How Face ID Maps Your Face with 30,000 Dots
Chapter 1

Painting your face with invisible dots

Chapter 2

Turning your nose into numbers

Chapter 3

The neural network that learns you

Chapter 4

Outsmarting the tricksters

YOUR GOAL

Master of Your face as a password

Ch 1 · Painting your face with invisible dots
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marcus Reading the invisible light show

Aug 8

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marcus Apple Face ID

Thirty thousand dots, Shining in the dark, Unlock with a glance.

Aug 8

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marcus The invisible flashlight shining on you

Aug 8

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Reading the invisible light show

marcus A custom camera captures the pattern of infrared dots to read your face's shape.

Aug 8

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Throwing thirty thousand tiny stars

marcus A specialized projector beams thousands of invisible infrared dots to map your facial contours.

Aug 8

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Paint Your Password
BETA

marcus Paint the facial grid to discover how math turns your face into a secure password.

Aug 8

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Fun Fact

Infrared light: Humans cannot see it, but many animals like pythons use infrared vision to hunt in total darkness.

Aug 8

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Gossip

Which biometric unlock method feels most futuristic to you?

Aug 8

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Quiz

Why does Face ID use infrared light instead of visible light to map your face?

Aug 8

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marcus Throwing thirty thousand tiny stars

Aug 8

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Quiz

Which technology is used by the flood illuminator to light up your face in the dark?

Aug 8

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marcus The brain on the chip

Aug 8

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Quiz

What physical feature of the projected dot pattern allows the system to determine the 3D shape of your face?

Aug 8

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Quiz

Who invented the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) technology in 1977?

Aug 8

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Quiz

What is the main purpose of the infrared camera in a facial recognition system?

Aug 8

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Quiz

Approximately how many invisible infrared dots does the dot projector beam onto a user's face during a Face ID scan?

Aug 8

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Quiz

In which year did Apple introduce the Secure Enclave to isolate cryptographic operations?

Aug 8

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Quiz

Where is your facial recognition data processed and stored on modern smartphones?

Aug 8