Facial Recognition and Video Analysis for Business Security
Facial recognition and video analysis technology has gone mainstream with businesses beyond high-risk government, airport, or energy using these tools to secure their assets and protect customers. Globally, the facial recognition industry is predicted to expand from $4 billion in 2017 to $7.7 billion in the next two years. This growth is fueled by a host of commercial software applications to benefit all kinds of organizations, from government to healthcare to car manufacturers. How are these tools being used today and what can we expect in the future?
How facial recognition works
Facial recognition software uses biometrics to map the facial features of a person from a video or photograph. Then it searches a database of existing faces to find a match. There are four primary steps to this process:
An image of a face is captured via video feed.
Facial recognition algorithms read the geometry and planes of the image, with up to 70 or so data points (e.g., distance from the forehead to the chin, width of the bridge of the nose).
The facial signature, which is a mathematical formula, is compared to an existing database of faces that could number in the hundreds of millions of images.
A match is selected.
This can all happen in about five seconds, with an accurate match achieved approximately 99% of the time.
This innovative technology is still in its infancy, however. One Georgetown study from 2016 showed that half of Americans at that time were in a law enforcement face recognition network. Facial recognition software remains a critical tool in fighting crime as well as for a host of other applications to help humankind.
How companies use facial recognition to protect their business
Most large companies and government offices have security guards monitoring who enters and exits the building. Today, human eyes are supplemented by a facial recognition platform to watch, record, and monitor visitors to the building. Some of the latest applications for this software include:
Bank of American Merrill Lynch uses facial recognition technology to fight fraud in its mobile app CashPro Mobile. The goal is to offer “stronger security and greater convenience for end users.” This is part of a growing trend toward using biometric security in financial services as more customers bank online.
Intel, the software chip manufacturer whose technologies are in most computers today, uses facial recognition software to monitor their Oregon offices. There are 20,000 employees on the Intel campus each day, making the use of these tools, “the largest implementation of facial recognition in the workplace anywhere in the country.”
Facebook uses facial recognition when you upload a photo, if you let them. The social media giant created an internal facial recognition tool as far back as 2015. It worked by identifying existing Facebook users in the pictures you uploaded and inviting you to tag them in the photo.
Airports are increasingly using facial recognition to ensure security on both domestic and overseas flights. In the UK, these tools have been used for more than a decade. Airlines like the technology not only for the added security against terrorism, but also as a method to speed up plane boarding times by automating a touchless process.
Car manufacturers like Subaru are building cars with facial recognition tools. These cars already come equipped with standard driver assist systems, cruise control, automatic pre-collision braking, and more. Now, they also will come with a tool called EyeSight, which watches your face to assess whether you’re too tired to get behind the wheel.
These are just a few examples of the innovative ways businesses and industries are using this technology to improve processes, increase security, and support business growth. The technology is still undergoing research and development, with new iterations coming out frequently to improve the accuracy of these tools. What’s next for this innovative technology?
What’s next for facial recognition software?
The increasing demand for video surveillance is driving the growth of facial recognition software, which most technologists agree will continue to expand. In the future, these tools will be used not only for real-time monitoring, but leveraging insightful data analytics to help organizations track key trends (e.g., foot traffic). The future use of deep neural networks will help computers become more intuitive in their approach and more “human” in their applications.
In the healthcare field, the need for on-site and cybersecurity has never been more important. Traditionally, these facilities have invested large sums of money in both video surveillance and human staffing to monitor on-site activities. Applying facial recognition software could be a non-intrusive and effective method for spotting suspicious visitors to a crowded ER or to alert security that a flagged individual is entering the building. These tools also can be used to identify patients to ensure the proper treatment, particularly in acute care cases where the patient is unconscious or unable to communicate.
TRL Systems provides facial recognition software in its line of intelligent, sophisticated video security systems to help secure and improve care in healthcare facilities as well as other business environments. We work with organizations around the country, applying advanced technologies to secure facilities and protect staff and visitors. Talk with our team today about these next-generation tools to help your organization.
© 2020, TRL Systems, Inc.
