Japan sees smart biometric billboards
30 September, 2010
category: Biometrics
Mall billboards in Japan have been going high-tech with personalized ads for those walking past made possible by biometric scanners that help figure out what ads would be the best fit for the shopper, according to an ID Super Store article.
As a shopper walks past one of the billboards, it attempts to determine the gender of the shopper, for which it reports 85% to 90% accuracy, as well as approximate age and ethnicity.
While the technology has been well received in Japan where the culture is accustomed to high-technology surrounding their public lives, experts expect the same technology will be met with resistance and worries over invasion of privacy as the developer of the technology attempts to move it into other countries.
Additionally, some expect that a next step for such technology would be actual face recognition with ads personalized for the individual, not just the group.
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