PersonDetection or FaceFamilarDetection syntax for particular person

[KonaBlueShelby]

I would like to know what the correct syntax is for a script to use the PersonDetection starter for a particular face.  I saw two different ones in the screenshots of this blog post: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Blog/Camera-events-custom-notifications-and-more-now-availabl...

Those examples are using a device.event.FaceFamilarDetection which isn't available but show a faces or faceName field.

However, neither one of those validate correctly when I try to use them with PersonDetection.  The documentation doesn't explain it either.

Thank you,

Mark

[Rubery]

I really want this feature,

[jer0nimo]

+1 Would love to be able to start automations based on the face name.

[dt1000]

+1 from me also!

[jamesmacwhite]

I came across this thread too after seeing the blog post with the faces parameter and then seeing it's invalid. It would be interesting to have the ability to limit the FamiliarFaceDetection event to specific faces as a starter, however I noticed a couple of people mentioning use this with security related automations i.e. unlocking a door.

I would be really cautious about blindly trusting the FamiliarFaceDetection event result. On several occasions the feature can misidentify faces. You could make sure you have a good sample of face images as a sample before using, but I'd still be very mindful of the potential risks of misidentifying faces. Consider the scenario of an unfamiliar face being detected as a familiar face, triggering a starter that did something like unlocked a door, not what you want.

[kaiclubbe]

I agree re: security. I could see them only allowing it for something like a custom doorbell ring though.

[Super_paulie]

just being able to turn a light on when it sees my face at night would be nice, not every single person in my library. There is no use turning the porch light on when the postman comes to the door and im not home.

[jamesmacwhite]

I do see the use case for sure and for FamiliarFaceEvents that are related to light activation, voice notification on a speaker makes sense, just caution on a security side like unlocking a door. There's no way you can trust the face matching to be that accurate 100% of the time.

[Super_paulie]

yeah, totally agree with that. It should at least warn you when you implement it, or flatly refuse to do a routine for a security device. But thats another story, the recognised facedetection SHOULD work and i dont see why it has taken years for them to implement it even when the syntax gets automatically created, its bizarre. 

[jamesmacwhite]

The Automation script editor seems to be a bit inconsistent in many places. While it is in preview, it seems like these have been around for a while. Examples I've noted are:

1. device.state.MotionDetection isn't support by any Google Nest camera I own (and I have a few) but device.event.MotionDetection is.

2. Using a specific detection event like device.event.PersonDetection often warns that this is not enabled on the target camera, but it is. Seems to relate to outside of zone being off, which you can just ignore, but still is werid.

3. Starters using the various camera detection event triggers i.e. PersonDetection, MovingVehicleDetection will always trigger, even if outside of the defined zone. There's no way to limit them to only trigger within the defined zone on the camera. To avoid this, you have to turn off all outside zone events.

4. FaceDetectionEvent despite in a screenshot showing a "faces" property still doesn't exist (the original topic reason), although the original starter type in that screenshot is slightly different to device.event.FaceFamiliarDetection that is documented.

Certainly, got potential but definitely some quirks currently.

[kaiclubbe]

I'm guessing it's hung up with internal counsel regarding the risks others have noted. Hopefully they reconsider and allow at least a partial implementation (e.g., custom  notifications, but not unlock)

[jamesmacwhite]

Possibly. With great power comes great responsibility and all that. I'd imagine Google devs could set validation rules in the background whereby if a certain starter/condition is mixed with an action which is deemed too high risk the automation editor could block or refuse to run such routine with a warning/error.

The automation editor already overcomes the mobile routine limitations e.g. you are prevented from creating "negative routines" like "turn off cameras" through a voice command starter but you can create routines in the automation editor that can do this no problem without restriction.

[gamingdexter]

Bump seeing if there are any updates

[DiegoPatrocinio]

+1... also would like to know if there are any updates

[thenaillab]

+1  Automations making use of familiar face detection will really unlock a lot of use applications for home routines. 

While I understand that it is not as simple as "enabling" the feature, it would be great to so something like make it easier for us to use something like "any familiar face" detection as a starter or as part of a condition.

[DiegoPatrocinio]

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@thenaillab wrote:

+1  Automations making use of familiar face detection will really unlock a lot of use applications for home routines. 

While I understand that it is not as simple as "enabling" the feature, it would be great to so something like make it easier for us to use something like "any familiar face" defection as a starter or as part of a condition.

---

You can use "any familiar face" to start a condition, the problem is that the familiar face is not specified, so you cannot trigger conditions based on the detection of an specific person.

[thenaillab]

My mistake, it can be used as a starter. I haven't used the feature in a few months, but I do remember there were some simple limitations that existed when using "any familiar face". Perhaps it was having it as a condition? 

There were limitations here and there that kind of appeared more like an oversight as opposed to anything else. The supporting documentation was also quite limited. Either way, I found the overall home automation system at google having lots of potential but ultimately felt like a glass half empty experience rather than a half full one. I mean it's better than nothing, but at the end of the day, the resources available to google surpasses those of many sovereign nations and as a result, you'd kind of hope they would at least feel more like a glass half full rather than half empty situation. 

[Kaotic75]

I would love to have this feature

[Arniesworld]

Same issue was hoping to utilise device.event.FaceFamiliarDetection to unlock my front door. Soldiered on for a bit and came across this post. I too would like to be able to create automations based on familiar faces. For instance unlock the front door for people in my household and part of my family group in the Google Home app when any of us are detected by the Nest doorbell.  I also have a Nest subscription to capture familiar faces. Are you able to provide an update on this @nickfromgoogle