Hot topics

Pucker up: Google's AI camera app can now detect when you're kissing someone

pixel3 3xl 05b
© nextpit

Read in other languages:

Google has started rolling out new features to its camera on Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones. One of the more interesting quirks is a kiss-detection system that allows lovers to take better selfies. The new feature, which comes with version 6.2 of the Pixel Camera app, is designed to solve the problem of having to hover your finger above the shutter when shooting pictures of your own face.

The new shutter-free mode is called Photobooth. The feature allows selfie-loving couples to forget about the shutter button on concentrate on capturing the perfect snog. Photobooth will automatically take a photo when the camera is steady and it sees that the subjects have good expressions with their eyes open. Aside from detecting kissing scenes, the AI can also recognize smiles, tongue-out, kissy/duck face, puffy-cheeks, and surprise, according to an AI Google Blog.

google photobooth
The shutter will be automatically triggered when you smile. / © Google

The technology is somewhat reminiscent of the now redundant Google Clips, which was meant to use AI to make taking photographs with your smartphone easier back in 2017.

Photobooth uses AI to train your selfie skills

Once you click the shutter button in Photobooth mode, the app conducts a basic quality assessment based on the content score from the models. It will then filter out moments that either contain closed eyes, talking, motion blur, or when detecting the facial expressions or kissing actions has "failed". Photobooth then temporally analyzes the expression confidence values to detect their presence in the photo, which Google says makes it robust to variations in the output of machine learning (ML) models. Once the first stage is successfully completed, each frame is subjected to a more fine-grained analysis, which outputs an overall 'frame score'.

The frame score considers both facial expression quality and what Google is calling "the kiss score". Since a variable number of faces may be present in each frame, Photobooth applies an attention model using the detected expressions to iteratively compute which face is worth putting in the foreground and which should be left in the background.

There's also an intelligence indicator, which you can see working in the GIF below. The white bar at the top of the image shows the selfie snapper what the current quality score is - essentially showing the photographer what the algorithms think of your shot. By moving your face, changing your expression or reposition your puckered lips, you can increase the length of the white bar, improving your 'score' until it reaches a sufficient level to trigger the shutter. The perfect photo is then captured and saved.

sidebyside old new v2b
Train yourself to get better at selfies with Photobooth. / © Google

That's how it works in theory, at least. Our colleagues over at The Verge experienced mixed results when they tested the feature. Google says in its blog post: "Photobooth is an example of how we can carve out a useful corner of this space—selfies and group selfies of smiles, funny faces, and kisses—and deliver a fun and useful experience."

What do you think of the feature? Are you looking forward to getting some romantic shots with your significant other?

Source: Google

  nextpit recommendation Price tip Luxury version with handle Price tip with handle For Garmin fans Mid-range tip
Product
Image Withings Body Smart Product Image Renpho Smart Body Fat Scale Product Image Withings Body Scan Product Image Lepulse Lescale P1 Product Image Garmin Index S2 Smart Scale Product Image eufy Smart Scale P3 Product Image
Deals*
Go to comment (0)
David McCourt

David McCourt
Editor

David enjoys staying abreast of the latest technology and newest Android apps. Outside of the office, he can be found playing snooker and writing bad 00s indie songs.

To the author profile
Liked this article? Share now!
Recommended articles
Latest articles
Push notification Next article
No comments
Write new comment:
All changes will be saved. No drafts are saved when editing
Write new comment:
All changes will be saved. No drafts are saved when editing