Advertisement

Advertisement

Face Forward With Facial Recognition: Privacy, convenience and security battle it out

By Claire Swedberg | Oct 15, 2024
Face Forward With Facial Recognition
Many smartphone users are familiar with facial recognition, which they use a million times a day to access their devices. While that may be one of the more obvious uses, the technology has other applications.

Many smartphone users are familiar with facial recognition, which they use a million times a day to access their devices. While that may be one of the more obvious uses, the technology has other applications.

Facial recognition technology is becoming a fixed part of some public infrastructure, requiring more high-definition cameras and lighting focused on and around doorways and gates. Some iterations of the technology got started with border control and at airports as a way to identify people. The technology is increasingly prevalent and sometimes controversial as it makes inroads into retail stores and stadiums.

Biometrics and privacy concerns

In facial recognition, cameras typically leverage a biometric software application to verify or identify a person’s facial features against a database. Other biometrics include iris recognition and fingerprints. However, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, facial recognition is the fastest and most accurate in real-life scenarios, where people are presented in a variety of angles and change with age.

As with any identifying data, privacy and fairness concerns abound. Users worry about stolen face data or misidentification, which could potentially lead to the apprehension of innocent people in criminal cases. Others worry about A.I. bias, which has been known to misidentify people of color.

However, the technology’s accuracy is improving. As it does so, it is finding its way into public places in ways that are sometimes apparent, and sometimes unseen.

Identifying sports fans

Some adoption involves voluntary participation. Nationals Park baseball stadium in Washington, D.C., uses optional facial recognition to create a frictionless entry experience at the MLB Go-Ahead Entry. Cameras at the specialized entrances use facial authentication to recognize ticket holders who have opted in, who then simply walk through the dedicated gates.

This season, the park had Go-Ahead Entry lanes at three gates. It has paid off in terms of customer ease. The park has reported that participants entered 68% faster than those using the traditional entry, even with 2.5 times more traffic.

The banking industry also uses facial recognition. Cameras are in place to identify customers when they withdraw funds from an ATM, and sometimes even when they enter the bank to speak with a teller. This ensures the authenticity of customers’ transactions when they bank in person. 

Without facial recognition software, if someone steals a bank card, investigations can be slow. With facial recognition, the bank has a real-time photo of the theft occurring and may be able to locate the suspect before potential damage to the victim occurs.

Retail to target shrink

Banking is not the only industry using facial recognition to beat crime and fraud. Some stores are turning to facial recognition to identify suspicious individuals, whether they are casual opportunists or linked to organized crime.

In fact, with cameras already deployed at entrance and exit points, many stores have made a fairly seamless transition to including facial recognition in their surveillance. The system can quickly identify someone connected with previous theft, especially if it took place at that store.

Systems can pair this with multiple technologies, so that stores have greater insights into what is happening in their doorways. Facial recognition can serve as one part of a hybrid technology solution to address loss prevention, said Marshall Kay, director of retail transformation services at Avery Dennison Smartrac, Mentor, Ohio.

For example, many stores now have RFID tags attached to their products, and tag readers and antennas installed at the doorway identify when a product passes through that hasn’t been purchased. If the system in use incorporates cameras and facial recognition, the software first identifies a theft based on the RFID read, then that event is linked to an image of the individual taking the product. It even includes what that product is.

If that individual ever returns to the store, their face is captured, and they are identified as a suspect and the retailer’s personnel can quickly take appropriate measures.

“It’s clear that RFID and facial recognition each have very bright futures ahead of them. Many retailers will want to use these two solutions in combination, since doing so will positively impact the monetary value and success rate of cases that proceed to prosecution,” Kay said.

Replacing some manual security

Store associates can’t always have their eyes on the front door. And expecting a human to recognize all the known offenders among thousands of store customers is an impossible task, said Dara Riordan, president and COO of tech company FaceFirst, Austin, Texas.

Companies such as FaceFirst create probable matches and send notifications for individuals who have been enrolled into the retailer’s private, curated database of known offenders.

“Our proactive, real-time notifications—when a known offender enters—provide unprecedented accuracy and visibility to store security teams,” Riordan said. 

She pointed out that the system is not recognizing everyone who walks in; it is only matching those on a specific watch list of people who pose a threat.

“The notification we send includes the live image and the enrollment image, side-by-side, with an index score that represents the computer vision’s confidence in the match,” she said. 

All notifications require human oversight and include each retailer’s action guidelines. Some example actions would be “Provide customer service” or “Do not approach, known violent, call 911.”

Whether or not consumers are aware of it, the technology is already in use in busy stores. FaceFirst is currently deployed in three of the largest U.S. retailers. 

“We have more than a dozen grocery chains, as well as luxury apparel and home improvement clients,” Riordan said.

It’s still early days in comparison to the use of CCTV, which is ubiquitous in public places. CCTV started in banks and casinos before it became a standard retail security product. 

“I believe facial recognition will become standard, too, especially because it enhances store safety,” Riordan said.

Additionally, emerging requirements for workplace safety may impact technology deployment. For example, California’s new SB553 law requires employers to implement prevention plans, assess and resolve workplace violence hazards, train all employees and implement investigation and recordkeeping processes. Stores are looking to enhance existing technology to help their associates and stores address theft in a way that is safer for customers and employees.

The right camera and lighting

Camera and lighting standards in the facial recognition industry ensure the best possible face matching accuracy. To capture a face and not the top of someone’s head, “we recommend a 1,080p camera, but it’s also about ensuring the right field of view and pinch-point configuration,” Riordan said. The quality of the original enrollment image and the live image are the largest contributing factors for accurate identification.

High-quality cameras are important for those installing the systems. The facial captures of the past were often low resolution and poorly lit, so accuracy suffered. Modern facial recognition technology is very accurate when used with high-resolution cameras, good lighting and proper configuration, Riordan said. Her company offers installation training. 

“The most important element is the human oversight of the technology. The humans, not the A.I., make all the decisions about responses and further investigation,” she said.

Those in the business of facial recognition technology see its eventual expansion for application in school and hospital safety and human trafficking recovery. Identifying and stopping serious violent offenders, abductors and thieves is being weighed against privacy.

Technology companies see a balance between security and consumer privacy today. Education may be at the forefront of how to mitigate risks and gain benefits.

stock.adobe.com / scharfsinn86

About The Author

SWEDBERG is a freelance writer based in western Washington. She can be reached at [email protected].

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

featured Video

;

New from Lutron: Lumaris tape light

Want an easier way to do tunable white tape light?

Advertisement

Related Articles

Advertisement