Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have revolutionized the future of the security sector, including facial recognition technology and its diverse usage in various industries.
This article shares key considerations for deciding whether AI facial recognition enhanced security and surveillance is suitable for your business, what qualities and features you should be looking for when adding facial recognition, and how to upgrade to a biometric enhanced smart security system.
What is a Smart Surveillance System?
Conventional video surveillance systems are comprised of cameras and a recording platform (usually network video recorder, NVR, or a video management system, VMS). On these traditional systems, when an event occurs the user needs to pinpoint the time and location of the event, then manually review the recorded video footage for evidence. New advances in technology have improved video surveillance from the old days of constantly recording everything, to recording only when the system detects a specific act, movement, or even person. These new smart surveillance systems leverage advancements in SOC technology, integrated sensors, and AI computer vision, enabling them to perform identity verification, provide instant alerts during real-time video monitoring, and even manage access control –further protecting company property and enhancing safety.
One of the simplest ways to upgrade to a smart surveillance system is to incorporate biometric verification, specifically facial recognition technology. The resulting smart surveillance system will yield the benefits of integrated computer technology, provide faster and accurate identity verification, and even help reduce labor costs.
How Does Biometric Facial Recognition Help with Security & Surveillance?
There are many advantages to adding facial recognition to video surveillance. Here are 3 critical benefits from adding this technology to security:
Real-time identity verification using facial recognition requires minimal effort from end users, ensuring the verification process is very low friction. There is no need to remember PINs, passwords, key fobs, or carry ID cards – nor is it necessary to be in physical contact with any shared security devices (e.g., biometric fingerprint readers or keypads) to gain access. In fact, the touchless quality of biometric facial recognition based access systems has been greatly favored by businesses.
2. Provide real-time alerts and reduce labor costs
Traditional security systems require security personnel to observe the premises and oversee all movement to verify guests and spot intruders. Smart surveillance systems with facial recognition technology quickly verify identities by mapping the facial identity of the person and providing real-time alerts when pre-defined events occur, such as a block-listed person entering a restricted area, or a VIP guest arriving at the reception area.
Due to facial recognition’s high accuracy rate and recognition speed, organizations can better allocate their personnel resources and shorten reaction time, reducing overall operational costs in the long term.
3. Locate persons of interest
When a criminal event occurs (e.g., trespassing, theft), security personnel must locate a suspect quickly. With the help of a facial recognition surveillance system, companies can search for a specific person by uploading a picture or cropping a person’s face from the video footage. The search results can show administrators if the person is on-premises, when they arrived or left that day, their clock-in/out history, and even track the person of interest’s footprints across monitored areas of the premises.
CyberLink’s People Tracker tool allows users to search by objects and body figure, using advanced filters like age, gender, clothing type, clothing color, accessories, and more. This way, even if a camera didn’t capture a clear facial image, it is still able to identify that specific person and map out their complete route.
You can integrate your current video management system with FaceMe® Security, an AI-driven software designed specifically for access control and surveillance. It is fully integrated with some of the top brands in video surveillance. The integration allows security staff to operate within the same user interface (UI) dashboard, reducing onboarding time for a completely new system.
Adding Biometric Facial Recognition to Security & Surveillance Systems
Surveillance Solution Architecture
System integrators adding facial recognition capabilities to the system architecture of a security and surveillance system must first determine the array of events, time constraints, and notification settings needed to create the best system for each customer. Below are a few factors to consider.
Connecting FaceMe® Security to your VMS
As a comprehensive solution in the surveillance industry, FaceMe® Security seamlessly integrates with not only cameras and alarm systems but also customers' existing VMS. In order to minimize the loading on cameras, FaceMe® Security, who serves as the core technology within the system architecture, integrates with the VMS to retrieve the camera list and access video streams. Detected faces are recognized through FaceMe® Security, the results are sent back to the VMS via plug-ins, and then displayed on the VMS’ console. This allows users to operate with the existing VMS user interface to monitor cameras and receive blocklist alarms simultaneously.
Platform and Hardware Infrastructure
Next, assess existing infrastructure to determine how to integrate facial recognition technology. Factors such as real-time processing, and deployment scope, will help determine if you will process content on a local server or use a workstation and send results to a remote central server. In the latter scenario, an organization may have workstations in California, Florida, and Texas, all communicating with the central server in California.
FaceMe® Security is scalable and flexible to meet different customer requirements. For a small number of camera channels and lower people traffic, the entire facial recognition system can be installed on a single server to minimize project costs, even on the same machine as the VMS. Conversely, if premium performance is required for a large number of camera channels and higher people traffic, one or multiple GPUs can be implemented to enhance computing power. Additionally, FaceMe® Security supports horizontal scaling. Customers can start a project in a small, limited area, and once the results meet or exceed expectations, they can easily expand the project scope and upgrade the existing system by adding more servers to complete the deployment.
Quick Upgrade over Traditional VMS system?
Prior to upgrading to a smart security system, many enterprises already have an image management system that has been running for years. With that in mind, before introducing facial recognition, there should first be a deep understanding of the integration of software and hardware, and whether it can be directly and quickly upgraded to a smart surveillance system under the original system. Seamless integration can greatly reduce operating and deployment costs, effectively carrying out smart security management.
FaceMe® Security provides comprehensive support in the field of smart security. Its powerful integration with multiple VMS' can upgrade existing security systems to smart surveillance with facial recognition without the need to develop serial connections or purchase additional equipment. Security staff can directly access and use facial recognition functionality from the original system UI, which greatly reduces new system onboarding time.
FaceMe® Security is a turnkey, value-added biometric facial recognition solution. It enables facial recognition functionalities on top of existing IP surveillance deployments – such as PCs, workstations, servers, VMS’, and most importantly, IP cameras.
FaceMe® Security can conduct various tasks, from identity verification to visitor check-in, employee attendance-taking, mask detection, real-time video monitoring, and real-time alert notifications.
FaceMe® Security VMS Integration
Most security use a VMS, allowing security personnel to simultaneously monitor videos from multiple cameras, playback footage, and conduct video investigations. However, most of the VMS’ available in the market don’t include facial recognition out-of-the-box, requiring add-ons to integrate this functionality.
FaceMe® Security is integrated with notable VMS’ partners, including Genetec, Milestone, Network Optix, Axis, Hanwha Vision, and Vivotek. By integrating with these existing VMS’, users can more easily adopt facial recognition into their security system with the VMS user interface that they are already accustomed to (and without additional hardware costs). FaceMe® Security sends real-time notifications to the VMS, supports one-click database synchronization, and can integrate visual floor plans so security staff can easily have a holistic view of their security management status.
FaceMe® Security Add-Ons
Face Terminal: The Face Terminal Add-On offers another option for facial recognition access control and time & attendance. When the main objective is door access, a Face Terminal mounted at eye level next to the door is highly convenient. Additionally, Face Terminals can continue operating offline in case of network disruption, and also have anti-spoofing to prevent entry by imitation using photos, videos, or 3D masks.
Check-in: The Check-In Add-On provides a UI display to show camera preview with an employee’s check-in information. Customers can also utilize FaceMe® Security’s notification API to integrate with their existing attendance and access control system.
VMR (Video Monitoring & Recording): For projects that are not using the VMS partners listed above, the VMR Add-On includes the necessary basic monitoring functions. It offers real-time camera monitoring for up to nine streams, real-time alerts integrated with different messaging apps (Slack, U Messenger, LINE), and video recording and playback.
Notification Monitor: Designed for security teams in retail and property management, the Notification Monitor Add-On provides a UI easily viewed from 10 feet away, providing critical information to security personnel when a blocklisted person is identified. Audio alerts provide notification that an intruder has been detected and the UI displays the person’s % of match, live and database image, name, time, and location for security to take a proper course of action.
People Tracker: The People Tracker Add-On enables FaceMe® Security users to not only search by face, but also through physical attributes (age, gender, clothing type, clothing color, accessories, and body shape). People Tracker is also available independent of FaceMe® Security.
FaceMe® Security's comprehensive features, Add-On solutions, and flexible deployments for various environments make it the highest valued, plug-and-play facial recognition solution for smart security today.
Biometric Facial Recognition Use Cases in Smart Security and Smart Surveillance
Upgrading traditional security with facial recognition is a simple, straight forward path to improved smart security and surveillance. The addition of biometric facial recognition and identity verification instantly helps automate many security tasks. Examples include:
Facial Recognition: A Simple Way of Implementing Smart Security
The use of facial recognition in surveillance and security has gained great momentum over the past few years and its adoption, or market size, is set to almost triple by 2026. The technology will continuously develop and so will the application of AI / deep learning algorithms - boosting recognition accuracy, strengthening anti-spoofing features, and increasing reliability to challenge any other type of biometric technology. Moreover, it rises above other modalities with its natural benefits of speed, flexibility, and ease of implementation.
To learn more about FaceMe® Security, please visit the FaceMe® Security website or request a free demo today!
Facial recognition systems can plug into CCTV video management data feeds to hook-in their biometric identity verification technology. In this way the faces that are captured on video can be processed and recognized in real-time, and in recorded footage.
If your organization enrolls employees with the new facial recognition system, it can then be used for purposes of access control, time and attendance monitoring, and so on. Learn more about FaceMe® Security
Facial recognition is based on the unique biometric data that is gathered from imaging a human face. Modern facial recognition system software defines a human face using hundreds of vectors (feature measurements), and then compares the observed face data against registered personnel data to verify identity.
One of the biggest worries individuals will have about facial recognition is that it is being used without their consent. The most important regulations ensure only those that give explicit permission can have their faces scanned and data stored by facial recognition systems. Download our Whitepaper: Responsibly Using Facial Recognition in the US
Modern facial recognition software is quite flexible with regard to the type and quality of camera used to monitor and capture facial data. Some facial recognition cameras you can use include 3D cameras, ToF cameras, and IR cameras. These can provide faster identity confirmation and features such as liveness detection (for anti-spoofing). Lastly, don’t forget the importance of good lighting, which can be a relatively cheap and effective upgrade to any imaging system.
