Sapiens Orchard Square: How you can earn £40 in 10 minutes by having your face scanned in Sheffield

The Sapiens Project was launched by the Sheffield-based Ten24 Studio to capture people’s faces in 3D.

They are seeking to scan as many people’s faces as possible to build what they say will be a more representative dataset for use in the digital world.

Those faces could be used to diversify characters in video games or, as the firm puts it, to ‘enhance human-machine interfaces in fields like medical technology, robotics, transport, and customer service’.

Anyone can book a 10-minute 3D face scanning session and earn £40 cash in hand, and lots of people already have done so since the project launched on a trial basis in Broomhill last year.

But the founders are keen for even more people to sign up as they prepare to open a new studio at Orchard Square shopping centre, off Fargate, in what was the Blue Banana fashion store, between The Old Shoe bar and The Museum pub.

They will be based there for the next 12 months, and hope to scan as many faces as possible in that time.

How will your image be used?

As well as being used to create video game characters, your digital likeness could be used for marketing, product promotion or various creative projects.

But Ten24 has assured people their data will be handled ethically and securely and will never be used in sexually explicit content, or for government or state surveillance.

Ten24, which is led by James Busby and Chris Rawlinson, specialises in bringing famous actors to life in games and films.

Its work has featured in video games including Final Fantasy, Hellblade, and Halo, and in TV series and movies such as Doctor Who and Kingsman: The Secret Service.

James told The Star: “So far we have scanned quite a lot of people from Sheffield as a proof of concept in our old Broomhill studio. The first trial phase of the project was very popular and well received.

“In terms of how many people we want to scan there is no real upper limit. We have the store in Orchard Square for the next 12 months so basically as many people who want to participate in that time.

“One of the main things that we want to stress with this project is that the data is fully GDPR compliant, opt in, opt out and most importantly paid for.

“Unlike other companies that just scrape data from your social media profiles we want to set a new standard that pays people for their time and their data that will hopefully help to change the way companies collect data and push it towards a new fairer and paid for model that allows everyone to profit from their data.”

Who can take part?

Almost anyone can sign up to get their face scanned and earn £40, with the company keen to collect as diverse a dataset of faces as possible, but there are a few conditions.

Only people aged 18 or above can participate, and you must have a clean-shaven face, with no beard, moustache or stubble. You must also arrive without any make-up on, and with no piercings, while any head or face coverings must be removed too. Valid ID, such as a passport or driving licence, is required.

People with photosensitivity or conditions like epilepsy cannot take part, as the scanning involves multiple cameras flashing simultaneously.

The new studio is opening soon at Orchard Square. To find out more about The Sapiens Project, including how to book a session to have your face scanned and earn £40, visit: https://www.sapiens-booking.com/.

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