Earlier survey results showed that the United States would have facial recognition systems in its top 20 airports to enable verification of international passengers. This thought emerged after face recognition technologies were found to possess up to 99% accuracy, and a processing speed so fast that it can do face analysis in only two seconds. The progress seems to be great, and now approximately 97% of the U.S. airports should have this technology by 2023.
Facial recognition technologies are capable of matching human faces with images captured from documents or videos. This is what makes the technologies suitable for identity scanning to verify a person before he or she receives services. Facial recognition involves the use of biometrics to capture the facial elements before comparing the data with faces from a database to find the one that matches.
The system checks how a particular person’s mouth, eyes, and nose come together to form the face. While human beings recognize a face to identify a relative of a friend they are familiar with, the facial recognition program employs an algorithmic scale to check specific data. The data which is checked during facial recognition is usually stored in databases such as those belonging to the law enforcement agencies.
How Facial Recognition Works
You should have a device with an ID scanner app. The technologies used to complete these procedures usually vary but the steps followed remain the same. First, your face’s picture is marked from a video or a photograph. It really does not matter if the picture is picked from a group photo or if you are barely facing forward. Secondly, facial recognition software is then used to read your face’s geometry. It concentrates on the distance between the chin and forehead, and from one eye to the other. At the end, the software should have landmarks that comprise a facial signature. Thirdly, the system compares the facial signature to a database that contains known faces. The outcome of this procedure will reveal if your face print matches that of an image from the system database.
Accuracy
Although critics are highly concerned over the possibility that the use of facial recognition may lead to false identification, studies show that the system’s accuracy is impressive. According to a New York Times article, gender recognition is 99% correct on white men’s photos. Even though errors occur when identifying darker-skinned women, the chances of such occurrences is about 35%. Technological innovations may help to make this rate lower. A Grand View Research report of May 2020 indicated that facial recognition systems had become 20 times more accurate in conducting search and matching photos. This development in accuracy had taken place within 4 years.
Usage
Individuals and organizations use facial recognition systems to improve security. The first area of use is in the government airports, as is the case in the U.S. It is used to monitor how people move into and out of the airports. Mobile phone manufacturers also use the technology to enable unlocking of various phones. Facial recognition is also becoming popular in college classrooms, business entrance to restricted areas, retail stores, and airline gates, among others.
Endnote
Other than the fear that facial recognition systems may store sensitive data or lead to inaccurate recognition, people and organizations understand the benefits of this technology. Installing the systems at the gate and entrances of private areas is a great way of minimizing unauthorized access. It also simplifies the verification process and makes transactions faster. Browse the available technologies in this category and find one that will improve your ID verification speed and keep your work premises safe.
