Facial recognition technology (or FRT) has been a popular topic of conversation in the last couple of years. With its promise of enhanced surveillance and monitoring, it offers benefits to a range of industries and venues, from retail and the financial sector to airports and stadiums. In past years, it hasn’t always lived up to expectations. But the future of facial recognition technology might be changing.
[text_ad use_post=’125303′]
The latest advancements in the technology have retailers abuzz, according to a feature article in the September-October 2018 issue of LP Magazine. Senior Writer Garett Seivold talks with the experts about FRT potential, performance, costs, uses, and public sentiment. From the article:
“FRT is fairly new for most folks. But we’re getting lots of phone calls—from just about everyone you can imagine asking about what it does, how hard it is to roll out, so we’re out there doing a lot of demos and pilots,” explained Peter Trepp, CEO of FaceFirst, which launched Sentinel-IQ, a facial recognition platform for retail security, in June. “My perspective is that well over half of retailers are at least starting to take a look. They’re beginning to understand the power that it has and learning that they’re not going to be first to use it—because nobody wants to be first. But it’s coming, and I see it accelerating.”
Charles Fleischman, COO at DeepCam, an artificial intelligence company, said he’s seeing similar momentum. “We finished training at one client, and the head guy kept saying, ‘Wow. How fast can you do another 100 stores?’ That’s where we’re going very quickly.”
It’s probably not just vendors’ wishful thinking. Driven by improved accuracy, speed, and an increased need for enhanced surveillance and monitoring, the global facial recognition market is predicted to grow from $3.85 billion in 2017 to reach $9.78 billion by 2023. “Various applications like homeland security, criminal investigation, ID management, and physical security have made the demand for this technology increase,” according to a market analysis report, Global Facial Recognition Market, 2017-2023. “The market has been growing at a tremendous rate, and the awareness on the benefits of using this technology is increasing,” it notes. Among the various processes like 2D, 3D, or facial analytics, the 3D market holds the most significant share “due to its highly and most accurate face recognitions.”
Check out the full article, “An About-Face for LP?”, to read more about shifting sentiments, regulatory roadblocks, and the projected future of facial recognition tech.
For more great LP content, visit the Table of Contents for the September–October 2018 issue or register for a FREE print or digital subscription to the magazine. [Note: if you’re already a logged-in subscriber, the previous link will take you to the current issue instead.]