The Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) has created a mobile application that can accurately recognize faces, and act as a payment device. The facial recognition accuracy reaches up 99.8 percent.

This new piece of technology works for several reasons.

First, the institute has created the world's biggest Asian facial database, with more than 50 million faces on record.

Like Us on Facebook

Apart from the CAS, the American image generation and processing laboratory in the University of Illinois and the National University of Singapore helped in constructing the database.

This database is only one step, as it is supplemented with a unique data collecting technology that allows for face to be scanned and facial information gathered from 91 different angles.

The way it works is that users install the facial recognition app on their phone.

Once they have calibrated it with their faces and subsequently linked it to their bank accounts or credit cards, it will be ready for use.

This app is made to provide easier customer experience to online shoppers, as they can buy all they need with just a picture of their face.

Zhou Xi, director of the CAS Chongqing Green Technology Research Institute, the technology only takes one second to identify the payer.

It is a mature and sophisticated technology that has a secure algorithm. Zhou says that its algorithm is reliable, and that the app can differentiate between a picture and a real face.

He also adds that the system is equipped with learning capabilities that study the characteristics of the face. This makes it so weight gain or loss will not alter the identification of the face.

Zhou and his team will also be working with retailers in setting up a device in the store that also processes payments with just a picture, assuring that buyers need not move to take out their wallets and money.

This technology is also currently being used in border control and attendance machines.  

TagsChinese Academy of Science, CAS, Facial Recognition, App