There are not a lot of times I envy Windows users, and up till today, there was only one particular program that caught my eye. A colleague in my office had been using Facial Recognition software and there wasn't much I could find to match it. There simply wasn't a Mac alternative. Fortunately KeyLemon have finally taken a dive into OSX territory and introduced a Mac alternative meaning we now have a facial recognition product we can rely on.
To explain KeyLemon is pretty simple. When it detects you're not at your computer, it logs out. When it detects you are at your machine (using facial recognition obviously), it unlocks it automatically. No input of password required other than moving your mouse so your computer knows you're back.
About the software and company
Before we go into the detailed part of the review, I thought it was worth taking a look at the history of KeyLemon. KeyLemon is a first generation OSX product, but its not a first generation product per say. They have 10 releases behind them on Windows so the product and company has been around for a while. Obviously the OSX product is likely to be a lot less mature and functional than their Windows version at this stage. They're based in Switzerland and have a large number of innovation awards using a product powered by technology from a company called Idiap Research Institute which have 10 years experience in facial recognition.
In the past, facial recognition was reserved for high level security operations like the police or military but as the technology has become more commercialised, its now to the public at an affordable price.
KeyLemon for Mac
KeyLemon for Mac is available at the measly sum of US$29.95, hardly much considering the technology going into this and the exchange rate between AUD and US$. Oddly enough you can't actually purchase the product online via conventional methods, you have to purchase it directly from within the product itself. Purchasing is handled via eSellerate within the application, which is an established and secure method used by the likes of Telestream (Screenflow) and Skitch so there should be no concern. The company offers a 7 day fully functional trial for anyone that is interested in trying the product.
There are a number of license options available with KeyLemon although you currently only have one with OSX which doesn't match the Windows counterpart due to it being the initial release. The additional functionality is typically purchased directly in the app. As an example, the following shows the functionality currently available for Windows.
1. LemonLogin - By using your webcam LemonLogin quickly and conveniently logs you into Windows without having to type your password.
2. LemonScreen - This is a protected screen saver that locks your computer when you are not in front of it. When you return LemonScreen instantly identifies you and removes the lock. If someone else tries to access your computer in the meantime it will even take a photo of them!
3. LemonFox - Currently this only works with Firefox browser (other browsers are being added…). By using this application you can access Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter by using your face as identification and without having type your password.
The first two are available on OSX already while the last one is still in development and the first two seemed to be batched together in the US$29.95 price tag although I stand under correction if I misunderstood this.
Installation process
Installation requires input of your administrator password and a log out so expect this if you intend trialling the software. This is one of the reason's why Apple won't allow it on the Apple store.
After that its a process of creating a face or two so the system can recognise you. You can create more than one face if you want to cater for multiple adaptations but I found the system was perfectly capable of recognising me with or without my glasses using the same profile so no additional adaptations required.
Once installed there is some basic configuration required if you want to modify the default settings. These include options like:
1. Automatically logging out if its not you in front of the Mac
2. Automatically logging out if it doesn't detect anyone in front of the Mac
3. Managing your LemonScreen Login Screen
4. Changing your profile or creating additional adaptations
Using the product
Using the product is pretty straightforward. You sit down at your machine, move the mouse to make your machine active and voila, it logs in. There is a couple of seconds delay while you machine exits screensaver mode and a second or two while it recognises your face, but it works perfectly. This is a demonstration of the product being used.
Unfortunately the product does not offer login via facial recognition for first login, which is a frustration if you're one of those people who doesn't remember passwords (I don't have an issue with that but can't guarantee I won't when I hit my later years). This seems to be a limitation with OSX itself rather than an issue with the software itself. In contrast, Dell's facial recognition does offer this because its actually built into the OS (probably one of the only advantages of having Dell dump their personalised OS on a machine), although you then have to live with all the other crap they dump on there with it which slows down the machine. Hopefully Apple decides to incorporate something like this into their OS in future because it would be great to have it in there.
I did have issues with my external monitor, which were largely as a result of my laptop being to the one side and not having a webcam directly in front of me. In this case it was an issue with my setup, not the software. Its a little hard to expect facial recognition to work when my face is at an angle and adaptations require a front view. The solution over course is to add a webcam in front or buy a Apple Cinema Display with built in webcam, but neither are particularly appealing and I'm happy to sit down and look at my laptop to activate it or type in my password on the odd occasion. This does however create some issues if you're using the configuration that forces the software to check who is in front of the laptop and automatically disable it if it is not you, because it doesn't understand when your head is facing a different direction, it just see's that you're not there because it can't recognise a face. My solution was simply to use the configuration, which only disables the laptop if there is no activity for 30 seconds and it can't recognise you. There is the option to completely disable it if you're in a presentation though but that won't stop your screensaver from popping up and activating it so you'll still need something like Caffeine.
I did also pick up issues in different lighting conditions with the recognition, which forced me to create quite a few additional adaptations. As an example, the changes in lighting created problems with it accepting my face (blind closed or open) and if my face was darker than normal it wouldn't accept it. I've ended up with about 9 adaptations, which is a little more than I expected but thats probably the reality of facial recognition - if you want protection against false positives, it has to be fairly stringent with the facial recognition.
From an accuracy perspective, it seemed pretty fault free for false positives but I didn't have any near identical twins to test it with. Attempts by my colleagues at work to use my machine proved fruitless but it's really difficult to test it unless you find someone with a similar face. I did try a photo of myself without success (not sure why) and the nice thing with the software is that it registers every time someone tries to log in so you can actively see if anyone has sat down at your machine and tried to use it. Its great if someone tries to use your machine without your knowledge because you'll know about this.
Conclusion
Given the product is a first version, I'd say its actually really good. Its not quite flawless on the facial recognition and the number of adaptations required for people on the move may frustrate some users but it really depends on your working environment. In some respects, its too accurate requiring multiple adaptations but that's the price you pay for securing your machine and its the same reason most of us don't pick 1234 as our password. At this stage, the pricing for the product is very reasonable and if you were working in the same office and home environment, its unlikely to provide you with many problems. If you work in larger number of environments, I'd advise you to test it firs to see if it meets your requirements using the 7-day trial.
The nice thing is with this is you can still rely on the conventional login so if you find yourself in a low light situation and the backup login is always there to ensure you have access to your information.
Thanks
Thanks to Pascal Reuse from KeyLemon for the license provided for this review.
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