Fast Access (face recognition) CPU usage

I found some utility to this gadget but...
I notice that the FAservice (Fast access) uses more than 1% of the CPU all the time. That is too much for me. Such a service should be near 0% as the welcome page is off.
Do you experience the same thing?

I don't uninstall it at the moment but if I can't find a solution I will do to not short my time on batteries soon.

---
Studio XPS 1645 - Core i7-720QM

 

Yes I had the same problem, only solution I found was to disable it or uninstall it.

 

I completely uninstalled it cause it wasn't accurate in reading my face and because of the resources it used when not running.
Poorly written software if you ask me

 

After three weeks of login, it begins to have some accuracy. Don't have to do it manually now. But perhaps the acceptance is too large now and it could recognize other people to be me. Don't want to waste time to test.

It seems with few feedback that there is no future for the software on my computer.

 

My first attempt at dealing with it was to disable it. For some reason, though, about every 10th boot, it would enable itself. On the occasions when it did so, it also increased the boot time. That is when I decided to uninstall it.

If you do uninstall and later decide that you want it (I'm not sure why), you can log into your Dell account and download it. Even though I can't imagine ever deciding I want it again, I just downloaded it now (obviously without installing it) so that I'd have a copy.

Les

 

what programs do you guys use to see CPU usage, because Task manager somewhy doesn't show me who is eating 20-30 % of CPU...

 

Process explorer:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

And sometimes now as I discovered it shows parking state of cores, the system resource monitor:
From the All Programs menu:
Accessories / System Tools / Resource Monitor (not sure in English has my Windows is not in English).
I will have a look at it more often as it covers wide range of indicators.

 

Once you have logged in, right-click the taskbar icon for FastAccess and click "Disable FastAccess Temporarily" and the CPU usage will just about completely stop. Mine uses about .03% of the CPU like this. This also turns the camera off until I need to log in again, or use it for something else.

There is probably a way to configure it to do that itself after you log in, but I have not really spent much time with the program.

 

We are the developer of the FastAccess Face Recognition on Dell computers.

You are correct, in Face Login Mode FAservice should be near 0% CPU use about 45 seconds after login. If you use the FastAccess Web Login feature, CPU use will temporarily increase briefly when you visit a secure website which you enrolled your user name and password.

The security modes of User Switching and Continuous Security track you faces continuously. In these modes, you will find CPU use will be higher as the webcam is supplying video to FastAccess.

If your experience is different, please feel free to contact our tech support people at [email protected].

 

We are the developer of the FastAccess Face Recognition on Dell computers.

FastAccess gets to “know” you better overtime by build a large biometric database. This database helps accommodate changes in location, lighting and looks (i.e. glasses no glasses). The improved recognition speed does not diminish the accuracy of the recognition. While the face recognition is secure, if you want even more security you can enable Face+Password which will periodically require both your face at least part of your password. This is especially useful if you use a long complex password.

 

We are the developer of the FastAccess Face Recognition on Dell computers.

Yes, “Disable FastAccess Temporarily” will suspend all FastAccess activity. This is helpful in User Switching and Continuous Security Modes where the webcam is always tracking a user’s face. This should not be required in Face Login Mode as FastAccess automatically idles itself 30-45 seconds after login.

 

On my system it works as you describe, once logged in the program uses almost no CPU time. It does keep the camera running.

Since I do not use Web Logins, User Switching nor Continuous Security it would be nice if FastAccess would automatically enter the temporarily disabled mode and release the camera a short time after login.

It would also be nice if you offered a version to let people try/purchase to install on other systems (a personal use version, not corporate).

 

I've been using it on my 1340 and it's neat when it works, but most of the time the lighting in the room isn't good enough for the camera to get enough detail. When I reinstall Windows 7 I probably wont install it.

 

I sent an email with screen capture. Would be nice if FAService.exe run at 0%
Deactivated Face Login for the moment waiting for a solution to this issue as you are seeing now what could happens.

 

Must admit I gave up with it, it took longer to decide it didn't know me than it takes me to enter my password!

 

I think I had to enter password ten times due to difficulties of recognition. But now I think I don't have any more, with learning, the software recognize me all the time and quickly.

The annoying part is the CPU usage in the background.

 

yeah noticed my cpu usage maxes out around 0.77% but goes away when i temporarily disable it
... i like the program but ...

 

I must have a hard to recognize face b/c I've attempted to use it now for a couple of months, and I would say that it probably doesn't recognize my face 9 times out of 10. This is even after I lowered the "security" to make it more lax and see if it would increase chances of being recognized.

 

Just remove the stupid software, It's more trouble then its worth.

 

Hello again everyone,
There seems to be two somewhat distinct topics of conversation at the moment and I would like to try to address them separately. The first is recognition rate, the second is CPU usage.

Recognition:
A few points to keep in mind when working with/talking about recognition.

1. FastAccess is unique among biometrics in that it learns...and keeps learning...about your face any time you log in (and also any time that you ARE recognized but too slowly). There is no dedicated enrollment process to go through. Recognition will improve quickly with use, but will never be 100%, nor would we want it to be for purposes of accuracy.

2. To get good recognition, be sure to do the following:
a) The absolute key is to make sure that the green "square" is tracking your face on the login screen at the time of login. Without the green square, FA can't see your face, can't learn, and can't improve it's recognition performance. Reasons that the green square might not be there typically include trying to log in in a dark room and/or looking so far down at your hands to type the password that the camera is now seeing the top of your head instead of your face. (This is actually somewhat difficult to do with a laptop, but is certainly possible.) If the latter is true then by definition it's also hard to notice what's going on because you're looking at your hands, not the video feed! Be sure to look back up before logging in to make certain that the green square is still there. Performance will improve quite rapidly.

b) Also, approach the computer, put your hands on the keyboard and look calmly at the monitor. This helps to ensure consistent positioning and will improve recognition - especially at first when it hasn't learned much about you yet. Also don't be afraid to log in manually if it appears to be taking more than a few seconds to recognize. This is how it learns.

These tips apply not only to logging in to Windows, but also to the Web Login feature as well (if recognition is required).

Additional tips are available in the help file and in this FAQ:
http://www.sensiblevision.com/v/dell/faq.pdf

I sincerely hope that they are helpful.

 

Just a suggestion I got from Sensible Vision regarding the CPU usage problem. I haven't tested to see if this helped or not, but one of the primary causes of high CPU usage according to them is the camera driver. I would check to make sure you have the latest Dell Webcam Central installed which includes the latest driver. Creative just released an updated version about a month ago so it's worth a shot to see if it helps. The new version is 1.40.19. If you've never updated then you're running version 1.40.04 which is pretty old.

 

Second topic:

CPU usage:
Sensible Vision has designed FastAccess not only to provide useful convenience and security features, but also to do so in a way that's as efficient as possible. A few detailed notes:

1. It's important to measure usage using either Microsoft's "Process Explorer" or at least while the machine is in " 'Max' or 'High' Performance" power mode. This the only way to get an accurate picture. Other ways of measuring (Task Manager and Resource Monitor) measure use as a percentage of what's available...which can vary widely depending on power savings/CPU throttling that Windows itself is doing. I'm sure that this is widely known already, but worth pointing out again.

2. Within FastAccess, the modes "User Switching" and "Continuous Security" continue to analyze video in real-time after login to provide their respective features (automatic user switching and automatic desktop locking). CPU use is, of course, required to do this analysis (3% - 5% is common).

3. FaceLogin mode detaches from the camera about 45 seconds after login. Do not make measurements before this time has elapsed. Some extremely small continued use (less than 1%) is expected after that in order to publish video the the "Virtual Camera". Without this, opening another video application would cause the web login feature (along with the ability to be recognized after a manual desktop lock) to unexpectedly stop working. As these are key features for a huge number of users, this potential "failure" was judged to be more likely and problematic than a very small amount of CPU usage. Please also note that in Face Login mode CPU use will, of course, also jump temporarily after Login when the Web Login feature is used.

It may be possible in a future version to completely shut down all operations after login (I can't say for sure). Overall, however, the CPU used by FastAccess should have no significant impact on either battery life or computer use for the vast majority of users. If you feel that you are not benefiting from the features provided, then of course disabling it when not required is certainly an option.

If there's anything else that I can do, please let me know. Thanks.

 

This is actually quite true in general. Let me know if updating the driver changes anything so I can record the specific details for future use and reference.

Of course some CPU use will continue for the reasons detailed in my previous post. This is normal and expected. If this specific driver update has an effect, however, then that's good info for us to have. Just FYI - we do read this forum and have spent considerable time and effort trying to reproduce the very high levels of usage reported here (not the sub 1% levels...that's normal). Thus far we have not been able to replicate the issue on any of the platforms that FastAccess is sold on.

 

I upgraded to 1.40.19. Didn't change anything for me.
If activate Face Login and didn't make a face recognition (per example after a resume from sleeping), I still have far more CPU than my antivirus. Not acceptable.

 

Fast Access has, for some unknown reason, just recently begun using around 20% of my CPU. It is set on Face Login mode.

This is not a vision of sensibleness. It is a vision of madness.

 

You and I are having the exact same problem, I couldn't get it to function properly even after multiple uninstalls/installs. I completely removed it from my system now everything is running a little quicker.

 

Here's the program we're talking about. FAService.exe uses a constant 1% CPU usage, and after 16 hours of runtime it has consumed nearly 50 minutes of CPU time, more than 10 times more CPU than the system or any other CPU process has consumed, and this is while it's supposed to be in "idle".

 

I tried restarting, and it ran OK for a while, then FA started hogging resources again. I tried just setting FA to "OFF", but that made the icon flash constantly to tell me it wasn't ON. So I went to Run>msconfig and disabled the FA service. Now, when I start up, I have the option of turning Fast Access back on, but if I choose not to, it's like it's just not there.

I don't know why I don't just uninstall it. I guess I'm waiting for that person from Insensible Vision to pipe up with an answer.

I'm not holding my breath though...

 

Thanks to all for your continued feedback. Some of what I say below is likely redundant from my previous post and may be already known, but is better organized. I look forward to receiving the specifics about your measurements within the context of the details below so that we may both reproduce and address any non-standard behavior.

Sensible Vision is committed to providing software that not only provides significant workflow and security benefits, but also to providing those benefits in a way that’s as efficient as possible. Here is some information to start the discussion. Please feel free to contact Sensible Vision directly using the support email address (available on our website).

1. Security Mode: The different security modes have different functions, purposes and CPU usage.

a. Face Login: About 45 seconds after a login/recognition FastAccess CPU usage should approach 0%. Do not take CPU measurements until this time has passed. ​

b. User Switching and Continuous Security: Both modes have real-time features (automatic switching between users and automatic desktop locking) so somewhat higher usage is expected due to ongoing video analysis. 3% to 5% is normal.​

2. Virtual camera: If using another video application that is running, FastAccess will report much higher usage. This is expected as it provides video to the other application.

3. Measurement techniques: When measuring CPU use, bear the following in mind:

a. Measurement Tool: Both the Task Manager and Resource Explorer report usage as a percentage of CPU speed available at the time. How much speed is available (and hence the percentage reported) can vary widely as Windows slows the CPU to save energy. Either measure in the “Max Performance” Power Plan which minimizes this throttling or use Microsoft’s “Process Explorer” to get a more accurate measurement. ​

b. Usage Spikes: Very brief, transient spikes of higher usage are always possible. If Process Explorer is set to sufficiently high resolution, these peaks may occasionally be visible. They have very little effect on system performance or battery life, however, and can safely be ignored. What’s important is sustained average usage (over 2-3 seconds).​

Thanks!

 

Thanks for all that. Unfortunately, none of it helps. I have no other camera apps running, I'm using Process Explorer, and the CPU hogging is not a spike.

 

Heh...we seem to be having the exact same conversation on two different forums.

Thank you very much for the additional detailed information. It is greatly appreciated.

Would you be willing to contact me directly for support? There are some additional questions to ask and tests to run that would be far easier to set up using real emails. We would, of course, be more than happy to share whatever we learn back here on the forum (and the other one too!).

If you're willing to work with me further, either contact me through the sensiblevision.com website or send me a private message and I'll respond with my personal email. Thanks!

 

I would like to help but I've already uninstalled it. To be honest, at this point I don't see myself re-installing (which would presumably be necessary to run these tests.) Thanks for trying to help though.

See you at the other forum...

 

My pleasure. I understand and thank you for the information.

Just FYI for everyone - Sensible Vision has expended considerable time and effort recently re-testing on all possible Dell platforms with an eye specifically toward CPU utilization. Reproducing the symptoms reported here is the key to addressing them. Thus far we have been unable to create the levels of usage reported here in any of our tests.

Based on this, our theory is that there may be another program or process (which we don't have) that is causing an unexpected and undesired interaction with FastAccess. We are currently trying to identify the specifics through communication and testing with users who are experiencing it. Therefore if anyone who is seeing this issue would like to contact me directly, I would be happy to work with you.

Thanks.

 

Is there any sort of logging tool in Fast Access that would record what is happening under the hood and tell you why it's using so much CPU power?

I'm willing to help out if it will make the software better and less intensive, I was having problem with it using 20% of my CPU constantly and I was just idling within windows with with nothing else running other than my browser and Windows Live messenger.

 

Please send me a private message with your email address and I'd be happy to work with you. The steps that we would like to take examine and try to reproduce your situation are best done through email. Of course anything that we learn we will be happy to share with everyone back here on the forum.

 

Hey, svrep. When is the new version going to come out with Firefox support (for FF 3.6 and newer)? I currently can't use the web login on FF and I don't use IE. Also is 2.4.7 the newest version? It still says "Vista" in some places when I'm using Windows 7

 

forget it, I set it up, worked fine..

Took pic of face, printed pic of face (from Canon camera) on Epson 1280, used Print and it allowed a logon... LOL

 

Are you serious? Geez, if Dell wanted biometrics security on their laptops they should have gone/or stuck with fingerprint recognition hardware and software. I’ll not be bothering with this software when my 1647 arrives tomorrow.

 

Firefox is certainly planned for a future release, you are correct. Unfortunately I don't have a good time frame to offer you right now. Release dates for specific versions and features is really more up to Dell than up to us.

 

General:
Photographic access is certainly an interesting and important topic. It is one that we take quite seriously and address in great detail in our FAQ. I highly recommend reading that section.

http://www.sensiblevision.com/v/dell/faq.pdf

In fact, FastAccess has industry leading photo rejection technology.

Through the same camera:
Although you appear to have done something slighting different, it's worth noting that pics taken through the same camera that was later used for recognition (or from the same perspective as the camera is basically the same thing) may actually be expected to permit access. Normal photos taken of you in the "real world" will have many environmental differences (lighting, face angle, image compression, etc.) and are very unlikely to match. Impossible with enough effort or a huge amount of luck? No - nothing is impossible. I could make the same statement about guessing a password. Highly unlikely - yes.

Photo learning is not photo recognition:
It's also worth noting (though I'm not saying that you did this) that holding a photo up to the camera and then typing your password is not a photographic recognition. In that case, the system will "learn" the photo as belonging to you and it could be used successfully in the future. Obviously, this should simply not be done as it's the equivalent of writing your password on a sticky note attached to the monitor.

Face + Password:
If photos taken through your webcam are something that you're concerned with from a security perspective, then there is a very convenient "two factor" feature called "Face + Password" that can be set to occasionally prompt for just a few characters from your password in addition to your face. This completely eliminates concern about photo access altogether.

Security - the holistic view:
Let's also take a quick look at fingerprint readers vs. FastAccess. The biggest security advantage that FastAccess brings is the ability to automatically lock your desktop and login to websites when you walk away. It's been our experience that the most likely vulnerability for the vast majority of people (not to mention by far the easiest one to take advantage of) is a desktop that's simply been left unattended. Fingerprint readers may be a perfectly good way to log in, but they can not address this 2nd half of the security equation.

General philosophy:
Obviously I could go on for a while about this (and DO in the FAQ!), but I will end with the statement that there is no such thing as perfect security. Good security companies do not hide vulnerabilities but instead publicize them (which we do extensively) and then provide tools such as Face + Password to address them when they are of real concern to the user. After many years of providing security to very sensitive industries such as hospitals and banks, we've learned this lesson well and have tried to take a very open approach with Dell's version of FastAccess.

 

Thanks for your reply. Information online indicates that Firefox support was slated for release late 2009. I was just wondering if there is any work being done currently to expedite this release (as an increasing number of users are moving to FF, and even Chrome)? Why would Dell have to play a part, I thought we just had to use the "Check for Updates" to get the updated version (which is coming from you guys right?)?

Thanks

 

My pleasure. The date online is out of date, so to speak, and needs to be updated as that target was obviously not met. We are constantly working with Dell to create and release many new features including Firefox support, but again I do not have an updated time frame at this moment.

The Dell version of FastAccess is ultimately controlled by Dell. Yes, we collaborate with them, program it for them and even host the update files, but per our contract we can not and do not release updates without their directive.

 

Ok, I see. I eagerly await Firefox support, as I would love to use this program on a regular basis (for web logins). As of now I can't justify using it only for windows login, so I'll leave it off. I hope it doesn't take too long for the update. Thanks for the clarification.

 

svrep I've yet to hear back from you after I sent you an email with the stuff you wanted to see. Is there any progress in fixing the problem with the extremely high CPU usage?

 

There is an updated version of Fast Access available on Dell Ftp. Link: ftp://ftp.dell.com/app/FASTACCESS_FACIAL-RECOGNITIO_A28_R257644.exe

Can someone install and check that does it help in resolving CPU Resources issue and what is the version number?
I am not in front of my system so cant check myself.

 

That's not an updated version, it's a patch for systems that had older versions and for Windows 7 compatibility. It's version 2.4.7 which is what we've had since last year.

 

It was dated 4th Feb, 2010. So it was just a patch for the old version. Alrite. Thanx for the clarification Gaah.

 

hmmm 3 weeks and it has never recognized me even once

 

Reassign your profile face detection. It identifies me 90% of the time .

 

Sorry about the delay there. At this point we've still unfortunately been unable to reproduce the extremely high levels of CPU usage reported here. Our engineers are actually quite efficient at identifying and creating solutions to any issue that we can examine directly (from my experience in this field they're actually downright amazing in this respect, really). In this case, however, after a great deal of effort we cannot seem to re-create the problem on any of our test systems.

Given that, our current theory is that may be some unexpected and undesired interaction with some other program either directly or through a shared Windows sub-system. With the few people that have been willing to work with me directly, however, we have yet to identify any program that they all have in common.

I'm sorry - I wish I had more to offer at this time. I will certainly keep everyone apprised as we learn more.