Computer Support Blog

Many new apps are signaling the actual arrival of a technological era previously restricted to the realms of sci-fi films and stories. Face-to-face calling was a thing of the future in films like “Back to the Future,” and asking a phone where to get coffee was a feat only accomplishable by Sam Beckett in “Quantum Leap.” Today, though, technologies that Hollywood used to portray as products of the very distant future have already arrived. One such technology is facial recognition.

Thanks to cloud computing, many devices—especially smartphones—can now run advanced software or applications that used to only run on very powerful hardware. Powerful tech support no longer needs to come from the device itself, as it can come from the cloud. Facial recognition, for, instance, used to require both complex machinery and sophisticated software. Today, all that apps need to perform facial recognition is a connection to a network service and access to a camera.

Among the more creative uses of facial recognition technology is a smartphone app called SceneTap. The app, which is still in its early experimental stage, works to give its users information about local bars. SceneTap works by identifying the gender and age of people going into participating bars by using cameras installed at these locations. The app then gives users access to information like how crowded a bar is, the ratio of males to females, and the average age of the people there.

Many people will surely find this app to be the coolest thing since sliced bread, and maybe they’re right; once more bars opt to participate by installing cameras to identify incoming crowds, people will be able to avoid the hassle of going to a bar and finding it too empty or too crowded. Users can also chat with each other to get advice before heading out to the bar scene.

Users can search for a bar that is “Chill,” “Social,” “Hoppin,” or “Crazy.” They can also search by gender and age ratio, as well as look for special deals, certain events, and check out a bar’s sports affiliations.

Of course because SceneTap performs facial recognition on everyone going into a bar, many people are concerned about privacy issues. The app’s creators maintain that all the app does is identify age and gender (and generate statistical data based on them). Still, as the app communicates data over wireless connections, hackers can potentially steal information as it passes between cameras, servers, and smartphones.

Right now, the app works in Chicago, with over 50 bars already signed on. The app has been featured in or highly reviewed by several news organizations including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, the L.A. Times, and Reuters. If you live in Chicago, give it a try. If not, looks like you’ll have to wait, for now.

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Filed under: apple, Internet Security, networks