Hyper-realistic masks to go on sale in Japan

https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-masks-idUSKBN28Q194

by ystad • 6 years ago

52 31 6 years ago

mewpmewp24• 6 years ago

I feel like it is a bit of a bait and switch with current pandemic going on and at some point finally mentioning that these masks won't protect against viruses.

ceilingcorner• 6 years ago

Most masks don’t protect against viruses. The point is to prevent your germs from going to others, which functionally should work with any type of mask.

ALittleLight• 6 years ago

If masks reduce particulate matter leaving your mouth and nose, why wouldn't they reduce particulate matter coming in as well?

mattowen_uk• 6 years ago

The article copy states that the faces are from real people who submitted photos. The next logical step here I think is using AI to create a unique face that [probably] isn't in any Face Recognition database.

tomcam• 6 years ago

https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/

mewpmewp24• 6 years ago

Maybe it's placebo because I know this person is not supposed to exist, but is there something else odd going on there as I get some weird, ominous vibe from viewing those pictures?

I wonder if there side by side pictures with on one side being an ai generated human and on the other picture an actual person, would average person be able to identify which is which and with what accuracy?

It's as if they somehow so closely remind me of someone, but really they are different. As if they are based on some famous person, but they are not them. Most remind me of some actor.

For instance I saw this image and instantly thought of Steve Jobs, but not quite really. https://ibb.co/y8fpRP2

Another one reminding me of Jeffrey Epstein: https://ibb.co/B6CQfdn

k1e• 6 years ago

This can be a way to trick street surveillance/face recognition systems.

ilaksh• 6 years ago

Anyone know how they make such realistic masks?

FriedrichN• 6 years ago

How long until this will be used in high profile crimes? When wearing a balaclava your face is obscured on security camera footage, this will allow criminals to lead law enforcement down the wrong path and frustrate their efforts by having them look for a person that does not exist.

jansan• 6 years ago

This happened before: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/armed-robber-wore-late...

Also, I would not call those Japanese masks "hyper realistic", unless the defintition of "realistic" has changed recently. There are better, much more realistic masks out there.

runarb• 6 years ago

Another example: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2192115/Robbers-dis...

FerretFred• 6 years ago

UK reader here .. sign me up for a Priti Patel mask, STAT!

toyg2• 6 years ago

Johnson would work even better, considering his “distinctive” looks.

hilbert422• 6 years ago

Perhaps that's the unfortunate penalty for allowing the unregulated introduction of facial recognition technology everywhere and anywhere without a proper debate. Simply violating people's privacy just because technology has enabled the practice isn't acceptable.

Remember, no one first asked any of us for our permission to be tracked by our physical features just for walking down the street and going about our daily business as we've always done, nevertheless this all-pervasive technology was introduced without our permission nor with any public debate.

I posted this comment several hours ago in a duplicate of this story. Having now had time to think about it, I seriously believe we're just beginning to see the beginnings of a new war on privacy and that this new technology has now given ordinary people the means of fighting back. If this war escalates because of criminals/bad actors then don't blame us—we didn't start it:

"Perhaps we'll all be wearing them sooner than we think out of necessity to counter facial recognition.

(It's just occurred to me that a blank conformal OLED version of the mask would be the ultimate form — one's face could dynamically change on-the-fly whilst one's out and about. That would give all-pervasive surveillance systems a decent run for their money.) ;-)"

hilbert422• 6 years ago

BTW, if it's immediately obvious to me that the next development in this technology will be for mask wearers to dynamically load new randomly generated faces (and even facial shapes and feature types) at whim, then I'm damn sure others will already be working on the problem of actually developing the technology.

It seems to me that the cat's now out of the bag thanks to unfettered/unregulated access to facial recognition by all and sundry.

jobigoud• 6 years ago

a person that does not exist.

They'll run it through face recognition and find the original person that provided their face data and arrest them.

Plot twist, a criminal will flood the market with masks of their own face to get plausible deniability for the actual crime.

toyg2• 6 years ago

Hero Mask might be a prophecy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_Mask

afterburner• 6 years ago

How hyper-realistic is it really though if it's made using a 3d printer? Looks great in the photo but how about in person? The texture of the "skin" has got to be off.

Cthulhu_2• 6 years ago

Hyper-realistic is probably exaggerated a bit, but it looks realistic enough to not really notice in the street if you're not paying attention, and to not be detectable at all for a camera (unless they're IR cameras, the heat will be wrong)

xyzal• 6 years ago

One Weird Trick security camera manufacturers don't want you to know

Hyper-realistic masks to go on sale in Japan

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