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SonyPatent applicationSecurity & privacyInterest 8/10

Sony patents camera system that hides faces but keeps age and gender data

Sony describes a camera setup that uses a special filter and reduced data precision to blur identifying details like facial features. This process makes it hard to recognize who a person is, while still allowing the system to estimate general traits such as age or gender.

Why it mattersThis approach could help businesses monitor crowds for safety or marketing insights without storing identifiable personal data, addressing privacy concerns in public spaces.

In the filing’s own words

An information processing system includes an optical filter that converts an image formed on the basis of incident light into a filter image by applying a filter effect set on a basis of a predetermined parameter; an imaging element that captures the filter image as an analog signal image including an analog signal; an A/D converter that applies A/D conversion processing of a predetermined bit depth to the analog signal image to convert the analog signal image into a digital signal image; and an attribute estimation unit that estimates an attribute of a person in the image from the digital signal image, in which the predetermined parameter and the predetermined bit depth are set to make it difficult to perform the personal identification of the person based on the digital signal image, and to enable the attribute estimation unit to estimate the attribute. The present disclosure can be applied to a monitoring camera.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An information processing system comprising: an optical filter that converts an image formed on a basis of incident light into a filter image by applying a filter effect set on a basis of a predetermined parameter; an imaging element that captures the filter image as an analog signal image including an analog signal; an A/D converter that applies A/D conversion processing of a predetermined bit depth to the analog signal image to convert the analog signal image into a digital signal image that is an image including a digital signal; and an attribute estimation unit that estimates an attribute of a person in the image from the digital signal image, wherein the predetermined parameter and the predetermined bit depth are set to make it difficult to perform personal identification of the person based on the digital signal image, and to enable the attribute estimation unit to estimate the attribute.

Facts

Company
Sony (Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation)
Official title
INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD
Publication number
US20260320959A1
Application number
19638127
Filed
Apr 3, 2026
Published
Oct 15, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
20

Classified under

G06V 10/147 Physics & computingG06F 21/6245 Physics & computingG06V 10/40 Physics & computingG06V 40/103 Physics & computingG06V 40/168 Physics & computingG06V 40/20 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.