PITTSBURGH _ Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute spinoff FacioMetrics has been acquired by Facebook, the university said Wednesday.
FacioMetrics develops facial analysis software for mobile applications. Details of the deal were not disclosed.
"We're excited to welcome the FacioMetrics team, who will help bring more fun effects to photos and videos and build even more engaging sharing experiences on Facebook," a Facebook company spokeswoman wrote in a prepared statement.
"We are thrilled for our next big step by joining Facebook," founder and CEO Fernando De la Torre said in a blog post on FacioMetrics' website.
De la Torre, an associate research professor at CMU's Robotics Institute, and colleagues including Jeffrey Cohn, University of Pittsburgh professor of psychology and psychiatry, used machine learning techniques to train software to recognize and track facial features.
They developed advanced software called IntraFace, which allows real-time facial image analysis in an application that can be downloaded for use on mobile phones.
"IntraFace provides a breakthrough in facial feature tracking that simplifies the problem of facial image analysis, working rapidly, accurately and with such efficiency that it can run on most smartphones," De la Torre said in a prepared statement last year. "Now, it's time to develop new applications for this technology."
De la Torre will be leaving the university for Facebook, which is based in Menlo Park, Calif.
