For Your Face Only (FYFO):
The design and build of an app that enabled friends to watch reactions to shared content, and a second engagement to develop a proof of concept and SDK for using facial recognition to enhance security.
Opportunity
Ballast Lane Applications has had two engagements with this client. The first was with East Coast Catalyst, who brought Ballast Lane Applications in to specify features based on their design and build For Your Face Only (FYFO) - an innovative social sharing app that brings your friends' responses to your content to life. The idea of FYFO is to have responses from your friends that go beyond words and emojis. With FYFO you are able to see the reactions your friends have to the videos and photos you send. FYFO uses face recognition to ensure that private content can only be seen by the person it is intended for. The second was with Stop River Development, for the development of a proof of concept and a comprehensive SDK designed to enhance online security through facial recognition technology.
Solution
BLA first built the iOS version of the app, as well as the entire backend, which includes the image and video processing. An Android app followed, and both were updated in a later phase. Ballast Lane started with a simple sharing of videos and photos with friends, then went on to add the ability to respond to this content. The user clicks on the video/photo sent to them, and while they watch the content the phone's front facing camera records their response and then sends it back to the original sender. The challenge was stitching the videos together, i.e. allowing the user to see the content sent, with a smaller screen within that content showing the reaction of their friends. BLA also implemented Face Recognition using AWS’s Rekognition service which allows users to send private content to their friends. This private content can only be viewed after face authentication is performed. Furthermore, while the user is viewing private content, their face must always be in the camera. If they move their face away, or if another face shows up, the content stops. This ensures that private content stays private! The second engagement focused on a broader use of the technology, to be used when viewing financial information, or participating in a sensitive call. Making sure that the user stays in the camera view, and/or a second person does not join, is something that the client wanted to develop further, with our help.
