Facial recognition
Cameras that have
brains as well as eyes
Facial recognition technologies are increasingly being used by the public safety
community, particularly for law enforcement, but they are proving controversial.
Charlotte Hathway finds out whether this criticism is proportional
Technologies that accelerate public safety tasks
and processes can transform outcomes for
those affected by the issue being addressed. Yet
new technologies often create new questions
for everyone with a stake in that issue. Few
emerging technologies, at least in recent years, have been
met with the uneasiness that has followed facial recognition
trials and roll-outs. This has created an environment
of distrust between citizens and those tasked with
protecting them.
Dame Cressida Dick, commissioner of London’s
Metropolitan Police Service, recently said that “inaccurate”
critics should “justify to the victims of those crimes
why police should not be allowed to use tech… to
catch criminals” in response to a Royal United Services
Institute report that called for tighter rules on police use
of technology. A month prior to those comments, the
Metropolitan Police Service announced it will begin the
operational use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology
developed by NEC, a Japanese technology company. Those
comments seem to have been intended to alleviate distrust
of this technology, yet the reader will likely either welcome
or reject that explanation based on their existing views on
facial recognition.
It can be difficult to sort the facts from the fiction –
from the current capabilities and near-term developments,
through to the regulatory landscape surrounding its use. The
public safety community is known for its cautious use of
new technologies – is this new territory any different?
Current capabilities
NXP Semiconductors develops the components that power
facial-recognition technologies. Microcontrollers, processors
and sensors like those produced by NXP are foundational
to enabling facial and object recognition due to the data
analytics and multiple-protocol communications carried out
by these components. Steve Tateosian, senior director for IoT
and security solutions at NXP, explains that NXP participates
March 2020 @CritCommsToday 27
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