If your camera displays little green squares around people’s faces and automatically adjusts its exposure and autofocus accordingly, chances are it uses Panasonic System Networks’ FaceU system to identify faces from other objects in-frame. The company, a Panasonic subsidiary that manufactures and sells for-industry and for-business security cameras, audio-visual equipment, and PBX systems, has announced an update to the face recognition middleware technology, to be available for licensing to equipment manufacturers from the 1st of December.

FaceU recognizes that there is a face in the frame by identifying facial features – eyes, nose, mouth, for example – which is why it tends to detect faces in photos, paintings, and statues that camera sensors are pointed at, as well. The new update adds functionality for recognizing faces of animals, allowing cameras to automatically detect the presence of pet cat, dog, and bird faces in a photo – up to ten at once – and adjust its automatic settings accordingly. Along with the face recognition feature, it even allows for recognizing specific faces, perfect for identity-tagging photos – although the system seems limited in that faces of the same breed can produce mixed results.

Expect to see this new technology in digital still cameras, cell phones, handheld game consoles, and other consumer electronics next year! The FaceU middleware will be on display at the Embedded Technology 2010 expo in Minatomirai, Yokohama, from the 1st to the 3rd.