Camera sensors capture light reflected from human faces. As distance increases, the amount of light reaching the sensor decreases exponentially, following the inverse square law.
At 12 meters, facial features begin to blur. Dark skin absorbs more light, reflecting less back to the sensor. This physics creates systematic recognition failures.
Modern sensors struggle with low-light conditions. When combined with distance, the photon deficit becomes critical - especially for darker skin tones that reflect less light.
At 30 meters, recognition accuracy drops to 25%. The physics is immutable: insufficient photons mean insufficient data. This isn't bias - it's the fundamental limit of light.