NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) today announced that its face recognition technology ranked first in the world in the most recent face recognition technology benchmarking test (FRVT Ongoing, *1) conducted by the globally authoritative U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In particular, in the large-scale “1:N Identification”, which is largely used for FinTech and requires higher precision for applications that include cashless payments, public transportation and digital ID, the system was evaluated with an accuracy rate of 99.78% for still images among 12 million people (*2).
In NIST benchmark testing, NEC also ranked first following the face recognition benchmark in 2018 (FRVT2018, *3).
NEC was one of the first companies in the world to develop and commercialize a face recognition engine that achieves high accuracy even when masks are worn in response to the spread of COVID-19. In this way, NEC works to further improve the performance of its core face recognition algorithm in order to quickly respond to emerging social needs. In addition, based on the NEC Group AI and Human Rights Principles (*4), NEC will continue to give top priority to privacy considerations and respect for human rights when using data such as AI and biometric information.
Going forward, NEC will capitalize on its portfolio of biometric identification solutions, ‘Bio-IDiom’ (*5), which includes face recognition technologies, and ‘NEC the WISE’ (*6), a leading-edge group of AI technologies, including video analytics, in order to expand their use among applications that require a high degree of reliability, including cashless payment solutions for FinTech, public transportation, and digital ID for large-scale facilities and functions, such as airports and sports events.
(*1) Face Recognition Vendor Test Ongoing, supported by and in collaboration with the US Department of Homeland Security and others, assessed the accuracy of authentication for tens of millions of people using face recognition technologies from top vendors from throughout the world. “Results shown from NIST do not constitute an endorsement of any particular system, product, service, or company by NIST.”
https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/face-recognition-vendor-test-frvt-ongoing
(*2) As of August 5, 2021. The rate at which biometric subjects are correctly identified at 0.3% of False Positive Identification Rate (FPIR) against the law enforcement images (Mugshot) of 12 million registered persons. In addition, the company has been ranked No. 1 in terms of accuracy in testing (database Border 10+YRS for border control) where images that have been taken more than 10 years ago and the current image are matched. Source: Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT) Part 2: Identification (NISTIR 8271 DRAFT SUPPLEMENT, 08/05/2021.
(*3) NEC Face Recognition Technology Ranks First in NIST Accuracy Testing https://www.nec.com/en/press/201910/global_20191003_01.html
(*4) NEC Unveils “NEC Group AI and Human Rights Principles”
https://www.nec.com/en/press/201904/global_20190402_01.html
(*5) Bio-IDiom
https://www.nec.com/en/global/solutions/biometrics/index.html
(*6) NEC the WISE
https://www.nec.com/en/global/solutions/ai/
