Mannequins collect data on shoppers via facial-recognition software

[woo me with science]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/mannequins-collect-data-on-shoppers-via-facial-recognition-software/2012/11/22/0751b992-3425-11e2-9cfa-e41bac906cc9_story_1.html

Mannequins collect data on shoppers via facial-recognition software
By — Bloomberg News, Published: November 22

Benetton is among the fashion brands deploying mannequins equipped with technology used to identify criminals at airports to watch over shoppers in their stores.....Retailers are introducing the EyeSee, sold by Italian mannequin maker Almax SpA, to glean data on customers much as online merchants are able to do. The $5,072 device has spurred shops to adjust window displays, store layouts and promotions to keep consumers walking in the door and spending.
....
The EyeSee looks ordinary on the outside, with its slender polystyrene frame, blank face and improbable pose. Inside, it’s no dummy. A camera embedded in one eye feeds data into facial-recognition software like the kind used by police. It logs the age, gender and race of passers-by.
....
Others say profiling customers raises legal and ethical issues. U.S. and European Union regulations permit the use of cameras for security purposes, although retailers need to put up signs in their stores warning customers they may be filmed. Watching people solely for commercial gain may break the rules and could be viewed as gathering personal data without consent, says Christopher Mesnooh, a partner at law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse in Paris.

“If you go on Facebook, before you start the registration process, you can see exactly what information they are going to collect and what they’re going to do with it,” Mesnooh said. “If you’re walking into a store, where’s the choice?”
....

[Enrique]

1. so i wasn't paranoid

they really are looking at me.

[lumberjack_jeff]

3. They were there and saw what you did. n/t

[marmar]

2. Dystopian creepiness.

nt

[aletier_v]

4. just wait until they get mobility

and can chase shoplifters.

[IDemo]

6. Or address you by name as you walk by

And cajole you into replacing the coat you bought last year.

[lunatica]

5. It reminds me of The Minority Report

Are illegal, seedy back room eyeball implants far behind? Will it merge with Repo Man going after the eyeballs for lack of payment?

[hobbit709]

7. Flip them the bird every time you go past-see if they recognize that.

[DavidDvorkin]

8. That's Twilight Zone creepy.