Access control is a necessary step in the modern world to protect both your property and your staff. You need to know who is getting onto your property and ensure those you don’t want, aren’t there. An access control system does this for you. These systems are designed to either grant or deny access to a property.
A variety of different access control systems exist. The most basic of these systems are a traditional lock and key. Then these systems get advanced enough to be run by computers and mesh together a number of systems.
What is Facial Recognition Access Control System?
Facial recognition access control systems use a person’s face in order to determine if they have access or not. A camera is put at an access point and the camera is properly positioned in order to view a face properly. When the camera sees a face, it reads a number of points in order to determine whether or not the person is on the list of approved people.
To humans, one face may look very similar to another but unless someone has an exact twin. The truth is that a computer is able to identify people via their face with a very high amount of accuracy. In order to identify a face, the computer compares that face to a database of authorized faces. It doesn’t just look for a visual similarity. The computer looks at the geometry of the face and compares it with each one in the database.
The government has been using facial recognition to determine access control at facilities such as airports for a long time. They also use the same software to verify traveler’s identification and determine if anyone traveling through public transit locations in order to ensure safety.
You have probably seen facial recognition access control in effect on your smartphone. Android and Apple users now commonly have this available as a feature. This is the same software put into a more compact form.
An Example Of Facial Recognition Access Control Systems
Stadiums are busy places with a number of activities going on on a regular basis. That means they have a very large number of fans entering and exiting the facility. A number of these fans are probably also intoxicated. Protecting staff areas and areas where fans could access those who are performing or playing at the stadium is essential.
To do this stadiums have started to role out high tech facial recognition platforms. Staff areas are accessed by having a face scanned and the person identified before allowing access. The same platform is used to identify those with VIP, box, and other specialty access. Ensuring fans also get the experience that they pay for.
Almost all of this happens in a matter of seconds so that staff member or very important person does not have to have a delay in their day. It happens just as quickly as having a finger print read or a RFID chip scanned. Capabilities are also constantly be expanded.
Facial Recognition In A Crowd
Facial recognition systems are great for when there will be a lot of traffic. Even guest traffic. The system is able to scan everyone who comes and goes and determine whether they are an authorized user or not. Even if they are among a large number of other people. If someone in a crowd doesn’t have access, the system can alert you.
Further, most access control systems allow you to track where guests have access to. If a guest manages to slip away from their guide or to access an area that is marked as no guests, your system can send out an alert so the situation can be investigated.
Facial recognition sounds like a new system because these systems were tested out among big names and in secure areas before they saw a major public roll out. The software you see now for recognizing faces is quite advanced. A number of different access control companies offer facial recognition access control systems and as such you should take the time to see the various features that are available throughout the industry.