The real world is about to become a much more connected place. Utilizing some of the most accurate facial recognition software in the world, NameTag can spot a face using Google Glass’ camera, send it wirelessly to a server, compare it to millions of records, and in seconds return a match complete with a name, additional photos, and social media profiles.
FacialNetwork.com, the developer of NameTag, is also currently creating technology to allow the scanning of profile photos from dating sites such as PlentyOfFish.com, OkCupid.com, and Match.com. The technology will allow users to scan photos against the more than 450,000 entries in the National Sex Offender Registry and other criminal databases.
“I believe that this will make online dating and offline social interactions much safer and give us a far better understanding of the people around us,” said NameTag’s creator, Kevin Alan Tussy. “It’s much easier to meet interesting new people when we can simply look at someone, see their Facebook, review their LinkedIn page or maybe even see their dating site profile. Often we were interacting with people blindly or not interacting at all. NameTag on Google Glass can change all that.”
Critics argue this technology can be used in reverse. It will give stalkers, sex predators, and rapists an easier way to pick their victims, making the stalking process a lot easier. Experts say any photo or piece of information that is linked to any type of Google product such as, Google+, Blogger, Gmail, YouTube, just to name a few, can be detected by the data base. It will not only detect an individual persons information, it will also detect a person’s photo linked to the accounts of friend’s or other associates, therefore giving a person access to information they may not have otherwise located. It links by name as well as photo recognition.
If you Goolge a person’s name, it will return results on every account that is linked to that name as well as any page or profile is has been shared on or associated with.
Tussy said social media will no longer be limited to the screens of desktops, tablets, and smartphones. With the NameTag app running on Google Glass, a user could simply glance at someone nearby and instantly see that person’s name, occupation, and even visit their Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter profiles in real-time.
Tussy explains, “People will soon be able to login to www.NameTag.ws and choose whether or not they want their name and information displayed to others. It’s not about invading anyone’s privacy; it’s about connecting people that want to be connected. We will even allow users to have one profile that is seen during business hours and another that is only seen in social situations.”
Tussy also claimed NameTag could make the big, anonymous world we live in as friendly as a small town.
NameTag is currently available on Glass for Beta testers and expects its website and app to launch in sometime in 2014. They hope it can be officially available to Google Glass users as well.
Google has announced that facial recognition will not yet be supported for Glass; undoubtedly due to pressure from privacy groups, but FacialNetwork.com is convinced Google will eventually reconsider.
What do you think? Do you think the technology is creepy and dangerous, or will you give it a chance? Leave your comments below.