By David Alessandrini
Facial recognition technology continues to draw the attention of security professionals who are looking to deploy the latest security solutions that marries video surveillance with high-tech analytical capabilities.
Thanks to more manufacturers entering this market and technological advancements, there are multiple solutions from which to choose, the cost has decreased and the technology’s ability to detect and identify an individual has become more reliable.
The introduction of facial recognition technology has opened the world of possibilities. Originally touted as a solution to proactively pick out a criminal in a crowd, facial recognition is making its way into the mainstream security market and is being used by hospitals as a contactless and non-invasive access control solution. This is important in high risk areas of the hospital where contamination is an issue.
Retailers are also leveraging facial recognition to track customer behavior or identify shoplifters. Some large companies are using facial recognition technology exclusively, in turn facilitating a quicker throughput of employees as they enter the building and eliminating the need for an employee to present a badge.
Even social media platform Facebook has deployed facial recognition technology to notify a person that their photo has been posted, even if that person has not been tagged.
All of this is made possible thanks to the development of facial recognition software that uses biometrics with high resolution cameras to map facial features from either a photograph or video and then uses a database of images to present a match. Facial recognition has made great strides with 99 percent accuracy for some products.
As facial recognition technology continues to evolve, security professionals should expect this solution to become part of their security playbook, much like access control and surveillance. Its ability to identify known and potential criminals, coupled with its high accuracy, presents myriad of possibilities.