What do you need to know about Airport Facial Recognition in 2021?

14 Jan 2021

2019 saw a rise in the use of Biometric facial recognition technology. Gatwick Airport was the first to confirm its use on a day-to-day basis. Following that, several countries adopted the technology to screen out people. While 'face recognition' is a term we've often heard in movies, we've combined a short guide about what airport facial recognition means.

How does facial recognition work?

There's a lot more to facial recognition than just pointing a camera to your face and clicking a photo. Face biometric works on a very precise algorithm. There are several steps to this:

1. Detection: Whether it is a live feed or a photo, the first step involves detecting a face in the frame. This is simple if the person is looking directly at the camera but requires detailed work if multiple people are in the frame.

2. Alignment: The biggest challenge for any face biometric software is that no two frames are the same. Each photo a person takes has a different angle and zoom-in or –out. This step involves aligning the face and its features so they can be extracted.

3. Extraction: Human eye can quickly tell two faces apart from one another. However, for software to be able to do the same, it needs to detect a face's features and translate them into data it can read. Face matching works by detecting features like eyes, nose, jaw, chin, etc., and translating them into data for the next stage.

4. Face matching: The algorithm collects the data it has received and extrapolates it. This is then matched against a given database. This classification phase can quickly run through thousands of entries in a single second before providing an output.

How will it help?

• Efficiency

Biometric facial recognition can easily help replace manual checking of passports. This software is faster than manual checking and can check several passports in minutes, saving time and labor costs.

• Security

Law enforcement usually uses face matching to screen out criminals. There is a lot of room for error during manual checking. The same cannot be said for software which is specially designed to screen out criminals.

• Safety

Unlike other forms of verification that usually use a key or password, face biometric requires neither. This makes the method a lot more useful and safe because information cannot be stolen or lost.

Why is it necessary?

Law enforcement previously depended on officers to recognize criminal's faces to arrest them. With the number of people traveling every day increasing, it becomes increasingly easy for a criminal to blend into the crowd and escape. Face matching cameras can easily be set up at regular distances and help track down a person as they move through the crowd. In such a situation, facial recognition can potentially save a lot of lives.

There are several facial recognition software developed and available to use. However, when choosing one for your business, select one that can guarantee speed, accuracy, and is customizable. Accurascan is one of the leading names in facial recognition technology. Face Match, is a real-time biometric facial recognition software provided by Accurascan. It is an excellent option because of its flexibility, speed, and is supported by various operating systems including Android and iOS.