Recognizing a face is harder than it sounds. Using Active Appearance Modeling (one of the common methods in use today), a computer has to compare a face it sees to an "average face" it has previously learned. It works pretty well when the subject smiles and stares right into the computer's camera, but in real life, lighting, facial expression and "3D pose variation" present serious obstacles.

The Robotics Institute team is working on that last bit. Whenever you turn your head, part of your face is occluded. Without the right features to make its comparison, the computer can't recognize you. New algorithms and programming methods allow for the creation of 3D face meshes that can be adjusted on the fly to fit the subject's face, even if she turns partly away from the camera.

Of course, the government will use this technology to track our every move long before we have friendly helper robots who know us on sight, but it's nice to know we live in a world where something called the Robotics Institute actually exists. Image by: Robotics Institute.

AAM Fitting Algorithms. [Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute]

You may remember the mind-bendingly retarded car chase from this flick, but you haven't lived until you've seen the great "club scene" — featuring Mick's then-girlfriend Jerry Hall. Alex's lady pal has taken him to this club to hook him up with a dude who can make him "disappear." So there's Jerry to look at, but also the fashion. Ska glam? Hippie ska glam? Oh my. Luckily Alex gets dosed with something and winds up doing a drunken interview with Jerry while Mick watches and plays a lame "futuristic videogame." And to think all of this will be happening next year in 2009! Whoa.