Vodafone K.K., a leading cellular operator in Japan and a subsidiary of the Vodafone Group, has announced the inclusion of OKI's face recognition midddleware into the Vodafone 904SH mobile phone. Expect the Vodafone 904SH to be launched in late April 2006 in Japan. OKI's new security technology is labelled as FSE or Face Sensing Engine. It enables instant face recognition using the parent mobile's onboard camera.

FSE is considered to be a better security system than password protection. FSE can rapidly authenticate the owner as soon as he/she (or it?) looks into the camera. The authentication method seems not to depend on the surrounding brightness. So it can be used both indoors and outdoors. FSE includes functions to detect facial characteristics including the location of the eyes, eyebrows and mouth, and a function to keep track of changes in facial characteristics due to various facial expressions.

You can read all about FSE and its applications at OKI Face Sensing Engine (FSE).