Jaguar Land Rover has filed a US patent for technology that uses facial recognition and gait analysis to unlock doors, Mirror has reported.
The patent application was published on October 13 for “Door access system for a vehicle”. The application states, “A vehicle door access system configured to control access to a vehicle via the vehicle door, the vehicle door access system comprising an image capture device configured to capture a first image of a user external to the vehicle and a second moving image of the user external to the vehicle.”
The patent also states a comparator module which has been configured to compare the first captured image of the user with a first user identifier and to compare the second captured image with a second user identifier.
“The user of the vehicle must carry out a registration process which requires them to record a still image of their face and a moving image such as a hand gesture or their gait as they approach the vehicle,” the patent
The system could also be combined with wireless key fobs as an additional security measure, the patent states.
However, the combined use of video footage and gait recognition analysis ensures that thieves will not be able to trick the system by holding up a printed image of the owner’s face.
“The moving image may be a gesture, such as a hand wave, a salute or another hand signal which user makes on approach to the vehicle,” the patent states. “A still more sophisticated embodiment may use discrimination between different gestures to unlock different doors of the vehicles.”
The patent also talks about how the system could learn to recognize multiple users so that family users can share the car.
Jaguar has also stated in the patent that the new technology will make the cars more secure and more convenient in the event that drivers lose their keys.
