INTERNET NEWS -- June 26 -- Facial recognition technology could help the lovelorn find a better match. Eyealike offers facial recognition systems for enterprises customers and online dating and social network sites. The idea is, users will be able to upload an image, or even choose from a selection of celebrity faces, and click on screen levers to adjust that image to their personal tastes. Mark Brooks, a consultant to the online dating industry, said facial recognition is the latest in series of technical advances with more to follow. He notes the advent of online "speed dating" sites like WooMe and ratings sites like Hot or Not. There are also already sites like MyDouble if you want to just see what celebrities you most resemble and perhaps use that info in a dating profile. Brooks agrees, the facial recognition and editing is better-suited to would be casual daters. "A site like eHarmony is slow to let users share photographs because it's more about getting to know the other person," he said. "A lot of this is about trying to fix the real world which is broken. In the real world, you see pretty girls and hunky men on magazine covers who are largely unattainable." FULL ARTICLE @ INTERNET NEWS
See all posts on Eyealike
See all posts on Hot or Not
See all posts on WooMe
See all posts on eHarmony
Have to say I agree with Mark – mutual attraction is what it’s all about in the dating game. Eyealike is on the same track as MyDouble in using facial recognition as a filter for dating sites. It’s a technology, driven by the security and law enforcement sector, which has become pretty mature over the last couple of years.
MyDouble takes a more straight forward approach than Eyealike in allowing dating site users to find their ideal date with someone who looks like a celebrity they like, or someone who looks like a member they like, or indeed looks like anyone they like. The results can be pretty amazing and sometimes quite bizarre – especially when you find lots of guys substituting Brad Pitt’s photo for their own (I wonder how they get past the first date – assuming they ever get that far).
Eyealike’s ‘Attraction Trait Levers’ where a user can tweak the results for personal preferences around face shape, skin tone, and hair color may be a little too complicated. Time will tell however, if all that is really needed is the ability to easily find someone who looks like... a celebrity, a hot member, your ex, or even yourself! Whatever the outcome it's great news for dating site users!
Posted by: Tom Martin | Jun 27, 2008 at 12:16 PM
I'm hearing more and more from companies like this. I used to talk about a self-replacing grid of faces year ago. A few companies have tried this but you need a partnership with a dating site or better yet make the first few hundred grand with a facebook app.
A new site based on this technology is going to be difficult to grow.
To me honest, part of me loves the idea, the other part cringes at the thought.
Posted by: Dave Evans | Jun 27, 2008 at 03:02 PM