We can say that Apple has abandoned the fingerprint permanently, as more than one report has stated that it will be adopted Face print Face ID in all of its upcoming devices and the iPhone X was only the beginning.
And Apple used a very complex technology in the iPhone X, especially the devices and sensors used to take the facial imprint, which it presented in a way that was silenced without it from other companies until analysts said that Apple using these technologies advanced years from many of its competitors.
Face ID technology analysis
Pierre Cambou, "an expert in imaging and sensors at Yole Développement, specializing in technology analysis," mentioned that Apple has worked to put the user interface in place, and it is working to completely renew the user experience with the smartphone.
For knowledge of the thing, the user interface, or what is known as the human-machine interface: it is the part of the machine responsible for the interaction between man and machine, or what are called “sensors or sensors” such as touch screens, which are a vivid example of the physical, visual part of the human-machine interface, which can be To see and touch it.
In complex systems, these sensors are a system of software that controls physical parts used for human interaction with the machine, an example is the Face ID fingerprint sensors in the iPhone X.
Through the face print, a person simply looks at the iPhone and unlocks, and through it, you can also convert emojis into animations. The sensors can capture and analyze more than 50 different movements of different facial muscles and then reflect these expressions and movements on different Animoji, displaying every movement you do on your face at the same time. There are also masks that turn the user into another person or something else, all this and more thanks to the presence of more than one sensor in the iPhone.
IPhone X is crowded with sensors
Apple has placed a set of sensors in a very small area in the upper front of the iPhone X screen, which are:
Infrared Camera
◉ High Intensity Light Sensor or Flood Illuminator
◉ proximity sensor.
Ambient light sensor.
Front camera.
◉ Dot Projector Sensor or Point Viewer
◉ loudspeaker
◉ microphone
And many experts admitted that building these sensors in this narrow space inside the iPhone X is something more complicated. Where Apple was able to integrate with the TrueDepth depth camera these sensors with great accuracy.
Cambou said, “Apple was able to bring together a large team of technicians to obtain these high results, as they had to make these sensors interconnected and coordinate with each other to a very large degree. And this is what has already been understood they were able to do the assembly of these complex components in this strange way.
Experts believe that STMicroelectronics, "an Italian-French manufacturer of electronics and semiconductors, founded in 1957 and headquartered in Geneva - Switzerland" supplied the infrared cameras and proximity sensors. Apple has also imported the front cameras and the Dot Projector from AMS.
How Face ID works
The 3D sensor in the iPhone X starts with the TOF or Time-of-flight sensor, which includes remote sensing units and draws a map of the distance very precisely, and this sensor is used in very many fields, including: depth-sensing technology, 3D imaging technology, augmented reality and tracking Object recognition, gesture recognition, object detection, distance measurement and much more. These sensors are the best in its class for their high speed, as they work on the symmetry of light in the background, and it is surprising that its size does not exceed the size of the tip of a pencil.
Once that sensor picks up movement, the other sensors start working and then an orderly light comes along that calculates depth and surface information about objects in the scene.
The Dot Projector sensor projects infrared points on the face. After determining the location of the face, this point sensor sends more than 30 thousand points to your face to obtain a regular and very accurate image.
As for the high-intensity light sensor or Flood Illuminator, its function to emit an invisible light that detects the location of your face and identifies it even in the dark.
All of the above is done in real time with just a peek at your phone.
Accuracy and safety
Analysts agreed that Apple used more advanced technologies as well as more advanced 3D sensor technology by bringing in a lot of different sensors so that the facial fingerprint technology can distinguish the difference between a real face and an image.
Unlike Samsung, which used a single camera and an iris scanner to recognize the face in the Samsung S8 phone, however, some users of the phone were able to open it easily through a two-dimensional image of low quality.
Apple Vice President Phil Schiller stated that the TrueDepth camera system in the iPhone X device includes several sensors. All these devices draw 30 invisible points spread on the face at high speed and prepare an accurate and detailed map of the face, and then this information feeds the neural network into IPhone X represented by the A11 Bionic processor with the neural engine and creates a mathematical model of the user's face.
In the following picture, the "infrared" points scattered on the face are depicted
Also, the TrueDepth camera intelligently supports attention-sensitivity features, such as dimmering the screen when you are not looking at the iPhone or reducing the volume of alerts when you do not see the device. For example, when using Safari, the device will check to see if you are looking at it or not, and it will disable the screen if you are not looking at it, and if you do not want to use these features, you can open “Settings”> “Face ID and Passcode” and disable Attention Tracking Features.
He also said: "The face print technology in the iPhone learns your face," as it works automatically by adapting to changes in the shape, such as applying cosmetics or growing facial hair. And if there is a major change in appearance, such as completely shaving the beard, Face ID technology will recognize you with a passcode before updating your face data. Face ID is designed to accommodate hats, scarves, eyeglasses, contact lenses, and many more sunglasses. Plus, they are designed to work indoors, outdoors, and even in the darkness.
Apple has worked with Hollywood professionals to test the masks made according to the origin of Hollywood stars, and Apple has stated that the likelihood that someone other than the owner of the device can look at the iPhone X and unlock it using Face ID is one in a million versus one in fifty thousand for the fingerprint feature Touch ID.
And Phil Schiller admitted that identical twins or very similar relatives could possibly deflect the facial imprint.
He also confirmed that the Face ID or fingerprint data, including the mathematical representations of the face, is encrypted and protected using the Secure Enclave and cannot be viewed by Apple itself nor through any application running on the device unless the owner of the device permits it. .
The future of TrueDepth camera system technology
Visual effects artist Elisha Hung posted a video explaining that the iPhone X's TrueDepth camera system could be used to create 3D characters like those used in animated movies, so he created an augmented reality app and then recorded various expressions of his face, then used a depth map to animate a two-dimensional model from His face.
It can also be used in CGI film technology or computer-generated cinematic images, which are the most important component of filmmaking to the point that they are used in all films now. And this technique is used for small things like adding or removing objects in the background of the scene, or completely switching actors, or changing its shape, or placing an entire scene, and perhaps in the entire movie. And when done correctly, computer images can transport viewers to places they would not normally go.
Look at the following image from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" Is it not possible to use such masks on the iPhone X thanks to the presence of the TrueDepth camera system?
If Apple allowed developers to use this technology and support it in 3D editing applications on the iPhone, we would definitely see wonderful artworks.
Also, this technology used in the TrueDepth system with third-party applications can be applied to famous personalities or with humans in general instead of applying it to different creatures, animals and emoticons.
In truth, the TrueDepth system may not be as accurate as the hardware and devices used in Hollywood, but it could open a new avenue for video and animation enthusiasts.
I think Apple is thus drawing attention to a new technology that can save hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy CGI motion capture equipment.
In short, many of the sensors spread in the iPhone X are primarily for use in facial fingerprint recognition, and then Apple added other ways to use them, whether for fun and entertainment or to take advantage of them, such as animoji and augmented reality applications only.
Campo Cambou believes that this diversity in the use of these sensors and not being limited to one work is a genius from Apple, as he said, “They care about their audience well,” and we hope that Apple will expand this diversity.
Further improvements to Face ID
It is clear that Apple has developed a three-dimensional sensor technology in a well-studied way for the iPhone X devices, and this technology is still in its infancy and certainly there will be huge improvements for it in the future, such as dealing with bright sunlight, so the face print is rarely affected by the sun's rays, and that may be due to the presence of Conflict with the infrared.
There is no doubt that Apple's apparent effort in Face ID technology in this complex way and its success in coordinating between these sensors is clear evidence that it spares no effort in presenting everything new in its own way that we have known from the first iPhone.
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