Another innovative phase in biometrics technology will be changing the course of the international security and intelligence sector. This one-billion dollar facial recognition technology – a computer system identifying a person through facial characteristics using gathered images or videos – will be introduced by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) right after the completion of its pilot test in 2014. This Next Generation ID (NGI) system comprises of iris scans, deoxyribonucleic acid tests, and voice pattern recognition which gathers the necessary biometric information in the hopes of streamlining identity confirmation and aiding in the fast resolution of criminal offenses.
Innovators such as Chris Solomon – the creator of an E-sketch artist program – mentions that this will make it easier for people to recognize faces straight away, rather than trying to make sense out of the pieces of the puzzle. The EFIT-V (Evolved Police Sketch Artist) integrates different facial matches and intelligently narrows it down to specific, optimum facial composites based on the witness’ choices.
This is highly effective in cases where witnesses can describe the criminal’s characteristics first-hand. The more daunting task comes from extracting images based on Closed-Circuit TV (CCTV) footages. Digital images with low pixelations can be specially challenging. Director Marios Savvides of the reknowned CMU biometrics center in Pittsburgh, USA explains that the faces from these images tend to be small. His team has then generated a program that can make 3D images out of different angles from CCTV footage, revolutionizing another method used for facial recognition technology.
On another note, critics have the biggest concerns about privacy which leads them to question whether or not the technological pros far outweigh the cons. Vice President of TPN Inc. Manolo Almagro expresses that assuring privacy protection will be the only way for people to accept this kind of technology. Director Amie Stepanovich of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington D.C. also states that despite the numerous attempts for such companies to secure your privacy, government searches and intervention will always leave people vulnerable.
Other applications of this type of technology have also been initiated by Facebook’s “Tagging” system, NEC IT Solution’s customer analysis system in the U.K., and Uniqul’s unique facial recognition payment system in the UK. Whether or not the general public will highly benefit from this type of technology, addressing privacy loopholes should always be first priority.
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