Face Recognition News

Panasonic will be providing additional automated facial recognition gates for use at a number of airports in Japan. Without the need for prior registration of biometric data, the system compares photographic data of the traveler’s face in the IC chip embedded in the passport with an image taken at the facial recognition gate to verify identity. According to the Japanese Ministry of Justice, approximately 80% of all Japanese travelers use Panasonic’s facial recognition gates.

Forbes: Hong Kong protesters destroying facial recognition towers in protest at a surveillance state. Meanwhile, Chinese facial recognition company Megvii had secured a $750m fundraise ahead of its IPO on Hong Kong stock exchange. Founded by three Tsinghua University graduates, Megvii is one of the major AI surveillance unicorns in China, alongside SenseTime, Yitu and CloudWalk. Reuters reported at the time that the funding raised Megvii's valuation to "slightly over $4 billion," as it prepared for its IPO in Hong Kong.

BusinessInsider, Petapixel: Hong Kong protesters are using laser pointers in an apparent attempt to blind facial-recognition cameras. At least one reporter posted a video with the damage made to his camera while shooting the protests:

My Modern Met: Avoiding facial recognition becomes an art. A piece of jewelry by Polish designer Ewa Nowak is claimed to confuse AI systems and helps a person to avoid the recognition:

South China Morning Post: China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing is one of the first higher education institutions in the country to use facial recognition system to monitor the attendance and behavior of students.

“Besides attendance, the system installed in the classroom can provide surveillance of the students’ learning, such as whether they are listening to the lectures, how many times they raise their heads, and whether they are playing on their phones or falling asleep.

The school is taking action to cut down on students skipping class, leaving classes early, paying for a substitute to attend classes for them and not listening in class.”