Technologies have advanced tremendously in the last few decades, leaving no aspect of human life unaffected. Now, with a mere click, we can book flight tickets and make payments to anyone in any corner of the world. Digital technologies have not only saved time but also improved work efficiency.
Business is one such domain that is affected by the elevation of technology. With everything changing around us, business is also moving at a rapid pace and, if you plan to stay ahead of the competition, you need to constantly rethink and update the strategies that will make you stand out.
One of the latest inventions that is making waves in business is facial recognition technology. Gone are those days when facial recognition technology was only restricted to security use cases such as face verification and identification. Now, facial recognition technology has opened opportunities for businesses and completely changed the dynamics of their work.
In this article, we are going to throw light on how facial recognition can be applied to business. But, before moving any further, let's first understand facial recognition technology.
Facial Recognition: A Beginner's Guide
Facial recognition is a form of biometric security which is embedded in devices to confirm a person's identity and then allow them entry to an area (whether physical or digital) they seek. The mechanism behind the identification process is simple. The facial recognition technology maps the outline of the face and then confirms it to the existing database.
If the results match with the database, then the user will be allowed access. This technology was actually invented in the 1960s, but the technological breakthrough was in the middle of 2010s when new technologies with advanced deep learning approaches emerged. But real business advantages for facial recognition started to be realized several years ago, when a new free open source software was released and new powerful artificial intelligence chips were made.
Facial Recognition and its Influence on Business
Facial recognition is making its way enduringly into business, leaving no stones unturned. This technology assists in different aspects of business like improving customer relations, providing safety solutions and broadening product offerings. There are several ways in which this technology can make serious improvements to the bottom line, let's review them.
Security
One wide-spread use of facial recognition technology is on our mobile phones. Today's smartphone users can use the pre-built facial recognition tool in an operating system or download a facial recognition app to prevent unauthorized access. Similarly, a business organization can install facial recognition applications into their system to protect their data from unauthorized access.
Apart from this, they could also restrict their access to sensitive information by separating the admittance according to different departments and personnel. These devices will either install AI cameras to identify the face and then grant them access accordingly.
Also, let's take for example that someone coming into the office requires electronic cards or keys to enter the building. However, if they forget to bring those keys with them it can create an issue for accessing the building. For situations like these, facial recognition can help by eliminating the need for keys or cards by only requiring the employee's face to be put up to a scanner to enter.
Entertainment and hospitality
Facial recognition can help to simplify the life of consumers in the entertainment and hospitality industries. The automation of processes that facial recognition technology offers already covers a lot of actions in these fields. Nowadays, you don't need to wait in line to buy a paper ticket, or to even present a paper ticket in line for a concert or movie. You can buy a ticket online and scan a QR code form a mobile device for entry. But, facial recognition can simplify life even further. You don't even need to get the phone out of your pocket with a facial recognition security camera that can scan your face and open the gates. Such technology can be used in the entrances of events, amusement parks, festivals, etc.
Another good example - it can speed up the check-in processes in gyms, hotels, etc. Employees don't need to find your profile or reservation, it opens automatically once you enter the building.
And at last - every reputable company wants to treat their VIPs with special services. With facial recognition, all your employees will be notified as soon as VIP enters the building, so they can act appropriately.
Customer Understanding
It is crucial for every business to understand its customers. And facial recognition allows one to do so without collecting personal information.
Age, gender, and emotion detection allows for analyzing who visits your store, event or office, and what their reaction is to your services. Analyzing statistics of age and gender distribution during different hours can give you more insights into which exact services or products you need to place during which hours. Analyzing emotions can warn your manager if any of your customers are angry, so they can immediately react.
Furthermore, you can save faceprints of customers without saving their actual personal information to understand how often customers return to you. This will give you more insights if your business has a loyal audience.
Help with COVID-19 restrictions
COVID-19 restrictions will likely be in place for a long time. And one of them - wearing a mask -- is mandatory for many businesses. The fines for ignoring these laws are high, but you do not always have enough resources to control it constantly. The solution here is to integrate with face mask detection, so the system will notify both a customer and employees about violations.
Human resource management
Facial recognition technology not only helps businesses with employee identification but can also help them keep track of their work hours. Employees can easily manipulate time sheets and there is always an occasion when someone could forget to clock in and out. By installing facial recognition technology, the organization can keep track of the employees' working hours, which reduces the chances of mistakes and thus improves accuracy.
Financial services
Next, facial recognition can help in the financial services industry. One example is with payment processes. Facial recognition saves bank customers time from filling out monotonous forms and other information to access accounts or start new ones. Financial services organizations have been incorporating facial recognition technologies into their payment operations already.
Additionally, customers can directly make payments with facial recognition since the application would recognize the face of the customer and automatically fill in the information like name, credit card number, address, etc. It will also protect the customer from infringement and potential hackers.
These are a few of the many benefits provided by facial recognition technology to businesses.
Exadel's AI Practice
Exadel is a software engineering company that delivers digital platforms, products and applications. It was founded in 1998 by Fima Katz and provides creative, Agile development digital solutions to global Fortune 500 clients.
With its AI Practice, Exadel offers clients the technical expertise around AI and Machine Learning so that they can take advantage of innovative ways to gather and interpret data, make more informed business decisions, and increase productivity. The AI Practice combines data analysis, consumer behavior tools, intelligent bots, predictive analytics and more to drive business value for clients. Learn more about Exadel's AI Practice: https://exadel.com/services/ai-machine-learning/.
Under the AI Practice, Exadel offers an open-source facial recognition solution - Exadel CompreFace. CompreFace is a free and open-source facial recognition service that can be easily integrated into any system without prior machine learning skills. CompreFace is delivered as a docker-compose config and supports different models that work on CPU and GPU. The solution is based on state-of-the-art methods and libraries like FaceNet and InsightFace.
To learn more about facial recognition technology and how it can be applied to business in a cost-effective way, register for this upcoming webinar from Exadel. The webinar is scheduled for the 16th September at 10 AM PDT. You can join the webinar through the link here.
Incorporating facial recognition is starting to become a strategic move for businesses as it is starting to prove several benefits. Inventors around the globe are still exploring the potential of this technology and it will be exciting to see where this technology is applied in the coming months and years.
