Dan Pražák Face ID in iPhones does not necessarily serve only to authenticate the user. The proof is the developer Dave Wood and his new application Airsynth, which, with the help of the front TrueDepth camera, is able to detect the movements and distance of the hands in front of the phone's display and adjust the volume and pitch of individual sound tones based on this.
With the Airsynth app, the iPhone essentially turns into a theremin, where even the sounds themselves are very similar. Although the phone does not work as sophisticatedly as the mentioned musical instrument for tens of thousands of crowns, it is still interesting to see in what ways Face ID can be used on newer iPhones and iPads.
Similar applications have been available in the App Store for a long time, but they are not able to accurately determine the distance of the palm from the display, as they only work with a 2D image. In contrast, Airsynth uses infrared light, or rather an infrared point projector, which is part of the entire Face ID system. This makes distance determination and overall sound control much more accurate.
Airsynth is able to track the palms of both hands at the same time - while one determines the volume, the other the user corrects the pitch. There are only five basic sounds available for now, but the offer should expand in the future. In addition, the application really only works to demonstrate how Face ID can be used in other ways, because it does not even offer the possibility of recording or any modifications.
Specialized music applications such as GarageBand could offer similar functionality in the foreseeable future. After all, it already supports Face ID Offers and the user can use grimaces to control the depth of sounds when creating instrumentals.
AirSynth is available in the App Store for a one-time fee of CZK 49. The app is compatible with iPhone X, XS, XS Max, XR and iPad Pro (2018).
source: Cult of Mac
