URME: A Hyperrealistic Mask to Evade Facial Recognition Cameras

In early 2013, we talked about the Stealth Wear project, which aimed to design clothing to combat drone surveillance. A few months later, someone had the idea of blocking Facebook's automatic tagging with the REALFACE Glamoflage shirts, though no traces of them remain. Today, it's URME's turn: an "identity prosthesis" for personal surveillance. In other words, a mask that confuses cameras with facial recognition.

The Growing Threat of Facial Recognition

Current governments proudly showcase their surveillance systems. They repeat the argument of "More cameras = More security" to exhaustion, but that's not enough. Besides seeing everything in real time, they need to know who you are and what you're doing. China is a kind of gigantic laboratory, where we've seen the Sense platform in action and the new smart glasses systems used by police in critical points of the country. The cost of technology is increasingly lower, and facial recognition becomes a staple feature. Those who value their privacy close their social media accounts or keep their phones off in a drawer (or give them up entirely), but they can't leave their own faces behind... or can they?

URME: A Mask for the Privacy-Conscious

The alternative from artist Leo Selvaggio is URME, a name for an "identity prosthesis" that blocks facial recognition of street cameras. In other words, it's a mask that lets us go around the world in the style of Vanilla Sky. The basic model of URME is based on the artist's own face, and cameras will recognize users as if they were him. Beyond its logical limitations, the color tone, skin, and facial hair are well done. The illusion of URME falls apart indoors and without a cap or hat, but from certain angles, I have no doubt it's possible to fool several people.

Are you interested in trying the experiment? If so, you'll need to invest $200 to receive a URME mask. I imagine nothing prevents using other designs, and to be honest, that seems to be the biggest risk, because the idea of incriminating someone else isn't too far-fetched...

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