NEC Unveils Contactless Biometric Solution for Hotels

Japanese tech giant NEC Corporation has announced the launch of its yet-to-be-named contactless biometric check-in service that aims to make it safer for hotels to reopen for guests amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

According to NEC spokesperson Shinya Hashizume, the solution is expected to debut in a hotel in Singapore with several hotel operators reportedly also in talks to install the new system in the coming weeks.

NEC’s solution — which the company began developing before the COVID-19 outbreak but has since accelerated its production — allows guests to complete all required check-in/out procedures including receiving their key card, using biometric kiosks that are able to authenticate individuals by scanning their passports and faces and comparing the biometric data captured from the two.

The ability to complete these tasks without the need for any physical interaction with the kiosks or hotel staff is likely to be a major selling feature for NEC, as concerns over spreading the COVID-19 virus have led to hotel closures and declines in business for months.

As economies around the globe begin the careful process of reopening their borders to travelers, contactless biometric solutions such as the one NEC is now offering are growing increasingly important for the increased safety and security they can offer over traditional methods that tend to require far more contact amongst both people and commonly touched surfaces.

“Hoteliers in the region working to resume operations in the coming months face tough challenges,” said Yeo Jack Ming, vice president of NEC’s Singapore unit.

He added that operators also have the option of adding NEC’s thermal temperature screening and crowd analysis solutions to the check-in system for added protection and access control.

The cost for installing two kiosks and the biometric software is reported to start at roughly $37,000, though Japan Today reports that NEC has yet to issue any sort of sales targets for the new endeavour.

Source: Japan Today

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August 31, 2020 – by Tony Bitzionis