INTERVIEW: NEC’s Jason Van Sice on Airport Biometrics in the Late Pandemic

NEC is one of the biggest names in the biometrics industry, and much of the credit for its status can be attributed to its highly sophisticated facial recognition technology, which has delivered strong performances in testing conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and was recently upgraded with remarkably fast matching capabilities with respect to homomorphic encryption.

The facial recognition technology’s role in NEC’s I:Delight platform, and I:Delight’s transformative potential across a number of application areas including air travel, is the focus of FindBiometrics latest interview with NEC Corporation of America VP of Aviation Jason Van Sice. Speaking to FindBiometrics Editor in Chief Peter Counter, Van Sice touches on I:Delight’s particularly important role in the late-pandemic environment, the challenges of airport deployments, the innovation of hybrid data sharing, and much more.

---

Peter Counter, Editor in Chief, FindBiometrics: You and I have spoken before at length about NEC’s I:Delight digital identity platform and how biometrics can create delightful experiences. Those conversations really do seem prescient right now, looking back from our current time during the pandemic, when that kind of frictionless, contactless and safe experience that I:Delight engineers is in high demand. My first question is: how does NEC I:Delight fit into the late-pandemic world as a digital identity solution?

Jason Van Sice, Vice President of Aviation, NEC Corporation of America: As a result of trying to meet some of the challenges that industries are seeing with COVID-19, organizations have been experiencing a rapid digital transformation to reach automation, and also achieve efficiencies and scale. NEC I:Delight is very much predicated on scale. It’s an enterprise-grade platform, it’s cloud-native, and it allows us to deploy multiple capabilities. But one of the areas where we’ve seen a lot of uptick has been with Digital ID and biometrics for the introduction and automation of touchless technology.

The pandemic only served to speed up that innovation – nobody wants to touch things anymore. Face recognition is the best modality to replace touch points, at least from NEC’s perspective, in terms of accuracy and intuitive user experience. And, because ours is a cloud-native platform, we can quickly deploy new capabilities for an enterprise, like elevated body temperature screening technology and Digital ID to meet requirements.

It is also important to understand that interoperability with existing investments has been one of our key success factors. Because of the cloud-native nature of the NEC I:Delight platform, we don’t have to disrupt the existing investments an enterprise has made in technologies. We are simply bolstering that existing investment. So, we’ve seen a lot of success with NEC I:Delight.

FindBiometrics: You’ve mentioned quite a few aspects of the platform. Let’s review for our readers: how does NEC I:Delight work and what sets it apart in this active digital identity landscape?

Jason Van Sice, Vice President of Aviation, NEC Corporation of America:  NEC I:Delight operates on a cloud-native platform, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), which capitalizes on advancements in the area of machine learning, deep learning, and computer vision across a portfolio of NEC products like Digital ID, video analytics, biometric matching, and data analytics. Identity management is one of the key aspects, including biometrics and fraud prevention, access control, blockchain, and elevated body temperature analytics. The inherent elasticity of it – or elastic computing – allows the SaaS (Software as a Service) capabilities to really adapt to workload changes by provisioning resources in an automated manner.

What does that mean in layman’s terms? Customers can adapt their computing power, and the dollars that they’re spending in the areas of technology, along with the demand of workload. That aspect is key, and I think the pandemic focused on us that because many organizations have legacy infrastructures that were very expensive to maintain and operate, and very manual in nature in a lot of cases. By utilizing the elastic nature of cloud technology, they can expand and contract and consequently save dollars as they need to. So most importantly it provides a tailored, consistent, seamless, and intuitive customer experience, which is crucial for a lot of these industry verticals focused on customer experience differentiation. Speed and accuracy combined are another key factor. Cloud-based platform technology is able to communicate down at the consumer-level touch points in a matter of sub-seconds. We’ve developed our solutions specifically for speed and to enhance the customer experience.

Most importantly, we’re really focused on privacy by design. We want to make sure that people are comfortable with the technology, how it’s being used, where it’s being used, and why it’s being used. There’s a lot of consent-related technology included for the consumers as well, so consumers can dictate where their information is being shared or not.

FindBiometrics: Obviously there are many different verticals that NEC I:Delight can serve, but some of the first major success stories for NEC’s digital identity platform came out of the aviation sector. Specifically, your work with Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT)stands out in my mind as a real shining example.

Aviation is a space with a high-friction passenger experience and stringent security requirements, and they’re made more difficult and more fricative by today’s health and safety requirements. It really does seem like a trial-by-fire situation. What are the key challenges to address when it comes to implementing a Digital ID platform in an airport?

Jason Van Sice, Vice President of Aviation, NEC Corporation of America: Airports are one of the more complex environments. They have a lot of stakeholders, which include airport authorities, airlines, passengers, and the vendors who operate in those airports, as well as governments who are responsible for the security and the border management. In many cases there are common imperatives, but just as often they may compete. So, it’s important for us to become involved and comprehend the business processes and understand that security’s paramount for a government border authority, while airports may have interest in passenger spend and competing with other airports; they actually want to attract and service airlines. It’s a rather complex environment that we must understand, and we have to do quite a bit of work to really bring everybody together to collaborate those business imperatives, where they may compete, where they might not, and ultimately on what we can have all stakeholders agree on.

At NEC, we really try to bring our innovation to work in conjunction with those existing investments. As I mentioned before: really keeping an eye on operations and processes that exist and trying to fit between those to bolster them and improve them.

The customs and border protection (CBP) traveler verification service that we worked on with the U.S. government is a prime example. We were able to develop a cloud-based platform that didn’t disrupt any of the existing processes or government systems, but that only served to improve and help those systems. That’s really what we try to do everywhere we go. Consequently, that’s why we’ve developed NEC I:Delight the way that we have, so that it is cloud-native and elastic in nature. We align our API interface so that we can interface with stakeholder organizations and ensure successes across the board, which is our most important function and desire: to ensure success all the way around.

One of the more challenging areas that we’re seeing is the policy-related piece, particularly concerning international travel. Inter-governmental data sharing is way behind the technology right now. Policy questions include how travelers’ information is used, and where it’s retained and saved. Travelers are increasingly becoming a stakeholder. There’s a lot of people looking at various technologies to facilitate secure international travel data. We’re certainly looking at blockchain as one of those capabilities.

Health information is another key part of this paradigm – how it factors into travelers’ information being shared as they travel and ensuring that it’s in fact from an authoritative issuer – particularly when dealing with COVID-19 vaccine credentials. Can we verify that it was issued by a government authority, or a lab that is valid, versus a fraudster creating it on their printer?

In short, there are a lot of challenges, but designing around privacy is a priority, along with having capabilities that are very malleable to the environment that we’re installing in, and helping customers solve their business problems. That’s how we’ve seen a lot of successes.

FindBiometrics: One of the more interesting things about your digital identity platform, specifically in the aviation space, is the hybridized approach to data sharing. Given that there’s a standing debate in the biometrics industry over centralized and decentralized data practices, the hybrid approach that you take here strikes me as innovative. As you said, people are becoming more concerned about their own data sharing. How does hybrid data sharing work in the aviation use case, and how does it shape the passenger experience?

Jason Van Sice, Vice President of Aviation, NEC Corporation of America:  We are seeing identity become a larger part of what I’ll call the “macro economy.” It used to be very niche focused to law enforcement related functions, but we’ve seen it become a much more desirable method to provide secure transactions between consumers and organizations of their choosing. As I mentioned before, we consider security and privacy paramount. We try to be completely transparent in our approach, to develop and operate solutions so that users are clear about how, when, where, or why their personally identifiable information is being used.

There are three non-attribute data management architectures that we’re focused on today. And as you mentioned, we’re designing a product that can fit the requirements of not only the operator, but the stakeholders and consumers as well. Centralized identity management platform capability really provides an option to enroll and store encrypted data in a centralized repository where an individual can opt in to use their mobile devices, a kiosk, the web, or any other means to enroll and manage both consent and identity information. And our identity management system uses that central repository to validate the identity for consented journeys across various organizations and transactions.

There’s also a self-sovereign identity management model. We’re looking at using blockchain for that, to help manage the enrolled identity information. We have some significant patents around blockchain at NEC and are doing a lot of research there. Blockchain really delivers a focus on general data protection regulations, like GDPR in the EU, where we already have a compliant, privacy enhanced transaction performance. We’ve already been using this in various locations.

And then there is what we call a decentralized model, where an individual can use a mobile device to enroll and hold their encrypted data on their own personal device, which is becoming more and more ubiquitous – we all have apps to do banking and other things. This seems to be a very familiar type of dynamic which consumers seem to be very interested in. Based on the user consent and their preference, the data that they consented to and enrolled with can be exchanged with target organizations for identity validation and secure transactions while they’re interacting with them. That means, if I’m traveling, I can opt to share my information with an airline. I might want to buy something while I’m in the airport, I may want to use it to check into a hotel, and I don’t have to pull out a credit card, a boarding pass, or a passport by using that capability. Time will tell how the industry continues to progress, but we’re seeing a lot of velocity in consumer consumption and interest in these areas.

FindBiometrics: We’re beginning to see the makings of a digital identity boom thanks to the accelerated digital transformation you’ve mentioned. There are major ecosystem players, like Microsoft and Apple, supporting verifiable credentials and mobile IDs. My question is: how do you expect the end user relationship with digital identity to evolve in the coming years, and what should organizations do now to prepare for the coming paradigm shift?

Jason Van Sice, Vice President of Aviation, NEC Corporation of America: As you might imagine, as a solution provider we spend a lot of time trying to understand some of those things. Per the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), 73 percent of passengers are willing to share their biometric data to improve airport experiences and processes. That really leads us to believe that customers are more open to seeing the benefits of a seamless, touchless solution at the airports, as well as other parts of their lives like entertainment venues and hotels. At the same time, out of that group, 36 percent of passengers have already experienced the use of biometric data when traveling. Eighty-six percent of that number were satisfied with the experience. I mean, those are pretty telling numbers.

As we see more tech savvy consumers, the expectation continues to progress in terms of being directly involved in how information is being used, where it’s being used, why it’s being used. Real-time information, particularly on processes which used to be manual in nature, can really save time, improve customer experience, and have more of a personalized experience. It’s great for airlines to know exactly what their passengers’ preferences are ahead of time, particularly high-value customers. The same is true if you go to a sports venue. Everybody likes to know who’s spending the most money, where they are, and how to improve their customer experience.

In terms of organizations and what they can do, in the macro consumer world where we’re all using iPhones, Google, and other big tech providers, the consumer is becoming more and more savvy about privacy. Trust is really a key for how identity information and services are being used; giving that consumer the opportunity to opt-in or opt-out so that they know exactly what’s being done with their information is key. That’s really an important piece for all organizations to understand. It needs to be fully transparent and interoperable as well. The solution needs to be able to interoperate with multiple organizations. We’re seeing more and more customers become increasingly educated on these topics, and organizations are trying to differentiate themselves with customer experiences. Those two things are really crucial: transparency and trust with organizations, and having good, secure, privacy-by-design solutions that people are happy to participate in.

FindBiometrics: On that note, NEC does take a strong leadership role in the biometrics industry. Your organization serves on the board of the IBIA (International Biometrics + Identity Association), and you’re also sponsoring the FindBiometrics’ 19th Annual Year in Review Survey, which is currently under way. I feel like that puts you in a unique position to comment on the industry as a whole. So, this question is, what do you see as the biggest opportunity facing the biometrics space?

Jason Van Sice, Vice President of Aviation, NEC Corporation of America: One of the biggest changes we’ve seen is identity, and biometrics, is no longer a niche capability. It is becoming something that is desired in the macro economy, and users are becoming increasingly interested in having those types of experiences where they can improve their efficiencies and have some personalized interactions. All of that is to say, I think we really need to escalate the conversation beyond biometrics to more of an identity management perspective, and ask ‘what are the services around identity management that fit into the macro economy?’

NEC has evolved, along with the industry, so that we understand it’s not just about biometrics and algorithms now, it’s about what types of services you can provide around it. NEC I:Delight, coupled with our cutting-edge technologies and things like behavior detection, body recognition, video analytics, and artificial intelligence, we’re able to provide the necessary capabilities and tools to ensure a faster digital transformation for more viable solutions that can be used at more places, in more use cases, and delivered through cloud, which doesn’t eliminate or take away from existing investments in almost all cases. Bringing together all of these solutions, makes us really excited about the future.

We’re also seeing the same digital transformation trends outside of the aviation sector. Whether it’s state and local law enforcement, or federal government, there seems to be a very coordinated understanding of what society needs and what it wants. You can take the fact that we’re seeing more and more mobile driver’s licenses – a digital representation of what used to be a card in someone’s wallet – that can save a state government millions and millions of dollars annually for issuance. And more importantly, it adds additional security because it can be invalidated automatically by a system, as opposed to going to find a driver’s license that’s already been issued and is out in the world. We’re seeing more and more interest from governments at all levels, and from consumers, to be able to use a mobile driver’s license for a multitude of use cases and reasons.

We’re seeing it across all sectors, and some key capabilities will be the cloud, the privacy aspect we discussed, and the ability to interoperate with multiple technologies. At NEC, we truly understand there are lots of providers out there that have a narrowly focused capability which we need to be able to work with and integrate as an existing investment. We see the opportunity there for not only NEC, but for those companies as well. Overall, the future is looking really bright. We’re excited about the direction things are going, not only at the consumer level, but in retail, hospitality, and at state, local, and federal governments.

FindBiometrics: It’s all extremely exciting. What challenges facing our industry would you like to see addressed in the coming year?

Jason Van Sice, Vice President of Aviation, NEC Corporation of America: We need to continue to talk about the inclusivity opportunities that digital identity can bring to individuals globally, and how user information will be shared. I think IBIA can help transform the discussion from biometrics to identity management, to advance understanding and continue to highlight the benefits of having a digital identity.

Education is key, and we’re seeing a dramatic improvement in many of those areas. I’m a person who’s been in biometrics for 20-plus years, and it’s fun to see that everyday people now have a pretty strong understanding of biometrics. I think where we can continue to improve is around some of these key privacy areas and the transparency of how data is being used in a proactive way as it progresses.

FindBiometrics: Absolutely. And just to round things off here, as a final question: what can we expect from NEC in 2022?

Jason Van Sice, Vice President of Aviation, NEC Corporation of America: As I’ve mentioned on a couple of occasions during this interview, we’re really trying to ‘answer the mail’ in the marketplace with regard to fielding cloud-driven, cloud-native capabilities. Switching to SaaS models as part of the NEC I:Delight platform is a key for us. We’re looking to bring more software to the marketplace, rather than focus on a lot of hardware. We want to use those niche partners, who are laser-focused on key capabilities and consider them partners. Today, we have some key relationships with companies like SITA, which is a strategic alliance of ours in the aviation space, as well as a multitude of others in other verticals. Those are important tenants for us as well: to really embrace partnerships.

We’ll continue to invest in NEC I:Delight, but we’re really looking to expand the capabilities of our cloud-native platform by using algorithms that leverage sensors that are already in place at the airports, doing things like jetway analytics, and really embracing as many stakeholders as we can. Hospitality, rental cars, theme parks, we’re doing a lot of work in all these verticals, too. And we’re really trying to bring lessons learned across in a uniform manner – from things we might’ve learned in law enforcement to things we may be learning in stadiums – so that we can really push that out in ever increasingly functional products that are valuable for all stakeholders. It’s really a transition into an enterprise space and we’re seeing a lot of benefits to being able to bring forward our lessons learned.

NEC is unique because we are one of the biggest players in this space. We are an R&D-driven organization. We have a lot of capabilities that we want to bring to the cloud, provide the opportunity to license them, and ultimately improve operations or customer experience, whatever the case might be.