Use Case of AiDi in the Variety Show Funny Face Spy

We would like to introduce a case study of how viztrick AiDi was utilized in the variety show Funny Face Spy, which won the Silver Award in the AI category at the 2nd Tech Direction Awards Ceremony held this past August 2025.

The variety show Funny Face Spy, broadcast on Nippon TV, is a game-based program where comedians, the “spies,” make “funny faces” to outsmart facial recognition cameras installed throughout the facility and escape virtual entrapment. AI analyzes the spies’ facial expressions captured by the cameras and calculates the “Face Match Score (match rate with the actual person)” in real time. If that score exceeds a certain threshold, the system identifies them as the actual person, and they are immediately eliminated.

This judgement system—central to the concept of “outsmarting facial recognition with funny faces” and crucial to the success of the show—is fully powered by viztrick AiDi.

View program details for Funny Face Spy.

Innovative Approaches to Implementing AI in Variety Show Production

For the production of Funny Face Spy, we leveraged AiDi’s advanced facial recognition capabilities in a unique way, customizing the system to align with the rules of a variety show.

What truly stands out is its real-time processing power. The system instantly calculates a “Face Match Score” as a percentage and displays it as CG graphics. Because the judgement results are visualized without delay, the nail-biting, borderline battles become clearly visible, successfully creating a heightened sense of tension in the game.

In system development, our core design philosophy is to “lower the barrier to on-site implementation.”

• Simple Architecture：
  We achieved on-device processing that runs entirely on a single PC. Since no network connection is required, the risk of interruptions due to communication issues is eliminated, ensuring stable operation anywhere.
  
• Streamlined Production Workflow：
  In addition to easy setup, the ability to generate CG in real time during recording significantly reduces the workload for post-production editing.

The high-performance yet low-cost and compact package goes beyond simple program use. Because it requires no network installation, it is highly valued for its ease of deployment at experiential events, in-house content creation, and even for expanding program format sales.

Awards

This commitment to “on-site focused development” and “system versatility” was highly recognized, and in 2025, we received the following two awards:

▶The Institute of Image Information and Television Engineers (ITE) – Technology Advancement Award (Content Technology Prize), May 30, 2025
This award honors outstanding achievements in media. Our win was driven by the “novelty of the idea and the versatility of the system,” which enabled deployment beyond simple program use to events and other applications.

▶2nd Tech Direction Awards – AI Category (Silver Award), August 6, 2025
This award recognizes excellence in technical direction. We were acknowledged for “the structural strength of AI implementation,” which transformed high-precision facial recognition into entertainment and created real-time tension.

It reflects recognition from both technical and creative perspectives.