Augmented reality has a variety of applications, but lately the face has been a major point of concentration for many companies. We're all pretty familiar with face swapping by now, but ModiFace employs similar technologies for more practical purposes.

Say you want to change your haircolor but aren't sure if you'll like the results. Their technology can give you an incredibly realistic preview in an instant. Furthermore, you can sample various shades of lipstick and other makeup with just a tap. There's no need to actually put it on your face until you find the look you want.

While these applications are useful, well done, and pretty cool, they still fall into the somewhat superficial category. But ModiFace takes the possibilities further. It understands your skin, so it can detect potential problems and recommend treatments to improve your health. That's one more important addition to an already growing body of technology that seeks to improve the efficiency and efficacy of diagnostic healthcare tools.

Regardless of whether or not you have an interest in changing your appearance or checking your skin for issues, the implications here are huge. As hardware sensors become more capable and software can take advantage of those capabilities, we're quietly creating new ways for machines to understand the world around us. They may struggle to notice any significant difference between a North American wall outlet and a human face, but this is just the beginning.

ModiFace shows us one component of a smarter future that's here right now. Given how well much of this technology works right now, just imagine what we can expect in the years to come.