Apple acquires French image recognition company, may embed technology into iPhone

Tencent Technology News: In the new iPhone X that Apple will release in November, computer vision recognition will become an important role, and Apple will also realize 3D facial scanning recognition for the first time in the industry. In line with this strategy, Apple is acquiring related companies and talents. According to foreign media reports, Apple has acquired Regaind, a French photo recognition technology company.

The company is currently developing a new algorithm that can effectively identify the content and shooting quality of photos.

According to the US technology news website AppleInsider, Apple actually acquired this French technology startup at the beginning of the year, but the media just learned about this through sources. Neither Apple nor Regaind has announced this matter to the public before, and the transaction amount of the acquisition is currently unclear.

Regaind is a company that develops computer vision recognition technology, especially good at identifying the content of photos. For the technology industry, identifying people and objects in photos is no longer a technical problem. For example, Facebook has deployed photo recognition functions on its website or photo management functions. In addition to identifying objects in photos, Regaind's technology can even evaluate the shooting level of photos, such as whether the photography composition is reasonable and excellent.

The company's technology can select excellent works from a large number of photos, eliminate low-quality photos, or delete photos with similar shooting scenes.

The company's technology can also determine gender, age, expression and other information based on the recognized person's image. Previously, some manufacturers, including Microsoft Bing, have launched features that can guess the age of people based on photos, which has aroused the interest of users. This simple feature requires the support of complex artificial intelligence technology. Only developers with advanced technology can accurately guess the real age of people in photos.

In the iPhone X released on September 12, Apple introduced the 3D facial recognition function for the first time in the smartphone industry. Apple built-in recognition sensors and infrared sensors and other components to accurately recognize and verify the 3D structure and facial muscles of the face.

It is reported that identifying the user's identity is only a primary use of Apple's 3D scanning and recognition function. Its greater use is in the field of augmented reality. Apple will be able to identify spatial scenes and specific objects and quickly build three-dimensional digital models, allowing AR developers to superimpose virtual characters or information and place various game props, bringing a new augmented reality experience.

It is not clear whether the technology of the French company was used in the facial recognition or animated emoji functions of the iPhone X.

Dynamic emojis have also become a highlight of the iPhone X. They can be customized based on the user's facial expressions captured by the smartphone, making communication between friends more interesting. According to foreign media estimates, this feature of Apple may rely on the technology of Regaind.

Computer vision recognition belongs to the field of artificial intelligence. The system needs to accumulate a large amount of data to improve the recognition accuracy. It is well known that Apple has long been lagging behind in the field of artificial intelligence. However, in the past year, Apple has begun to make great efforts.

Including Regaind, Apple has acquired several artificial intelligence technology companies, including spending $500 million in May to acquire an artificial intelligence manufacturer called "Lattice". In 2016, Apple also acquired at least four artificial intelligence companies.

It is reported that Apple has established an artificial intelligence research and development institute in Seattle, USA, relying on multiple acquisitions. The research and development results of this technology will be more integrated into Apple mobile phones in the future.