Facebook To Add AI Facial Gestures In Future

If you think the emotion buttons on Facebook were an upgrade from the “thumbs-up” like button, you’re about to be even more impressed.

Facebook says that, in the future, it may build facial gesture controls with the help of newly acquired FacioMetrics — a business out of Carnegie Mellon University — and its app called IntraFace, which can detect a variety of seven emotions happening on people’s faces. It’s unclear the amount that Facebook paid for the company and the enhanced technology that the company brings to the social media table, so to speak. Unfortunately, the IntraFace app has been pulled from the app stores for now, but the concept binds well to the 32-item list that Facebook sent to TechCrunch recently, all regarding plans for artificial intelligence (AI) research and plans.

Verbatim, the Facebook list reads: “Future applications of deep learning platform on mobile: gesture-based controls, recognize facial expressions and perform related actions.”

While it could be a ways off, it seems plausible that FacioMetrics and a IntraFace-like technology would begin to appear on the social media platform, just to show how you’re reacting to a certain post, photo or video.

Facebook, however, says that it will be employing FacioMetrics for enhancing videos and Live capabilities.

Snapchat, which arguably leads in the AR space, is a platform that Facebook would be trying to catch up to for this enhanced way of expression.

And as for expression, the FacioMetrics team is likely pretty happy, or at least it sounds that way.

Fernando De la Torre, an associate research professor at Carnegie Mellon and founder of FacioMetrics, wrote: “We began our research at Carnegie Mellon University developing state-of-the-art computer vision and machine-learning algorithms for facial image analysis. Over time, we have successfully developed and integrated this cutting-edge technology into battery-friendly and efficient mobile applications and also created new applications of this technology.”

And, if nothing else, what AI startup wouldn’t want to be added to the Facebook team?

“Now, we’re taking a big step forward by joining the team at Facebook.”