Protected by technology: 5 industries where facial recognition is needed the most

Some time ago, biometric technologies used to seem like something out of the ordinary. Now it’s being used more and more, setting new security standards and changing the way we approach biometrics as a whole.

Contents

Statistics

How do facial biometrics work?

Where to implement facial biometrics?
To sum up

Statistics

According to Statista, the global facial biometrics market will reach $8.44 billion by 2030, up from $4.33 billion in 2023. The popularity of biometric solutions is on the rise. There are increasingly more situations for the use of facial recognition, but the number of concerns regarding how such systems work and where facial recognition is most needed is also growing.

How do facial biometrics work?

The core of a biometric system is formed by neural networks that are “tuned” to process new information and make decisions based on previous outcomes. Facial recognition systems use neural networks to assess our distinctive facial features, such as the distance between the eyes and the shape of the face, in order to determine whether it is us or someone else.

Where to implement facial biometrics?

The potential of facial recognition is unleashed in places with a large flow of people. Grand View Research states that the most common locations for installing such systems are airports, government agencies, shopping centers, metro stations, and banks. This is where biometric systems provide the greatest support to video surveillance operators and security guards.

Unlike humans, artificial intelligence takes less than a second to identify a person in a crowd. It instantly separates ordinary visitors from employees of an institution and quickly responds to the appearance of an unwanted person. Artificial intelligence is never distracted from its work, and there is no human aspect that may cause errors and security breaches.

1. Airports

   Did you know that 70% of global airlines are expected to use biometric identification by 2026 and 90% of airports are currently investing in the technology? Gone are the days of long lines at security checkpoints — with facial recognition, passengers can breeze through the process with ease while ensuring a high level of protection.

   One of the prominent examples of the use of facial recognition in the aviation industry is the Airport in Peru where the Id-Guard solution works at full capacity. The deployment of facial recognition not only provided the highest level of security but also helped to simplify work processes for airport employees. The use of facial recognition accelerates the process of identifying people in a video stream, whether they are employees, guests, or unwanted individuals. It also gives security personnel the ability to work with the database, create stop lists and watch lists, and receive notifications upon detecting unwanted persons.

2. Government institutions
   
   Now, someone might argue that facial recognition technology in the government sector raises concerns about privacy and civil liberties. However, facial biometrics are being actively implemented in government institutions, empowering security staff to manage stop lists and monitor the incoming flow of people.

   For example, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador installed RecFaces’ boxed solution Id-Guard, which analyzes facial features of the visitors and now allows security personnel to find people based on a photograph or description of their appearance in video recordings in less than 10 seconds. This significantly enhances security and incident response time: the operator just needs a few seconds to identify a questionable visitor and prevent the threat.

3. Industrial enterprises
   
   Biometric solutions are being actively introduced in industrial enterprises. There, facial biometrics help speed up employee authentication processes at the entrances to the establishment.

   RecFaces' Id-Gate solution is in active use at a ferronickel industrial plant in El Estor, Guatemala. The solution is used to verify the access rights of employees or visitors. There, biometric facial recognition is used in place of less secure key cards and RFID cards. The reason is that using facial recognition instead of physical passes speeds up the enterprise's identification procedures while also improving institutional security. Employees do not form queues at the enterprise's doors during busy hours, and unauthorized individuals cannot enter the facility using someone else's key cards. 

4. Shopping centers
   
   In shopping centers, the integration of facial recognition is critical since thefts and petty crimes might go unnoticed without a sufficient level of security.

   For example, security at the Jockey Plaza shopping center in Brazil did not have enough human resources to track every suspicious person. Installing a facial recognition system solved this problem. Thanks to the Id-Guard functionality, security operators are now able to work with stop lists and build the trajectories of the movement of people on site, as well as receive notifications when the system detects unwanted individuals.

5. Financial institutions
   
   In financial institutions, the use of facial biometrics is also becoming increasingly popular. Now, picture this: you walk into your bank, and instead of fumbling with passwords or identification cards, all you need is a quick scan of your face to access your accounts securely. Magic, right?

   Facial biometrics simultaneously shorten the user's access to the banking account and increase the level of security. At the same time, such technologies enable the personalization and acceleration of customer support procedures, hence decreasing staff workload.

   An example of the use of biometrics in such institutions is Capital Bank in Azerbaijan, where Id-Check has been operating since 2018. The solution provides biometric confirmation of a person’s identity using a photo. It also allows confirming large transactions and working with stop lists, instantly detecting unwanted individuals.

To sum up

Statistics demonstrate that companies' spending for facial recognition usage are increasing year after year. The number of applications for biometrics is growing, as are the capabilities of these systems. Technology is always evolving, and it is gradually becoming not only a source of security but also a means of simplifying many routine procedures.

Although some consumers are still wary about biometric technologies, facial recognition continues to demonstrate its dependability and convenience of use, considerably improving the customer experience. That is why we may expect it to become a fundamental part of future ecosystems.