Researchers come up with a new facial recognition system that requires a person to smile or wink

Face unlocking can still work sometimes when a user is asleep or even via photographs. But, an engineering professor at Brigham Young University (BYU), D.J. Lee, has come up with a new technology, Concurrent Two-Factor Identity Verification (C2FIV), that offers a solution by adding facial gestures into the mix.

“The biggest problem we are trying to solve is to make sure the identity verification process is intentional,” stated Lee in the university’s post. “If someone is unconscious, you can still use their finger to unlock a phone and get access to their device, or you can scan their retina. You see this a lot in the movies — think of Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible even using masks to replicate someone else’s face.”

Instead of just analyzing facial features, C2FIV also requires a two-second video to be recorded of a person performing a “unique facial action or a lip movement from reading a secret phrase.” Both facial recognition and facial gesture can then be used to identify when unlocking a device.

Privacy enthusiasts may also rejoice because C2FIV’s verification system doesn’t require a server to function. It can run locally on a device, making it ideal for a smartphone, tablet, or laptop where users don’t want their biometric data shared in the cloud.

“How great would it be to know that even if you lost your car key, no one could steal your vehicle because they don’t know your secret facial action?” Lee added.