NEC has had its facial recognition technology classified by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) *1 as the world's most accurate benchmark test*2 conducted by the entity. At the time, NEC received the highest performance evaluation in “1:N Identification”*3, which consists of static images of 12 million different people, achieving an authentication accuracy rate of 99.88%.
NEC also ranked first in three other tests*4 — including one on aging effects, in which photos taken more than 10 years earlier were used for identification — and placed in the top three in all categories of the Facial Recognition Technology Assessment (FRTE) 1:N Identification leader board , which are published on the NIST website.
Since beginning participation in 2009, NEC has ranked first in the world multiple times in the “1:N Identification” test, which requires the highest accuracy of all devices. benchmarks facial recognition systems conducted by NIST*5. While continuously working to improve the performance of its core algorithm, NEC has simultaneously deployed real-world facial recognition cases, operating in more than 50 countries and regions around the world.
NEC's facial recognition technology has been implemented in approximately 80 airports worldwide and is used in places such as immigration, customs, boarding procedures and customer service. These applications have become one of the main use cases for facial recognition technology. Additionally, more than 1,000 organizations have adopted NeoFace Monitor, a system that allows users to log into their devices using facial recognition, improving both security and convenience models.*6. NEC also continues to be the industry leader in providing cloud-based facial recognition services, including more than 1 million registered users in Japan alone.
Going forward, NEC's goal is to increase real-world adoption of its portfolio of biometric authentication systems, “Bio-IDiom*7, which includes facial recognition as a main component.
NEC will continue to develop and provide solutions for a wide range of use cases, including multimodal biometric authentication*8, which combines facial and iris recognition to reduce false positive rates (the probability of authenticating the wrong person) to less than 1 in 10 billion, and gateless access control*9, which will improve ease of use by accurately authenticating multiple people at the same time. Furthermore, NEC must anticipate the growth of a “sovereign society” in which people control their own personal information and increase its commitment to new businesses in the web3 space, leveraging technologies such as decentralized identity and blockchain.
NEC is fully committed to following the NEC Group Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights Principles*10 in its use of AI, biometric data and other data, giving the highest priority to privacy and respect for human rights.
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- (*1) NIST is a US government agency created to strengthen technological innovation and industrial competitiveness.
The results shown by NIST do not constitute an endorsement of any specific NIST system, product, service, or company.
- (*2)
Assessing the accuracy of identification algorithms using a large dataset of over 10 million people. This global benchmark test involves leading vendors from around the world.
https://www.nist.gov/programs-
- (*3)
The test involves identifying a user by comparing the facial information on the authentication device with the facial information of multiple people enrolled in a database.
- (*4)
As of January 22, 2024. The error rate is measured against a law enforcement agency database (called “Mugshot”) with 12 million enrolled individuals and represents the false negative rate when the false negative rate positive is 0.3%. The NEC algorithm also received the highest accuracy rating in three other tests, including a test that matched images taken more than 10 years ago with current images (the “Border 10+YRS” immigration database). Source: Facial Recognition Technology Assessment (FRTE) (NISTIR 8271 DRAFT SUPPLEMENT, 2024/01/22)
- (*5)
“Third-Party Assessment of NEC Biometric Authentication”:
https://www.nec.com/en/global/
- (*6)
“NeoFace Monitor: facial recognition software for PC security:
https://www.nec.com/en/global/
- (*7)
Bio-IDiom is the brand name for all NEC biometric authentication systems, including facial, iris, fingerprint/palmprint, finger vein, voice, and auditory acoustic authentication. NEC is leveraging its world-class technologies and vast experience to mix and match biometric authentication methods based on each customer's needs to create a world where “anyone can use digital content securely” .
Biometrics at NEC:
https://www.nec.com/en/global/
- (*8)
Press Release: “NEC Launches World’s No. 1 Multimodal Biometric Authentication Solution with Facial Recognition and Iris Recognition”:
“https://www.nec.com/en/press/
- (*9)
Press Release: “NEC develops a doorless access control system using biometric recognition that authenticates large numbers of people to help alleviate congestion at busy entrances”:
https://www.nec.com/en/press/
- (*10)
Press Release: “NEC Group AI and Human Rights Principles”
https://www.nec.com/en/press/
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