Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd. announced today its face-recognition system has been ranked number one in the world in the face-recognition benchmark test (NIST FRVT 1:1) conducted by the U.S.-based National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The company’s proprietary face-recognition system, an improved version of the latest deep-learning technology, called Vision Transformer, demonstrated its capability to perform highly accurate face-recognition even under difficult conditions, including aged faces, different facial orientations, and/or varying lighting. When using evaluation data that included aged faces, the system’s false reject rate (FRR) was an unsurpassed 0.206 percent.* The system was also ranked among the global leaders using data that included different face orientations and/or faces under varying lighting.**
Panasonic Connect believes that the No. 1 ranking is further proof that its face-recognition system’s combination of rigorous identity verification and practical ease of use is ideal for on-site access-control applications.
The face-recognition market is expected to grow to 126.9 billion yen by 2030, according to Panasonic Connect research. In addition to traditional on-site applications requiring strong security, new needs for face recognition are emerging in response to manpower shortages in some countries as well as to improve operational efficiency and for non-contact purposes due to new types of infectious diseases.
Panasonic Connect has been developing cameras for more than 60 years and video and image-analysis technologies for more than 40 years. Leveraging these technologies, the company has refined its face-recognition systems by applying image-clarification technologies for camera-image processing and deep-learning technologies for facial-feature learning, which were first incorporated in the auto-focus function of the Lumix digital camera in 2008.
Since 2017, when Panasonic Connect began collaborating with Panasonic R&D Center Singapore on benchmark testing, the company’s face-recognition systems have been continuously earning world-leading ratings from NIST. Panasonic Connect currently has 209 face-recognition systems operating at seven airports in Japan for passport screening of departing/returning Japanese nationals and departing persons of other nationalities. In the private sector, the company’s face-recognition system is being used for access control in offices, amusement parks, and other venues. Some 100,000 card readers equipped with the system have been installed in hospitals and pharmacies in Japan to authenticate “My Number Card” ID cards embedded with an IC chip storing personal information and the owner’s 12-digit national identity number, accounting for a 60% share of this market.
Panasonic Connect also began offering cloud-based face-recognition services in 2019 for a wide range of applications. Businesses who want to integrate face-recognition technology with their own products and apps are now using the services, and currently, 114 providers are partnering with the company.
Panasonic Connect’s ongoing development efforts include technology for simultaneously authenticating the identities of multiple people using one camera, rather than 1:1 verification or 1:N identification. Also, using facial recognition to link facial data with personal information, the company has begun building an integrated ID platform for on-site applications such as payments, access control, and receipt-of-goods confirmation. Continued research is expected to enhance user convenience as well as technological capabilities.
Panasonic Connect is committed to providing global society with innovative solutions and new value by co-creating with customers and partners to develop beneficial and reliable technologies, coupled with the company’s expertise in protecting privacy and personal information when using camera images.
