Super lifelike mask
A Japanese company is receiving many orders to make masks that look exactly like their owners, not only from domestic customers but also from far away customers, such as Saudi Arabia.
Each mask, which costs about $2,650, is made of resin and plastic and requires five workers to create. The facial details are simulated down to the wrinkles and skin texture that look real.
It’s the brainchild of REAL-f, a small company in rural Japan. Its founder, Osamu Kitagawa, came up with the idea while working at a printer manufacturer. But it took him two years of experimentation before he figured out how to use 3D facial data from high-resolution photos to create masks, which he began selling in 2011.
Kitagawa makes super-realistic masks at his factory in Otsu, Japan.
REAL-f receives about 100 orders a year from entertainment, automotive, technology and security companies. For example, an automobile company ordered a mask that resembles a sleeping person to improve facial recognition technology to monitor whether a driver is falling asleep.
Mr. Kitagawa said he was proud that his product was helping develop facial recognition technology, and he hoped that researchers could improve the accuracy of this recognition technology from the masks he made. He also received many orders from organizations related to the Saudi Arabian government, which wanted to make masks for the king and princes to use on statues displayed in public places.
He also said that he works very carefully with customers to ensure that his products are not used for illegal purposes and do not pose a security risk, but that he cannot guarantee that. His goal is to create masks that are 100% realistic, and he hopes to use softer materials, such as silicone, in the future.
“I would love to see these masks used for medical purposes, as long as they are made of soft materials,” he said. “And since lifelike robots are already being developed, I also hope that my work can help developers create more realistic robots at a lower cost.”
