First lady Michelle Obama tried to hide her true identity by wearing a hat and sunglasses while shopping at a Target store in 2011. New software will help stores ID VIPs like the first lady so that they can get the best service possible. (AP)
Celebrities may soon be looking to evade the gaze of more than the paparazzi.
A UK-based firm is marketing facial recognition software to retailers, promising to help them identify VIPs on the store floor so their sales force can shower them with attention.
The software works by scanning a person’s face using security cameras and turning the image into an ultra-precise “face template” which is then run through a database, according to NPR.
The company behind the software, NEC It Solutions, already sells similar products to security services who use it to ID terrorists and criminals.
In a retail setting the software would ID a celeb or high roller and then the staff would be notified via computer, iPad or smartphone.
Depending on the retailer’s implementation, the staff could even get the star’s clothing size, shopping preferences and purchasing history.
The software works on stars who don hats, scarves and sunglasses in order to go incognito in public. Recent tests have also shown that facial hair, ageing, and changes in hair color do not fool the system either.
Although the software is still in its testing phase an undisclosed number of top stores and hotels in the US, UK, and Asia have already installed the technology.