Facial recognition has been a vital part of our daily routine. From unlocking our phones to tagging friends in social media posts, we are using this technology quite often. Since the corona outbreak, its features have been upgraded and it can now recognize faces with masks on. As per the research conducted, the online Facial Recognition market is expected to grow from 3.8 billion dollars in 2020 to 8.5 billion dollars by 2025.
Facial verification technology is used for identification purposes to enhance the security of any business. But when used creatively, it can serve different industries which are as under:
1- Healthcare
When incorporated into the hospitals’ surveillance system, facial recognition simplifies the check-in process for the patients, also freeing the hospital workers from paperwork as well as avoiding any human error. Besides verifying the identity of patients, facial recognition also identifies the unaccompanied patients and also those who are entering or leaving the hospital to prevent security threats.
Furthermore, facial biometrics is also used to diagnose those genetic disorders that are rare and have mild symptoms. With the corona outbreak, it is being used widely to check those who are covid positive so they should isolate and protect themselves as well as others from the deadly virus. The technology also tracks the mental health of patients and improves their safety.
Individuals with special needs can also benefit from facial recognition. It can recognize the facial expressions of autistic children and help them improve their social interactions. The trials have shown that the kids who have used facial recognition with standard care showed an improvement in their social interactions as compared to those autistic children who remained in a controlled environment and received the traditional care only.
2- Retail
Following lockdowns, people still hesitate to shop offline. To entertain the customers back in stores, retailers are shifting towards a face identification system as it offers a contact-free payment process. Customers just have to scan their faces to complete the payment process whenever they buy anything. Integrating facial recognition technology into the CCTV cameras, the retailers can identify loyal clients and reward them by offering them the products and hot deals they might be interested in. Furthermore, facial recognition keeps the record of previous purchases made by the clients which helps the retailers to provide personalized assistance to their clients. Besides all the benefits that facial recognition machine learning offers to retail stores, one that can not be neglected is that it provides superior security to both the retailers as well as their clients.
3- Education
Strengthening the security of educational institutions is one of the greatest applications of facial recognition. The technology has gained much importance with the incidents of shootings and other such tragedies in the institutions. Besides sporting the unauthorized visitor, it also tracks any flagged individual around the site. Modern facial recognition also has features that can even identify objects that could cause harm to people.
Besides this, facial recognition also helps track the students’ attendance quickly. This not only helps the students save their precious learning time but also helps the curriculum designers to create an accommodating learning environment as well as perfect class scheduling.
Along with verifying and categorizing the faces, online facial recognition can also interpret different emotions. Researchers report that interpreting the students’ facial expressions such as tightening eyelids or raising eyebrows may help to check confusion, frustration, surprise, delight, and other emotions. This would be really useful for the curriculum designers and professors. For instance, the lecturer can check the students’ facial expressions to see which part of the lecture sparked or weakened their interest. These insights help the faculty to adjust the curriculum according to the students’ preferences so that a customized learning experience could be provided to them.
4- Banking and Finance
As the financial sectors are going digital, it is important to carry out customer verification to comply better with the global regulations. Building eKYC, the financial sector can shift the clients’ onboarding procedure entirely online. As the eKYC uses fingerprinting to authenticate an individual, facial verification can become a feasible alternative.
Furthermore, the face verifier has also replaced PINs and plastic cards as a secure choice to avoid any fraudulent activities. Several banks are now using facial recognition in banks. The technology is still developing to meet the data ethics of the government.
Final Thoughts
Facial recognition technology is still developing and at a rapid pace. As widespread technology holds many promises, it must be handled with great care. Companies that are shifting towards online facial recognition must understand this and approach this biometric solution with care as well as consideration. Those who have clearly understood it can enjoy the wide applications of Face Recognition Technology.
