Windows Hello is a set of features in Windows 10 that allows you to log into the new OS by using either your fingerprint, facial recognition or your iris.
Currently there is not any hardware for iris recognition, that is expected to arrive this fall when new Windows 10 Mobile hardware is released, but you can already use USB based fingerprint readers or specialized cameras with 3D, RGB and Infrared cameras in them for Windows Hello facial recognition.
Some OEMs are slowly getting hardware on the market with new devices that work with Windows Hello facial recognition but currently the only option that is available for an external camera for this purpose is the Intel RealSense DevKit Camera (F200) made by Creative. This device is currently out of stock from Intel but you can reserve one from the product page but it will set you back about $120.
I have been using the Intel RealSense F200 camera for several weeks now and it is pretty impressive how easy it is to set up for facial recognition with Windows Hello and just how fast it can recognize your face to log you in.
Earlier this month Intel released a driver update for what is called the Depth Camera Manager (DCM), basically the camera hardware drivers, but it did not address an issue with very slow wake up when the device was coming out of Sleep Mode. It usually took more than 30 seconds for the camera to fire up and attempt facial recognition.
Well that is now fixed with an updated Intel RealSense DCM driver package that was released on 25 August 2015.
After installing the new DCM drivers on my test device the camera now wakes up in less than 5 seconds to log me into the device using the F200 camera. Development hardware has never been known for extraordinary performance but this is a very good improvement in the cameras responsiveness.
While it is great to have the development kit hardware to try these features I am curious when third party manufacturers will begin to offer the RealSense camera technology in the form of retail webcam?
The Intel RealSense DevKit Camera (F200) is out of stock right now because enthusiasts & developers have ordered the camera hardware to access these features on Windows 10 over the last six weeks. The F200 DevKit camera requires an Intel Core i5 processor or better plus a direct USB 3.0 connection to work. That means AMD users are currently left out in the dark.
Based on the feedback and views we have had on our Windows Hello demo video, users love these types of features so there is no doubt a market for the hardware if only someone would get it on shelves.
I wonder who that will be?
