The list of similarities between the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 is long. Both systems were released in the same month after years of development, both offer many of the same apps and games, and both can use proprietary camera technology to log users in via facial recognition.
One big difference is that the Xbox One includes the Kinect camera in its $499 purchase price, while the PlayStation camera is an additional $59, on top of the $399 console.
Of course, neither of these systems are intended to secure your account -- this isn't a form of biometric security. It's more a convenient way to easily log in to different user accounts, as well as a cool show-off feature to impress your friends.
PlayStation 4
On the PlayStation 4, users must create "face data" by offering different angles of one's head to the camera in a predetermined order. You can repeat the process later, in a different room, with different lights, or other variables, to give the system more data to work with.
On the PlayStation 4, users must create "face data" by offering different angles of one's head to the camera in a predetermined order. You can repeat the process later, in a different room, with different lights, or other variables, to give the system more data to work with.
In initial testing, the PS4 recognized me easily, just after I stepped into the view of the PlayStation camera. So far, so good.
But, lacking any other registered faces, the PS4 also started logging other people in as me, basically anyone who looked even slightly similar, including people as disparate as how-to writer Dan Graziano and David Carnoy.
We later created face data for Grazanio and Joe Kaminski, who works in the CNET Labs. After that, the system correctly identified each of us, even if we all jumped in front of the camera at once.
Xbox One
With a camera system that is not only included by default, but also more sensitive and powerful (at least on paper), the facial recognition log-in is intended as the primary way users get access to their custom dashboards and profiles on Xbox One.
With a camera system that is not only included by default, but also more sensitive and powerful (at least on paper), the facial recognition log-in is intended as the primary way users get access to their custom dashboards and profiles on Xbox One.
The setup process is much simpler, with no posing or moving around to different spots in the room, a time-consuming process required by the original Xbox 360 Kinect. Once I created/imported my Xbox Live profile, the system recognized me almost every time I got near it, even when just casually walking past, greeting me with an onscreen welcome message. That added me to the list of recognized players at the very top of the main dashboard screen, but to actually log in, I would have to take the controller and hit the home button.
The main difference between the two systems is that the Xbox One is always keeping an eye out for known users, and it experienced none of the false positives we saw with the PS4.
Conclusion
The cameras used by both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 are imperfect, but considering the ease of use and the overall success rate when used without our tricky variables, it's a big step forward over the proto-version of this feature that was eventually shoehorned into the previous generation of consoles.
The cameras used by both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 are imperfect, but considering the ease of use and the overall success rate when used without our tricky variables, it's a big step forward over the proto-version of this feature that was eventually shoehorned into the previous generation of consoles.
Source : CNET News
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