3D Face Scans Could See Terrorists Coming

Airport security guards could soon be pointing lasers at your head, if the latest research on face recognition holds up.

During the new facial recognition technology trials in the UK, a man has his face scanned on a...

During the new facial recognition technology trials in the UK, a man has his face scanned on a facial recognition system, in this file photo. The new equipment automatically scans passport photos and matches them to the biometric records held by the authorities. Security services around the world are devising software to match CCTV photos of faces with image archives, to catch known criminals and terrorists. New U.S. research suggests 3D laser scans could be more robust in real-world conditions.

(Press Association via AP Images)

Security services around the world are devising software to match CCTV photos of faces with image archives, to catch known criminals and terrorists. However, the technology struggles to overcome problems caused by variations in lighting and the position of people's faces between photos.

Now US research suggests that 3D laser scans could be a more robust option in tricky real-world conditions.

Dirk Colbry, at Arizona State University, and colleague George Stockman at Michigan State University, took 300 laser scans of 111 different faces using a commercial scanner.

The device's stationary camera records a series of images while a horizontal plane of laser light passes over a person's face. Software then extracts a three-dimensional model of the face from the photos.