2018 will start to see facial recognition and other biometrics used in a combination of ways, but I’d like to look even further into the future. I believe that facial recognition will be utilised on a large scale and that it will be very hard to enjoy the enhanced speed and simplicity of travel and financial transactions of the future without relying on biometrics.
Biometric ticket and passport
For example, when you travel to another country your face will be your ticket and passport. The ability to link ticketing systems with your facial identity will mean that the airport can identify you seamlessly. As well as this, when you want to complete a financial transaction a connected till will read that your mobile phone is in range and you will simply look at the terminal and smile to confirm the transaction. This two part authentication process will significantly reduce the likelihood of fraud.
Tackling crime
It is going to be very hard to use services like public transport or banks if you are a wanted criminal. Getting into a country on a false passport will be nearly impossible. Security services can watch for persons of interest on the streets which will enable proactive policing – for example, if a group of known terror suspects visit a crowded place several times in one week, this will set off an alert to investigate. Facial recognition has the potential to make the world a much safer and more efficient place, and we will see this technology starting to crop up more and more in 2018.
Law enforcement
At Digital Barriers, following a management buyout in October 2017, we are focusing purely on the development of our video-based solutions, including our world-leading real-time streaming and facial recognition technologies. These can be deployed, live, from CCTV, bodyworn cameras, police dashcams and mobile phones to pick out faces from a crowd and match them against databases such as terrorist and known criminal watchlists. The technology can also be used to help find missing people and will play a large part in evolving reactive law enforcement into proactive law enforcement
