The connect:ID Conference and Exposition held April 30-May 02 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. continues to grow in size and significance as governments, the private sector, and consumers increasingly realize the importance of secure identity recognition solutions. The three-day event drew together significant representatives and thought-leaders from around the world, and offered end users practical advice, examined current government policies, and provided thought-provoking insights into the future of identity through the use of biometrics technology.
NEC showcased its world-class biometrics solutions for multiple federal audiences and departments, and spanned a wide range of biometric technology, including face recognition, video surveillance and analytics, finger print, and multimodal biometric enrollment. Where biometric identification is concerned, we had something for everyone.
Nearly everyone who came to our booth wanted to see NeoFace Express, which is our rapid-access face recognition system. NeoFace Express is currently being tested at eight major airports by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the Department of Homeland Security’s Biometric Exit pilot program.
Biometric Exit is the federal government’s way of tracking outgoing international travelers so that U.S. officials can screen foreign nationals for potentially overstaying their travel visas. Another popular demo was the NEC EVA (Enhanced Video Analytics) solution with state-of-the-art analytics, including object detection, crowd detection and estimation, queue waiting times, tracking and suspicious behaviors. Video Analytics is used to identify people, objects and events with:
- Access Control and Identity Management
- Digital Criminal Analysis
- Digital Evidence Management
- Real Time Surveillance and Watch List Monitoring
We also showcased other innovative identification technologies including SmartScan, NeoScan45 and Integrated Biometrics & Forensic Workstation Solution (iBW5).
Raffie Beroukhim, Senior Vice President, NEC Advanced Recognition Systems was a participant in the Fishbowl Session, Hardening Soft Targets with ID. Cultural centers like stadiums, arenas, and concert halls, along with other high traffic locations and critical infrastructure, have become top targets for terrorists, criminals, and other bad actors. This session centered on how protecting a large and porous venue or event poses unique challenges, and how governments and the private sector are partnering with technology companies to implement solutions such as facial recognition to help secure these soft targets.
I was a panelist for Defense: ID in Theater. In this session, we examined technology advancements in biometrics, advanced neural networks and machine learning, computer vision and data analytics, and how they are being used to protect lives and maintain strategic advantage both on and off the battlefield. I also participated in the Getting to the Gate on Time session in which we discussed the status of key biometric pilot projects across the aviation industry. An interesting finding in the 2017 Global Passenger Survey (GPS) conducted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) confirms that travelers are ready to embrace biometrics in air travel. In this extensive survey, IATA received over 10,000 responses from around the globe. Among those respondents, “biometric identification systems were the technology of choice with 64% favoring biometric identifiers as their preferred travel token”.
Finally, Matt Pruitt, Chief Federal Solutions Architect, NEC Advanced Recognition Systems, was on the session panel Securing the Internet of Things. With 5G comes a new set of challenges involving high reliability for a greater diversity of mission-critical IoT services and devices. This session explored the vulnerabilities posed by these IoT devices, and provided insight into how the industry can partner to address these challenges.
We enjoyed showcasing how NEC’s world-renowned advanced recognition systems are addressing today’s national security challenges. This is definitely an exciting time for our industry!
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