• Source: Super recogniser

"Super recogniser" is a term coined in 2009 by Harvard and University College London researchers for people with significantly better-than-average face recognition ability. Super recognisers are able to memorise and recall thousands of faces, often having seen them only once.




Skill


It is the extreme opposite of prosopagnosia. It is estimated that 1 to 2% of the population are super recognisers who can remember 80% of faces they have seen compared to 20% in the general population, but these figures are disputed. Super recognisers can match faces better than computer recognition systems in some circumstances. The science behind this is poorly understood but may be related to the fusiform face area part of the brain.




Practical applications


The skill is recognised and employed among the British intelligence community.
In May 2015, the London Metropolitan Police officially formed a team made up of people with this heightened capability for recognising people and put them to work identifying individuals whose faces are captured on CCTV. Scotland Yard has a squad of over 200 super recognisers. In August 2018, it was reported that the Metropolitan Police had used two super recognisers to identify the suspects of the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal, after trawling through up to 5,000 hours of CCTV footage from Salisbury and numerous airports across the country. Other police forces using super recognisers include Thames Valley Police, City of London Police, Jersey Police, and West Midlands Police.
German police forces have made increasing use of super recognisers for suspect identification, such as in the wake of the 2020 Stuttgart riot.




Glasgow Face Matching Test


Super recognisers performed well in the Glasgow Face Matching Test in comparison with a control group.




References






Further reading


Gaidos, Susan (7 September 2013). "Familiar faces: 'Super recognizers' never forget a visage, an unusual ability that can be put to good use". Science News. 184 (5): 16–20. doi:10.1002/scin.5591840515.
Robertson, David J.; Noyes, Eilidh; Dowsett, Andrew J.; Jenkins, Rob; Burton, A. Mike (26 February 2016). "Face Recognition by Metropolitan Police Super-Recognisers". PLOS ONE. 11 (2): e0150036. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1150036R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0150036. PMC 4769018. PMID 26918457.
Williams, Caroline (September 2012). "'Super-recognisers' have amazing memory for faces". New Scientist. 215 (2882): 36–39. Bibcode:2012NewSc.215...36W. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(12)62392-6.
Ring, Tim (April 2016). "Humans vs machines: the future of facial recognition". Biometric Technology Today. 2016 (4): 5–8. doi:10.1016/S0969-4765(16)30067-4.




External links


Brodwin, Erin (11 October 2016). "Meet the 'super-recognisers,' an elite squad of police officers who are paid to never, ever forget a face". Business Insider.
Bate, Sarah (27 September 2016). "Never forget a face? You might be a super recogniser". The Telegraph.
Rice, Xan (2 August 2016). "The super-recognisers of Scotland Yard". New Statesman.
"Police to deploy 'super-recognisers' to scan CCTV to pick out offenders and trouble makers at Notting Hill Carnival". ITV News. 26 August 2016.
Greenwich University - Could You be A Super Recognizer

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