[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-new-model-spots-faces-behind-masks-more-accurately":10,"sections":34},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":29,"feedback":33,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":33,"total_tokens":33},3851,"new-model-spots-faces-behind-masks-more-accurately","New Model Spots Faces Behind Masks More Accurately","A transformer-based system uses eye and brow geometry to match masked faces, hitting 97% accuracy where older CNN methods stall out.","Face recognition systems still struggle when half the face is covered — and a new model from academic researchers tries to fix that.\n\nThe paper introduces PLGSA-Transformer, a face-matching framework built for the specific case where a mask covers the nose and mouth. The system uses MediaPipe, a Google landmark-detection library, to map the eye, brow, and forehead region, then routes attention toward those features rather than the blocked lower face. A companion module called OACT adjusts the matching threshold dynamically based on how much of the face is obscured — so a surgical mask and a full N95 are not treated identically. Tested on 858 images drawn from two public datasets and author-collected photos, the model hit 97.22% pair verification accuracy with a perfect ROC AUC score.\n\nThe result matters because most deployed facial-recognition systems were trained on unobstructed faces and degrade noticeably when masks enter the frame — a gap that became unavoidable during the pandemic and remains relevant in hospitals, airports, and secure facilities where masks are still required. Raising the bar from the prior CNN-based benchmark of 95% to 97.22% is incremental but meaningful in high-stakes ID contexts.\n\nA few caveats are worth noting: 858 images is a small evaluation set, the perfect AUC figure deserves scrutiny before anyone runs this at a border crossing, and the authors collected 15% of their own test data — a setup that invites optimism bias even with honest intentions.","[\"facial-recognition\",\"computer-vision\",\"ai\",\"security\"]","2026-07-07T04:00:00.000Z","2026-07-07T10:04:31.026Z","2026-07-07T10:04:33.988Z","published",null,[],"ai",[26,27,24,28],"facial-recognition","computer-vision","security",[30],{"name":31,"url":32},"arXiv cs.AI","https:\u002F\u002Farxiv.org\u002Fabs\u002F2607.03581",0,{"sections":35},[36,40,44,49,54,59,64,69,74,78,83,87,92,97],{"name":37,"slug":24,"count":38,"latest_published_at":39},"AI",2590,"2026-07-16T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":41,"slug":28,"count":42,"latest_published_at":43},"Security",294,"2026-07-15T19:59:48.000Z",{"name":45,"slug":46,"count":47,"latest_published_at":48},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":50,"slug":51,"count":52,"latest_published_at":53},"Policy","policy",158,"2026-07-16T00:02:48.000Z",{"name":55,"slug":56,"count":57,"latest_published_at":58},"Hardware","hardware",122,"2026-07-14T19:46:26.000Z",{"name":60,"slug":61,"count":62,"latest_published_at":63},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",93,"2026-07-13T13:20:48.000Z",{"name":65,"slug":66,"count":67,"latest_published_at":68},"Software","software",70,"2026-07-13T19:52:25.000Z",{"name":70,"slug":71,"count":72,"latest_published_at":73},"Science","science",66,"2026-07-10T10:29:37.000Z",{"name":75,"slug":76,"count":77,"latest_published_at":18},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",59,{"name":79,"slug":80,"count":81,"latest_published_at":82},"Gaming","gaming",41,"2026-07-09T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":84,"slug":85,"count":81,"latest_published_at":86},"Startups","startups","2026-06-29T20:55:50.000Z",{"name":88,"slug":89,"count":90,"latest_published_at":91},"General","general",29,"2026-07-10T22:28:58.000Z",{"name":93,"slug":94,"count":95,"latest_published_at":96},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":98,"slug":99,"count":100,"latest_published_at":101},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]