Facial recognition systems have become what some believe will be the next big thing in security for not just mobile devices, but for bank accounts and a host of other functions. Augmented reality (AR), meanwhile, has been regarded as a training tool of incredible power and a potential aid in the field. Recently, SoftKinetic showed off a few pieces at the Mobile World Congress Shanghai event that are making people think about these fields even more.

As more head-mounted display (HMD) systems are coming into use, mobile manufacturers are working on ways to make AR viable and valuable to the users. While we've seen some impressive pieces so far, a common issue has been the ability to introduce one's own hands into the AR scenario, which SoftKinetic may have found a way around thanks to the DepthSense camera. With DepthSense's latest camera module, natural hand interaction can now be part of the AR experience, making it that much better.

That's not the only thing SoftKinetic has done, either; recently, it worked with KeyLemon, Visio Ingenii, and several other facial recognition operations to produce a complete time of flight camera that could make 3D facial recognition as easy as snapping a picture. Plus, there's even a possibility that gesture controls could be a part of the overall AR experience.

For the most part, this is good news. AR has long been a part of the field, but finding out ways to make AR work in the real world has been a challenge. Sure, we've had some great ideas like AR driving directions that overlay a map view in our very windshields, but with cries of “distracted driving” rising up like moans from an unquiet grave, we've had to abandon this valuable technology to the onslaught of ignorance. We even mostly lost Google Glass when people started beating up the people who wore such things.  Facial recognition isn't much better; it wasn't so long ago when it was being spoofed by photographs. While it's gotten better since, it's still got to reclaim its image from the derisive laughter of those who watched a glossy photo beat Google's own security.

AR can be a big part of our lives, and so too can facial recognition. The better both get, the better off we all are. It helps that we have new applications for these technologies, and SoftKinetic is showing us just what kind of value can be generated when these new technologies are improved.