How Face Recognition Devices Work and Their Uses

Working principle

A face recognition device is a biometric identification technology that has emerged with the development of digital information. It captures images or video streams containing faces via a camera, automatically detects and tracks faces in the images, and then performs face localization, recognition preprocessing, storage, and matching to identify different individuals.

Face recognition devices use 3D image processing to extract topological digital features of faces from video, then convert them into numerical information using principles from biostatistics and physical optics. A small computer processes and transforms the data to build a 3D mathematical model of the face, and compares recorded photo data with photos taken by border-control cameras via computer matching to confirm identity.

Application areas

Access control and attendance systems typically require a person to cooperate in image capture; these are the simplest and most widespread applications of face recognition. A face-recognition access control system integrates face recognition into conventional entry control systems and is used in secure sites such as prisons, detention centers, government agencies, bank branches and vaults, airport staff passages, enterprises, and institutions. Typical access or attendance systems include a front-end face recognition terminal, a back-end recognition server, the connections between front-end and back-end, and management software.