Four States Require Smile Free Driver's License Photos
USA Todayreports that Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada and Virginia have all passed laws requiring people not to smile in driver's license photos. The reason states are doing this is because smiles mess with special facial recognition software that is being used by state DMVs to check for identity theft.
The serious poses are urged by DMVs that have installed high-tech software that compares a new license photo with others that have already been shot. When a new photo seems to match an existing one, the software sends alarms that someone may be trying to assume another driver's identity.
But there's a wrinkle in the technology: a person's grin. Face-recognition software can fail to match two photos of the same person if facial expressions differ in each photo, says Carnegie Mellon University robotics professor Takeo Kanade.
Dull expressions "make the comparison process more accurate," says Karen Chappell, deputy commissioner of the Virginia DMV, whose no-smile policy took effect in March.
The expressionless photo rules are likely to spread to additional states as use of the technology spreads to other states. USA Today says some states believe its technology can match faces even if people smile.
A total of 31 states do computerized matching of driver's license photos and three others are considering it, says the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Most say their software matches faces regardless of expressions. "People can smile here in Pennsylvania," state Transportation Department spokesman Craig Yetter says.
