Benefits of Facial Recognition Software in the Privacy Age
No matter how fantastic face ID software seemed to be some ten years ago - today, it has become the norm in many areas of human life and business fields. Facial recognition software products are most widely used in defense activities, tourism (security services at airports, check-in at hotels, etc.), photography (identifying people’s faces in real time), and social networks (the ability to mark a user in a picture).
Modern face recognition systems require a minimum of human touch, making the work of artificial intelligence more and more autonomous. AI-based automation has various uses, as well as its advantages and disadvantages.
What is the Best Facial Recognition Software and How Does it Work?
Facial recognition technology originated back in the early 90s in terms of static biometric analysis research by Joseph Atick. He was the first field expert to enable visual templates’ processing with scanning of various facial features: eyes, mouth corners, nose, etc.
The main issue with the first wave of face ID software products was insufficient preciseness of processing. The human image was utterly standardized and many little nuances were lost out of sight. For instance, the distance between different facial features varies a lot from person to person. Such ratios originally used to be pretty much neglected.
As artificial intelligence advanced, however, such issues were efficiently fixed. The best facial recognition software of today makes out even the tiniest separate objects. Although, there are still certain shortcomings, especially when it comes to group photos.
Facial recognition software development is one of the most attention-drawing, exciting modern startups with huge growth potential. According to MarketsandMarkets, the total value of the face ID software market will reach $7 billion by 2024 and pass over the $10 billion mark in 2027. Quite a significant motivation to launch a project of your own in the niche, isn’t it?
Facial Recognition Pros & Cons
No technologies are perfect and there is always something to strive for. There are many facial recognition pros and cons when it comes to implementing such solutions in different practices. Let’s take a look.
Pros
- Social security
One of the major benefits of facial recognition is related to the work of law enforcement. The ability to identify people’s faces to check them in the criminal database is a real life-saver in this responsible profession.
The technology makes it easier to detect potentially threatening persons from among the crowd. Facial recognition is among the most helpful and efficient tools in fighting terrorism, handling undercover operations, and simply catching criminals on the run.
This goes for the field of data protection as well. Since 2010, the New York police department alone has prevented over 21 thousand cyber crimes related to the personal data breach.
- Military and intelligence services
The advances in facial recognition development motivate defense departments of many countries to make contracts with companies providing face ID software-powered drones. Such little yet intelligent fellows can indicate potential menacing intentions. According to Daily Sabah, Turkish militants are looking to start using AI-based ASTARUS systems to identify terrorists.
Yet another field where the technology sees a wide scope of application is intelligence and state security. Namely, related solutions help better expose spies and their areas of activity.
- Humanitarian operations
War conflicts leave a lot of refugees stranded and lost outside their native countries. Facial recognition systems help reunite war-affected families even years after their break up. In this manner, face scanning tools bring invaluable help to humanity.
The technology also covers human trafficking crimes. Thus, in China, authorities used facial recognition to help a person that was kidnapped at the age of 4 reunite with their family after 27 (!) years.
- Business and customer experience
The technology finds the widest application in such niches. In particular:
- face ID helps reinforce the security of deals and boost the convenience of financial operations - many banks and companies are already introducing face ID-based payments (e.g., Mastercard);
- Alibaba allows users to authorize in their virtual cabinet via face scanning;
- marketers are getting more and more in-depth in researching behavioral face expressions and how their understanding can help boost sales;
- hotels make services more personalized with the technology, offering the most individually optimal services.
- Medicine
Face ID capabilities in medicine and healthcare are at the initial stages of development right now. The technology is mostly used in combination with other powerful hardware and software solutions to research genetic diseases, identify signs of aging, etc.
Cons
Despite the felt benefit to humanity and yet-to-be-explored potential, facial recognition technology has its downsides. Namely:
- expensiveness;
- cumbersome nature - efficient face ID software requires a huge database of images, constant tech support, and regular data updates;
- scanning inaccuracies - in order to efficiently identify individual faces in the crowd the software usually requires photos captured on multiple cameras with different viewing angles;
- ethical norms - people gradually get uncomfortable with the fact that they are being watched.
- personal data security - human face databases pose the question of high-level protection for all the data stored;
- weak law regulations in the field of personal data protection.
How Much Does a Facial Recognition System Cost?
Considering the many sides and depth of potential of using the face ID system in various fields, it’s difficult to name exact numbers. Such software is usually very custom and the end price of its creation depends on the project goal, complexity, and other underlying nuances.
Still, the question stands - how much does a facial recognition system cost? On average, companies are ready to complete your project for about $1,000. But keep in mind price fluctuations, potential pitfalls, and such. Your best bet would be to have a budget with plenty of resources to spare just in case.
Conclusion
The best facial recognition software is a complex result of technological evolution. Nonetheless, the technology is still quite young and it falls under many legal regulations that limit its potential. However, it would be irrational to ignore its benefits. The world-changing possibilities of facial recognition are huge and it is certainly a developing innovation to be reckoned with. Hit us up if you wish to tackle the niche.
