iPhone X can make your face invisible

While security-focused persons and parties are still debating the merits of Apple's Face ID technology, those on the entertainment, especially the gaming, camp have long been sold on it. Just look at all the antics that animojis have already caused and threaten to cause as the technology becomes more available to more people in the future. But animating a pile of poo is just the tip of the, er, iceberg. As one Japanese developer proved, it can also be used to make your face disappear.

For decades, people have been trying to develop technologies to make people and things invisible. Who'd have thought you only needed an iPhone X to do so. OK, that's a gross exaggeration since this proof of concept app only makes your face disappear while keeping the rest of your head intact. Think Invisibility Facial Mask rather than Invisibility Cloak.

The developer, who goes by the Twitter handle @noshipu hasn't revealed the secrets of his magic, other than that he used Unity to make the app. Unity is a game development platform and engine that has powered countless games, both indie and professional, on almost every hardware and operating system imaginable. This is perhaps the first time it has been used in relation to Apple's Face ID.

Of course, the app doesn't exactly make the face invisible and simply camouflages the face with what's in the background. It's not yet clear whether the app can actually account for a dynamic, moving background, as the demo doesn't exactly hint at that.

iPhoneXで顔だけ光学迷彩っぽくなるやつできた pic.twitter.com/aPXJcHi8Y4

— のしぷ (@noshipu) December 27, 2017

We're just seeing the beginnings of what Face ID might be capable of beyond security or even animojis. Already there are games that try to use subtle facial movements, like eyebrow movements, for controls. That said, unless Face ID becomes as reliable and trustworthy as Touch ID, it might end up being used for only those applications.

VIA: Design Taxi