New NEC Tech Matches Faces to Bodies, Enhancing Surveillance Capabilities

NEC has announced a new computer vision solution that builds on its acclaimed facial recognition technology to enable the automated identification of individuals even when they’re not facing a given camera.

Dubbed “Person Re-identification Technology”, the solution is essentially designed to assess not only a subject’s face, but their entire body. Once scanned, subjects can still be identified from behind or the side, even if their faces are turned away.

In a statement, NEC suggested that the solution’s matching rate “is as high as 90%”. That’s based on NEC’s own in-house evaluation using public databases; but it’s worth noting that NEC has established a solid reputation for its facial recognition technology, which has performed well in evaluations conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

NEC’s facial recognition technology has also been widely deployed by government authorities, with the company lately seeking to build its presence in the emerging smart city market. This latest “Person Re-identification Technology” should further help NEC to make its case in that area, particularly with respect to public surveillance deployments, with the company asserting in a statement that the technology “enables a wide range of people to be recognized, even in places where there are many people or visual obstructions that prevent a person’s face or body from being fully seen.”

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February 8, 2019 – by Alex Perala