Hi-Tech: Billboard fights domestic violence with facial recognition
updated the 14 July 2015 à 18:31While facial recognition technology is used by companies to identify people and in security matters, a London agency decided to take advantage of this incredible technology for a good cause.
In collaboration with Women’s Aid and the media company Ocean Outdoor, London-based agency WCRS designed digital billboards using facial recognition in order to raise awareness on domestic violence.
How does it work?
The digital billboard installed at London’s Canary Wharf showcases the image of a battered woman with black eyes and cuts on her face. Using facial recognition, the technology calculates precisely how many people are looking at the poster. As a result, it recognises immediately when someone on the street glances at the billboard. The more people are paying attention to the poster, the more the woman’s bruises begin to heal and her face returns to its normal appearance.
People in the vicinity of the billboard also receive a text message, via the mobile marketing tool Weve, encouraging them to make a donation to Women’s Aid.
The message behind this campaign is to stop turning a blind eye to domestic violence. “If you see it, you can change it; don’t turn a blind eye. It only takes one person to notice the problem to start making a change.”
This dramatic and utterly worthwhile campaign to end domestic violence won the Interactive Award at Ocean’s annual Art of Outdoor competition.
Lindsay POUI-DI
Watch the video:
