Age Estimation Software To Tell Your Age

People who hope to keep their age a secret won’t want to go near a computer running this software.

Computer software being developed at the University of Illinois can fairly accurately estimate a person’s age by examining only the person’s face.

“Age-estimation software is useful in applications where you don’t need to specifically identify someone, such as a government employee, but would like to know their age,” said Thomas S. Huang, the William L. Everitt Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Illinois

For example, age-recognition algorithms could stop underage drinkers from entering bars, prevent minors from purchasing tobacco products from vending machines, and deny children access to adult Web sites.

Estimating someone’s age is not an easy task, even for a computer. That’s partly because the aging process is determined not only by a person’s genetic makeup, but by many other factors as well, including health, location and living conditions.

The software can estimate ages from 1 year to 93 years. The software’s accuracy ranges from about 50 percent when estimating ages to within 5 years, to more than 80 percent when estimating ages to within 10 years.

Combined with algorithms that identify a person’s sex, age-estimation software could help target specific audiences for specific advertisements. For example, a store display might advertise a new automobile or boat as a man walks by, or new clothing or cosmetics as a woman walks by.

“All of this can be done without violating anyone’s privacy,” Huang said. “Our software does not identify specific individuals. It just estimates their ages.”