Japanese company tests genuine smiles

Make sure you mean it when you say "cheese"

People’s smiles could soon be tested to see how genuine they are according to a Japanese healthcare company.

The Okao Catch, which means face-catch software, has been developed by Omron to scan a video image to detect faces. It can find up to 100 faces in an image, according to Yasushi Kawamoto of Omron.

The curves of the lips, eye movement and other facial characteristics are then analysed using data collected from a million people to decide how much a person is smiling. A genuine grin will record 89 per cent on a rating sheet, while a sombre face or false smile will get a minimal 0 per cent.

The company has said it hopes to use its technology in the medical field, to assess the emotional state of patients, or for people who want to perfect their smiles.

The software follows a similar creation by Sony, which already has a Smile Shutter function for its digital cameras. This automatically clicks the shutter when people in the image break into a smile.