Amazon's "Winking" Patent

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2016-03-16 10:40

Forget 1-Click ordering, buying goods on Amazon could soon be made in the blink of an eye, literally. The retail giant has been awarded a patent that would allow users to verify online payments by winking at a phone or tablet's front-facing camera (illustrated). It takes the facial recognition already seen in a range of devices to the next level, to avoid people trying to use photos or similar to bypass the biometric technology.


The patent application, filed on March 10, is actually related to another patent they already have to identify and authenticate users based on their photo. This new patent is apparently a twist on that one, which will allow the completion of a transaction and also has some additional security features. In some of the pictures shown, extensive facial mapping is used to identify the person in question, then a prompt is given for the user to do something on camera to ensure it’s really them and not a picture or recording. In the image above, you can see that the user has been asked to wink. The camera takes this motion as both authentication of the user and acceptance of the action or transaction at hand.


What are your thoughts on this new patent? Taking face-recognition to the next level? Could this be more secure than a fingerprint or a photo alone? Share your thoughts down below.