Japan’s NEC Corporation is to launch a new system using biometric authentication technology that quickly authenticates large numbers of people
The system is expected to accelerate admission and reduce congestion for busy events and infrastructure. NEC will begin providing the system globally in September 2024, initially focusing on Japan, the United States, and Singapore.
In recent years, the number of visitors to airports, train stations, tourist attractions and other amusement facilities in Japan has risen sharply. Facility expansions have not kept pace, however. At airports in particular, the number of passengers in Japan is projected to double by 2041 compared to 2019, and there is a need to improve the efficiency of passenger services.
This new system features NEC’s face recognition and matching technologies, which evaluate the characteristics of movement and clothing to quickly detect persons in designated areas. The system can continue to biometrically identify persons even as they pass through crowded areas.
In addition, it can authenticate large numbers of people while they are in motion, including as many as 100 per minute in real time. Since the system does not require gates, as is the case with conventional admission control systems, it reduces lines and congestion without expanding or adding to existing facilities, thereby improving convenience and efficiency.
When a person whose face image has not been registered attempts to pass, the system can provide visual alerts on a display or illumination installed overhead or on the floor.
NEC introduced this system for employees at its headquarters in Tokyo in July 2024.
