Japan: glasses that prevent facial recognition

Prof. Isao Echizen has presented Privacy Visor, a device for blocking facial recognition software The device presented in Tokyo uses infrared LEDs to prevent software from gathering biometric data. Such glasses could soon be making their debut on the market   Rome - An invention that attempts to prevent the invasion of privacy: this is the proposal by Professor Isao Echizen of Tokyo's National Institute of Informatics, who has created Privacy Visor, a pair of glasses that will prevent facial recognition technologies from operating. When Privacy Visor is worn on the face its LEDs emit near infrared rays capable of blocking facial recognition software, a detection system that increasing numbers of people are being subjected to in different circumstances.   According to Echizen, his glasses are the answer to what he describes as "the invasion of privacy caused by photographs taken in secret". In other words, it is a device that will block all the technologies that permit the detection of biometric data.   The glasses created at the research center in Tokyo don't look suitable for mass distribution but, if the idea catches on, more manageable and fashionable prototypes might be made. Professor Echizen confessed that he has received offers from companies interested in developing the product with a view to launching it on the market. This is why the research team is working on a new model with a smaller power pack.