Sophisticated low-cost masks are so real that can unlock iPhoneX

Sophisticated silicone masks used in Hollywood films now cost as little as $USD 600 and are detail enough to pass as real faces, researchers have found.

The masks were first designed by the film industry for Hollywood stars to save time for make-up. Actors or actresses can use them to change into bank robberies and by people taking international flights in disguise, with suspects switching gender, ethnicity and looking decades younger or older within just a few seconds.

Scientists now have found they are so convincing that can fool 99 percent of people.

Research by York University found people were not able to spot people wearing masks in both photographs and real life.

Dr Rob Jenkins, from the Department of Psychology, said, "We wanted to see if people would distinguish these masks from real faces, so we asked people to describe the faces they saw in photographs or in live viewing."

"Only one in 100 viewers mentioned a mask," he continued. "When we asked if there was anything unusual about the faces, that number rose to one in 50. Even when we told them it could be a mask, most people still thought it was a real face."

Dr Jenkins said the masks raise the concern of law enforcement agencies because they could trick the department looking for the wrong person, especially when the masks are getting cheaper and better.

Another online video demonstrated how a mask bested iPhoneX ID face recently. The mask can unlock the phone every time when the owner put it near.

It may be a concern if this sophisticated silicone mask becomes popular.