NEC Corporation’s facial biometrics
have take first place in a recent test performed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This marks the third consecutive NIST test in which NEC’s facial recognition was put to task and granted first place honors. NEC previously received top honors in the 2009 Multiple Biometric Grand Challenge and the 2010-2011 Multiple Biometrics Evaluation.
The results of NIST’s Face Recognition Vendor Test 2014 were released in the institute’s Interagency Report.
“The NIST benchmark test provides objective and accurate evaluations through ‘blind testing’ of authentication technologies belonging to a wide range of companies,” explains Shigeki Yamagata, general manager of Information and Media Processing Laboratories for NEC Corporation. “These tests are supported by leading organizations that include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI, helping to attract attention from around the world as a highly reliable assessment.”
This most recent testing consisted of 12 commercial vendors and four academic institutions. Using measured error rates to determine a solution’s accuracy, the evaluation found NEC’s face recognition as not just best of the bunch, but also markedly improved from the Multiple Biometrics Evaluation in 2010.
Raffie Beroukhim, vice president of NEC Corporation of America’s Biometrics Solutions Division shed light on the solution’s success, saying, “The strength of NEC’s face recognition technology lies in its tolerance of poor quality, highly compressed surveillance videos and images. While facial recognition technology was once considered of marginal value, use of NEC’s face recognition technology is now leading to a higher rate of positive identifications in real life investigations where the accuracy of NEC distances itself from other face recognition technology providers and help keep our communities safe.”
Earlier this year, findBIOMETRICS interviewed Beroukhim on the heels of another distinction. In January, Frost and Sullivan presented the 2014 Best Practices Global Customer Value Leadership Award in strong authentication to NEC.
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July 15, 2014 – by Peter B. Counter
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