White Paper on the Biometrics Brand
Bio-IDiom Contents
1. NEC’s Biometrics Brand Bio-IDiom
2. Social Value Creation and Future-oriented Worldview
3. Outcomes of Social Value Creation
4. Biometric Technology
January 23th, 2019
NEC Corporation
2 © NEC Corporation 2018
1. NEC’s Biometrics Brand Bio-IDiom
Rising Tide of Digital Transformation
By the year 2020, the world will have an increased
population of 7.7 billion according to some analytical
estimations*1. The population of Internet and mobile
phones users will also be much larger than it is
currently. It is said that there will be about 30 billion
Internet of Things (IoT) devices and multi-trillion
sensors spread all over the world*2.
The world is about to enter a different era, pushed
forward by the tide of digitization called the “Digital
transformation.” The utilization of big data and
artificial intelligence (AI) has been accelerated and
propelled by the flood of information coming from a
tremendous number of interaction points between
humans and sensors.
Progress of digital transformation
What this revolutionary movement brings about is
a society where humans, things, and matters in the
real world interact with each other at a significant
depth through digital technologies, which in turn can
contribute to realizing improved human lives and
effective business environments.
Changes caused by the wave of digitization
Note 1: UN estimation
2: 2017 White Paper on Information and
Communication in Japan, published by the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and
Communications of Japan
NEC embraced this technological movement early
on and worked on the development of technologies
that visualize a wide range of digital data collected
through IoT technologies and IT infrastructure,
technologies that help analyze a tremendous
amount of data that in no way can be processed by
humans, utilizing AI technology, and technologies
that suggest actions that are easy-to-understand for
humans and applicable to the real world. Taking
advantage of these technologies, the NEC provides
solutions that reflect profound knowledge and
wisdom by way of adding new value to humans,
things, and matters.
Emergence of a New Business Model Gives
Rise to a Game Change
The acceleration of sharing services is one of the
changes driven by the digital transformation.
Platform services such as “Private house rental” and
“ride-sharing services” prosper around the world
and contribute to the creation of effective and
sustainable societies with an active function to
connect humans, things, and matters in a significant
way through the network.
This movement is not limited to transactions
between individuals. In the business world, a new
type of business model has just started to appear
based on the horizontal division of labor. Companies
build a network with manufacturing service
companies around the world, select the one that
best fits their needs depending on product types,
scheduling, and other things, and outsource the
production to them instead of relying on a
conventional and hierarchically structured
production system. This trend will evolve further and
transition to a business model of horizontal
cooperation among companies where the companies
collaborate with each other even beyond the type of
industry.
The Internet has the ability to connect things that
nobody thought to bring together, and give birth to
extraordinary outcomes. New businesses that fully
utilize this ability of the Internet will prosper in the
underlying circumstances of a highly aged society,
the labor shortages occurring in advanced countries,
and the need to conserve limited natural resources.
3 © NEC Corporation 2018
Biometrics as an Essential Technology to
Live a Safe Life in a Digitized World
NEC has developed ICT solutions that fully utilize
the bundle of AI technologies. “NEC the WISE” is
the core of its technological framework in the IT
segment and has provided those solutions to
customers with a view to carry forward the digital
transformation.
NEC’s AI solution integrates the following
functions to dramatically enhance business
productivity, create new values, and contribute to
the realization of excellent work-life balance and a
sustainable society: “visualization” to transform
matters and information in the real-world into
digital data that can be processed by computers;
“analysis” to learn of any regularity or rules and
extract new values from the data; and “action” to
suggest the best suited actions based on the data
analysis.
Although many more chances of interaction are
created through the progress of affiliation between
matters in the real world and digitized
infrastructure so that our daily lives as well as the
way businesses operate becomes extremely
convenient, it is also true that the risk of
impersonation and cyber-attacks increase in our
personal and business lives. In such a critical
environment, biometrics grab people’s attention as
an effective solution against those risks.
Biometrics is a method of personal identification
that utilizes the unique characteristics every single
individual possesses. Those characteristics include
face, iris, finger prints, palm prints, and vein
patterns as static characteristics, and signatures
and voices as dynamic characteristics.
Unlike widely used personal identification methods
such as passwords, PINs, and IC cards and keys,
biometrics cannot be mislaid or lost nor is there any
risk of theft and forgery. The application of
biometrics has spread to a variety of fields as a
reliable security technology to contribute to a safe
and secure society.
NEC Leads the World in Biometric
Technologies
When it comes to biometrics, people think of face
recognition and fingerprint recognition first. Yes,
NEC has these technologies, but there is much
more to biometrics. A variety of biometrics are
offered by the NEC, including:
・Face recognition
・Iris recognition
・Fingerprint and palm print recognition
・Finger vein recognition
・Voice recognition
・Ear acoustic authentication
NEC is proud that every single one of these
technologies boasts world-leading accuracy, which
makes NEC a global leader in the biometrics field.
Biometric technologies from NEC
4 © NEC Corporation 2018
1. NEC’s Biometrics Bio-IDiom
NEC’s Biometrics Bio-IDiom
Biometrics is a bundle of technologies that
functions as a door to deliver the benefits of
interaction between the real world and digital world
to society in the field of advanced digital
transformation. It helps build a strong
biometric-based security gate at the entrance to
the digital world by using unique biological
information. Every individual therefore has as a
“key” which can be combined with multiple
biometric technologies as needed. This gate blocks
the entry of impersonators and cyber-attacks and
creates an environment where the advantage of
digital processing can be enjoyed to the fullest
without anxiety.
NEC calls its biometric technologies Bio-IDiom
and makes continuous efforts to deliver a wide
range of solutions that utilize biometrics in every
corner of society as a gate that connects the real
world with the digital world. This is a coined term
that combines part of the word “biometrics” and the
word “idiom,” which refers to a group of multiple
words put together to convey a particular meaning.
NEC expresses the concept of its biometric
solutions through the use of this word, that is,
NEC’s biometrics gather different biometric
technologies of its own in an intelligent way so as to
serve as a safe, secure, efficient, and fair tool to
secure interactions that take place in society
through the superior performance of individual
technologies.
Bio-IDiom builds a secure environment where
the benefit of digital processing can be enjoyed to
its maximum capability without anxiety over the
identification of every individual.
Bio-IDiom, a secure gate to the digital world
5 © NEC Corporation 2018
2. Social Value Creation and Future-Oriented Worldview
Biometrics Creates Social Value through
Building a Safe, Secure, Efficient, and Fair
Society
The world will be more unified if people are
connected by mutual trust born out of instant
identity authentication regardless of who it is.
This is the world NEC aims to build through
Bio-IDiom. We strongly believe in the ability of
biometrics to maximize the dynamism of
interactions between humans, things, and matters
when it provides instant and accurate identification.
Biometrics started its history from fingerprint
recognition and has progressed ever since. Yet,
more progress is to come in the future. We expect
the further expansion of technologies and scenes
where biometrics plays a practical role, and foresee
the contribution of biometrics to the resolution of
social issues in various fields.
To date, NEC has mainly provided its biometric
technologies for security control such as criminal
investigation, face recognition for watch-lists, and
immigration control to contribute to the safety and
security of society.
NEC also provides solutions used in
administration systems to build an efficient and fair
society through the detection of fraud, the
prevention of impersonation with the aim of
fraudulently receiving welfare funds, and the
improvement of public services.
We will enhance the ability of solutions to predict
possible incidents and to analyze future trends at a
higher accuracy through the development of a
system that integrates AI technology into
biometrics and collects and processes an even
larger amount of digital data.
Social value creation through Biometrics
6 © NEC Corporation 2018
2. Social Value Creation and Future-Oriented Worldview
Biometrics Achieve Security by
“Not hand over,” “Not have,” “Not wait,” and
“Not forget”
Biometrics is an indispensable technology as a
security gate to the digital world in the upcoming era
where digitization will advance even further. We see
biometrics as a technology for security functions, and
also see this technology as having the creativity and
potential for the creation of new values.
What values will biometrics create for society with
the advancement of digital transformation? Here
are four values proposed by NEC:
・”Not hand over”
Building mutual trust and sharing
information/goods without providing a physical key
Think about an occasion where you request a
baby-sitting service on the web-site of a sharing
business service. You will allow a visitor, who knocks on
the door of your house and identifies him/herself as the
babysitter, to come into your house and take care of
your baby. How do you identify this visitor as the
baby-sitter you requested through the web-site? Or will
you hand the replicable house key to this person?
Biometrics makes it possible for you to identify
the visitor as the person you expected to be visited
by and allows you to have confidence in him/her.
There is no need to hand the house key to the
visitor since the face of the babysitter can be
registered in the system and used as a one-time
key.
・”Not have”
Receiving a service without ID
The expansion of biometric applications will allow
people to receive various social services without presenting official certificates or seals. Even when the possession of any device to prove your identity is lost due to, for example, a serious disaster, you will still be able to receive services such as withdrawing money from your bank account using
your unique characteristics as a way to identify yourself.
・”Not wait”
Instant identification lets people access a
service without waiting
When you go to busy places such as an airport,
stadium, concert, or a popular theme park, you will
no longer wait in line, but will swiftly pass the
entrance gate and enjoy your activities without
losing time thanks to biometrics. NEC’s biometric
solutions feature a balanced combination of
accuracy and usability, such as walk-through face
recognition systems, which is effective in these
places. It eliminates any sort of ticket and quickly
and accurately identifies and screens people
passing through the gate.
・”Not forget”
Identification that stays with people all the time and provides an easy and protected feeling
Biometrics uses the biological information
possessed by every individual as a key. There is no
need to determine an ID code or password, nor a
chance of losing such important information. It
minimizes the risk of lost or leaked information.
Changing biometrics from a special thing to an “ordinary thing in daily life.” Creating a world where people carry
biological information without a second thought and use it for identification without
the need for special IDs
7 © NEC Corporation 2018
3. Outcomes of Social Value Creation
Over 700 Systems Operate in Over 70
Countries
NEC started its research into biometric
technologies in the 1970s. Since then, NEC
has worked mainly on fingerprint and face
recognition and took the global initiative in
the development of biometric technologies.
The biometric-based recognition
technologies from NEC are used at the
security frontline in various countries
around the world, mainly for criminal
investigation, immigration control, and
citizen ID systems to support the safety and
security of society.
In this chapter, we will introduce some of the
representative examples among a wealth of
introduction results. As of today, more than 700
systems have been adopted as new introductions or
replacements in more than 70 countries.
USA: LA County Sheriff’s Department
MBIS system
To ensure the security of the town through the
early solution to crime to become complicated, NEC
provides a Multimodal Identification Biometric
Solution for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department (LASD) in the world, the County of Los
Angeles, the third-largest police agency in the
United States, the Los Angeles Police Department,
and 45 additional police departments in the County
of Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's and
participating law enforcement staff have
successfully processed thousands of transactions,
including searches of previously unsolved latent
fingerprints (those left at the scene of the crime)
against the newly migrated database. In the first
seven days of operation, the new NEC system
uncovered 107 hits (matches of open cases with
known offenders), including two cold case
homicides, all of which have the potential to lead to
suspect arrests and case closure.
NEC’s Multimodal Identification Biometric
Solution supports the safety and security of LA
country.
JFK International Airport in the U.S.A.
Adopts Facial Recognition System for
Immigration Clearance Examination The number of international tourists arriving at
airports around the world will double from 940
million in 2010 to 1.81 billion in 2030*.
With the increased number of users, airports will
need to "speed up processing,” "improve customer
service," and "ensure security” at the same time.
In order to respond to these challenges, NEC
delivered a face recognition system for immigration
clearance at JFK airport in the U.S.A. The system
compares the image data of the face photograph
transmitted from the IC passport at the automatic
immigration clearance gate with the face image of
the traveler photographed with the camera
installed at the gate in real time, and judges
whether the traveler is exactly the person identified
by the passport with high accuracy.
This system is the culmination of NEC's expertise
accumulated through the results and outcomes of
its ICT systems adopted by many airports in more
than 50 countries and regions. The realization of an
airport terminal in which travelers come and go
without having to wait or being forced to wait in line
is just around the corner.
Immigration control Criminal Investigation
8 © NEC Corporation 2018
Note: UNWTO Tourism Towards 2030
3. Outcomes of Social Value Creation
Street Surveillance System to Ensure
Safety and Enhance the Tourism Value of
Tigre City in Argentina
Many domestic as well as international travelers
gather in Tigre City. The population of this city is
tripled on weekends compared to that of weekdays,
and the city faces many problems such as traffic
jams and a worsening security situation. Building
safe and secure infrastructure throughout the city is
important for both citizens and visitors.
To cope with this situation, the city government
installed about 1,000 surveillance cameras in major
places such as terminal stations of railroads and
ship port facilities to build a town-wide monitoring
system. NEC’s role was to develop a system that
processes large amounts of image data collected by
the cameras and identifying various dangers lurking
in the city in real time.
First, we developed a system that was capable of
comparing the image data from the cameras with
the face photographs of criminals and missing
persons registered on the Watch List database to
identify such persons quickly.
In addition to biometrics-based identification,
NEC’s image processing technologies integrally
incorporated in the system exercise various
functions to reduce crime, such as detecting people
riding double on a motorcycle, which often results
in a snatch-and-run offence, no-helmet motorcycle
driving that may lead to a fatal accident, suspicious
behavior and vehicles, and the identification of car
registration plates for finding stolen cars.
As a result, the security situation of Tigre City
was significantly improved. For example, car theft
was reduced by about 80%. Additionally, tourism
revenue has tripled as a secondary effect of this
solution. We proved that building a safe and secure
environment brought a lot of good things to the city.
Multi-Biometric System Manages 1.3
Billion IDs for People in India
In India, with a population of 1.3 billion people, it
has been a long-felt challenge to build a system
that identifies every single citizen equally so that
everyone can receive equitable social services.
NEC provides a Unique ID system that combines
multiple forms of biometrics to cope with this
situation. We developed a biometrics-based Unique
ID system which does not require document
controls and the submission of citizens’ ID numbers.
Instead, the system utilizes a highly accurate
multi-modal form of identification which combines
fingerprint recognition with face and iris
recognition.
The system prevents dual registration and
impersonation which used to occur for food rations,
job placement services, and tax payments.
Furthermore, we support the delivery of fair public
services and financial services to every citizen
through significantly simplified procedures.
Facial Recognition System to Support the
Safe Issuance of MyNumber Cards NEC developed a facial recognition solution that
will be used at the windows of 1,743 local public
bodies across Japan in response to the start of the
MyNumber card issuance scheduled in January
2016.
This solution ensures safe delivery of the cards by
preventing impersonation using face recognition
that compares the facial image of a card recipient
photographed by a camera at the counter with the
facial image registered to the MyNumber card.
Monitoring of streets and towns Prevention of impersonation
Public service improvement
Prevention of impersonation prevention
9 © NEC Corporation 2018
Identification Solution for Local Public
Bodies Utilizing Hybrid Finger
Identification and Face Recognition Here, we introduce an identification solution
system used by many local governments such as
Kadoma City, Matsudo City, Koshu City, and Hirono
Township.
In this system, personal identification is
completed instantly and accurately by hybrid finger
identification and facial recognition. A visitor puts
their fingers on the device and sits in front of the
screen to receive a service. The operation is that
simple. This simplicity ensures that the system
contributes to the improvement of work
productivity, not to mention service delivery to
citizens. IC cards were previously used for
identification. Now tasks to issue and control such
cards have been eliminated, accompanied by the
reduction of the risk of losing the cards.
We received many inquiries about this solution
with the start of the use of MyNumber cards.
Arrival of VIP Guests Is Notified by Facial
Recognition System at Lemon Tree Hotels
in India
Biometrics is effective for criminal investigations,
security, and the protection of information.
However, there are other places where biometrics
can be useful. Biometrics can be properly tuned to
fit to various purposes. The improvement of
customer services is one of those purposes.
Lemon Tree Hotels, a major hotel chain in India,
utilizes a facial recognition system to determine the
arrival of VIP guests.
The system is designed to recognize VIP guests
as well as suspicious persons in real time. Through
this system, even an employee with little work
experience at the hotel can recognize VIP guests
and provide a service fit to the taste of each guest.
It is a very effective solution especially in India
where the job change rate in the service industry is
high.
At Universal Studios Japan™, Facial
Recognition Welcomes Annual Pass
Holders
NEC's facial recognition system does its job in the
entertainment industry. The system we delivered to
Universal Studios Japan™ automates the reception
of annual pass holders.
All the pass holder has to do on arrival is to hold
the pass over the reader and look straight at the
identification monitor screen which takes only a
second or so. The system identifies the guest and
allows him/her to enter the park. It alleviates
congestion at entrance gates and enables smooth
entry.
In addition, the printing of a face photograph to
be attached to the surface of the card is no longer
necessary because of the introduction of facial
recognition. The system contributes to the
significant reduction of costs and necessary lead
time for the issuance of the card. Thanks to the
ability of biometrics, it also contributes to the
prevention of lost passes or use by other persons.
For annual pass holders, the system provides an
experience of “VIP treatment” whenever they come
by, letting them get through the gate only by
showing their faces.
Facial recognition system welcomes an
annual pass holder at the entrance gate NEC is an official marketing partner of Universal Studios JapanTM. TM & ©
Universal Studios. All rights reserved. CR18-○○○○
市民サービス向上
Prevention of impersonation prevention
Face recognition for watch-lists
Public service improvement
Public service improvement
10 © NEC Corporation 2018
3. Outcomes of Social Value Creation Activities
Utilization of Facial Recognition for
Concert Ticket Issuance
We are experiencing widespread misconduct in
concert ticket sales, especially on tickets that are
difficult to obtain. Those who commit misconduct
obtain hot tickets and try to resell them at a price
far exceeding the regular price.
Measures have been taken against such ticket
scalping such as introducing the verification of
identification. However, some find a way around
these measures. This makes it possible for
purchasers to enter the concert venue through
borrowing and lending or the forgery of
identification documents. Thus, such misconduct
continues to occur and a new measure is
demanded.
NEC’s facial recognition-based identification
system has been adopted to solve this problem.
The face photo image of a purchaser must be
registered at the time of purchase. The system
photographs the face of a visitor at the entrance to
the concert venue and compares it with the
registered face photo image to verify whether it is
the original purchaser and denies entry if not. By
doing so, fraudulent ticket resales can be
prevented.
The system also contributes to smoothly guiding
visitors into the concert venue. It eliminates the
verification of photo IDs and reduces the time
necessary for all visitors to complete their entry
into the venue by up to 50% compared to a visual
face check by staff. We expect that this system will
be adopted by a wider range of events in the future
as it is capable of handling tens of thousands to
hundreds of thousands of people.
Walkthrough Facial Recognition System,
a Next-Gen Technology that Lets People
Pass by a Camera
In 2016, NEC conducted a demonstration
experiment of a next generation facial recognition
system with 1,000 employees of group companies
at its headquarters.
The "Walkthrough face recognition system" was
tested in this experiment. Face photo images of
participating employees were registered in a
database prior to the test. The feature of the
system was to photograph a person passing
through the gate without forcing him/her to stop in
front of the camera, and to compare the captured
photo image with those registered in the database
and to quickly identify any participants.
This system was introduced at the "Tokyo 2020
JAPAN HOUSE," which was opened during the Rio
de Janeiro 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Many companies have now introduced this system
for office/facility entry and exit control.
Next generation facial recognition
continuously works as people walk through a
gate without stopping
Prevention of impersonation prevention
Prevention of impersonation prevention
11 © NEC Corporation 2018
Facial Recognition-Based Payment
Authorization Eliminates Cash and Cards
NEC continuously works on the development of
payment authorization services using facial
recognition.
In 2016, we began a demonstration experiment
of the payment authorization system at shops
inside the NEC Group head office buildings and the
operation of the same system at the employee
cafeterias of Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd. The
system identifies the customer by comparing the
photo image captured by the camera installed near
the POS register with the photo images of the
employees registered in the database prior to the
start of the operation, and authorizes the payment.
Through the actual use of the system, the
effectiveness of cashless and card-less payment
was evaluated.
NEC strives to develop our original payment
authorization system, which has rock-solid
accuracy in personal identification as well as
easy-to-use features, through continuous
verification and improvement of the system taking
account of operating conditions, identification
performance, and processing volume at different
types of stores and to deliver high quality systems
to customers.
Demonstration experiment at a shop in the
head office building
Impersonation prevention
12 © NEC Corporation 2018
4. Biometric Technology
NEC as a Pioneer in Biometrics, Boasting
More than 40 Years of R&D Efforts
NEC is the pioneer company of biometrics. It
started research and development of biometric
technologies ahead of other companies and R&D
institutes in the world and steadily continued its
effort, including the start of R&D on fingerprint
recognition in 1971 and facial recognition in 1989.
It has therefore always been a world-leading
company in this technical field. These technologies
with world-class accuracy have already been
incorporated in systems and adopted by many
organizations and bodies, mainly by police and
airports, all over the world, and are utilized to
create various social values mainly in safety and
security fields.
Looking ahead, NEC strives to realize multi-modal
identification that combines multiple identification
technologies and to provide higher values to society
in response to a wider range of needs and market
voice calls for even higher accuracy.
History of NEC’s efforts on biometrics
13 © NEC Corporation 2018
NEC’s Fingerprint and Facial Recognition
Are Proven to Have the World’s Leading
Accuracy Rate
Evaluations by third party bodies have proven
that NEC’s fingerprint recognition and facial
recognition technologies have the world’s leading
accuracy rate.
Our fingerprint recognition technology won first
place at the benchmark contest of fingerprint
recognition technology, held by the US government,
eight times in thirteen years from 2004*1. Its
superior accuracy has been continuously
demonstrated.
As for facial recognition technology, NEC won first
place in the Face Recognition Vender Test, a
benchmark contest for still images hosted by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST), three times in a row. Furthermore, we won
first place with an overwhelming margin in high
accuracy in the Face In Video Evaluation (FIVE), a
benchmark contest to evaluate the accuracy of
video image recognition in 2017*2.
The best condition for facial recognition is when
the person to be identified stands in front of the
camera and looks straight at it with fully opened
eyes just like taking a photo for a photo ID.
However, such a condition is not necessarily
promised when it comes to the real environments in
which facial recognition is used.
For example, images sent from cameras on
streets often miss parts of faces or capture an
angled view. It is essential to achieve a high
accuracy in "non-cooperative authentication” that
is, recognizing the face of a pedestrian who is not
aware of being accurately photographed.
In the 2017 contest, we were able to demonstrate
the accuracy in this “identification without
awareness.” NEC’s facial recognition technology is
highly capable of the recognition of motion pictures,
and exercises its accurate performance even in
tough conditions for identification. Due to this
feature, it is used around the world as an
identification solution that has proven to be
"practically effective" in various scenes in society.
*1 FpVTE 2003 (Fingerprint Vendor Technology Evaluation)
Slap Fingerprint Segmentation Evaluation 2004
ELFT 2007 (Evaluation of Latent Fingerprint Technologies)
PFT 2009 (NIST Proprietary Fingerprint Template Testing)
FpVTE 2012
PFT II 2013
MINEX 2016 (Minutiae Interoperbility EXchange Test)
MINEX III 2016
*2 MBGC 2009 (Multiple Biometric Grand Challenge)
MBE 2010 (Multiple Biometrics Evaluation)
FRVT 2013 (Face Recognition Vendor Test)
FIVE 2017 (Face In Video Evaluation)
14 © NEC Corporation 2018
4. Biometric Technology
Selecting the Technology with the Best
Fit or Intelligently Combining Multiple
Technologies
As we already explained in Section 1 regarding
NEC’s Biometric Brand Bio-IDiom, multiple
biometric technologies with world-class
performance are available at NEC.
Each individual identification technology is
referred to as modal (or mode, modality, etc.), and
has advantageous features such as ease of input,
accuracy, and acceptability to users. That is why it
is important to select optimal modals and use them
properly to deal with the problem at hand (see the
figure below).
Among them, the modalities that NEC focuses on
are those shown in the blue area in the figure.
These modalities combine convenience and
accuracy in a highly balanced manner.
Based on this design principle, we select and
combine identification technologies suited to the
needs of customers and society.
NEC biometric technology map
15 © NEC Corporation 2018
Multiple Modals Underlie the Strength of
NEC’s Identification Solutions
Here, we must acknowledge the fact that each
modality has "ambiguity" because identification
targets are living bodies. For example, some
modals may experience difficulties in the
recognition of the target under continuous change
in body and health conditions and in environmental
conditions; some modals may not be fit for use due
to unavoidable reasons such as illness.
Although we can fight against "impersonation"
and "malicious attacks" by using biometrics, the
possession of superior technologies alone cannot
secure the long-lasting security of a society when
considering the conceivable situation of endless
technology battles, such as what we see between
hackers and security vendors.
Acknowledging such issues, NEC designs
identification solutions of remarkably advanced
accuracy that intelligently combine different types
of biometric technologies to meet customers’ needs,
taking advantage of having developed multiple
biometric technologies, and provides them to
customers. For example, we offer multi-modal
identification (multi-factor identification)
technologies that combine facial recognition and
iris recognition, or finger vein recognition and voice
recognition. Herein lies the big advantage of NEC.
The system has already been in use in real world
environments. In India, our biometric solution was
adopted and integrated in the unique ID system
and achieved an extremely high accuracy rate by
combining fingerprint recognition with face and iris
recognition. This technology contributes to the
well-being of citizens in India (see page 8).
Furthermore, it is also possible to provide new
values that have never existed by combining
multiple identification technologies. For example, in
the near future, you will be able to purchase goods
and pay for it on the Internet and even process
financial transactions through rapidly spreading
smart speakers.
You should be able to utilize such useful tools with
a sense of security if you establish security fortified
by the combination of multiple technologies, such
as voice, face, and iris recognition.
NEC believes that our multi-modal identification
systems play a major role in building a solid
foundation for the advancement of innovative
products and services and adds new value to
society.
Multi-modal identification technology that integrates multiple identification technologies
16 © NEC Corporation 2018
4. Biometric Technology
NEC’s Biometric Bio-IDiom
Features of Individual Modalities
As explained in the section above, each
identification technology (modality) has different
characteristics. Therefore, it is important to
understand each characteristic well and to use
them properly. In this section, we explain the
features of each modality.
Facial recognition
This technology detects faces in various images
and analyzes features of the faces to identify people.
NEC established a brand called “NeoFace” for its
facial recognition-based solutions, which boast the
world’s leading accuracy rate*1, and markets them
for use by various types of users around the world.
Note 1: See note 2 on page 13
History of the development of facial
recognition technology in NEC
■Features ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
・Natural identification without making people
uneasy
A face is a physical characteristic that is used on a
daily basis to recognize others. Therefore, it is
natural and advantageous to use this
characteristic for personal identification as it will
not result in an uneasy feeling or have a
psychological impact on users.
・Contactless, no forced actions
A system with excellent convenience can be
realized since facial recognition does not require
users to do anything special such as pressing
their finger on a scanner.
・Excellent effect to prevent misconduct
Unlike other characteristics used in biometrics,
people naturally see the face of others without
any particular reason. Therefore, a double-check
effect of biometric identification and supervisors’
visual checks can be expected. In addition, an
excellent effect to prevent misconduct can be
expected since the facial image used for
identification can be kept in a record and stored
as a "face image log." This can be highly effective
to suppress fraud.
・No special device required
There is no need to prepare special hardware
since the system is designed to exercise its
performance with photo images captured by an
ordinary web camera. Existing facial photos can
also be used as images to be registered in the
database.
17 © NEC Corporation 2018
Iris recognition
The iris is the doughnut-shaped part of the eye
that spreads around the pupil in the center and has
a unique muscle pattern. Iris recognition is a
technology that identifies people by analyzing the
characteristics of this muscle pattern using near
infrared LED lighting and a camera.
As mentioned above, the iris has a pattern that is
unique to each individual. It is said that this pattern
is formed before two to three years of age and
never changes once it has been formed. It is
covered by the cornea and is not easily damaged,
which is another reason why the iris is suitable for
biometrics.
Iris of the human eye
■Features
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ・Highly accurate and high-speed technology
Iris recognition has outstanding accuracy among
Bio-IDiom's technologies, all of which boast the
world's leading identification accuracy. When an
appropriate environment is provided, it can be a
very effective modality because of its high
identification speed.
・Wide scope of applicability
Iris recognition can be used as long as eyes are
exposed to the camera. For example, users do
not have to take off masks or gloves. However, it
may not be able to perform its function when
users are wearing colored contact lenses.
・Contactless
A system with excellent convenience can be
realized since iris recognition does not require
users to do anything special such as pressing
their finger on a scanner.
・Powerful in dark places, weak under strong
external light
Iris recognition provides satisfactory
performance even in a dark place since it uses
near-infrared LED lighting and a camera. However,
it may not be able to perform its expected
function under strong external light. Iris
recognition is a technology that is best suited for
indoor application.
18 © NEC Corporation 2018
4. Biometric Technology
Fingerprint recognition,
Palm print recognition
Fingerprint recognition and palm print recognition
have the longest history among NEC's biometrics.
In 1971, NEC began its research on these
technologies ahead of other companies and has
been a global leader in R&D activities ever since.
The accuracy of these identification technologies
has gained high acclaim from the industry around
the world. Our fingerprint recognition technology
won first place at the benchmark contest of
fingerprint recognition technology, held by the US
government, eight times in thirteen years from
2004*.
The Automated Fingerprint Identification System
(AFIS), which was put into practice for criminal
investigations and has achieved a successful
performance (a world first), has become popularly
known as the standard name for this kind of system
around the world.
Fingerprints and palm prints are characteristics of
humans that never change and are never the same
among billions of people. As a result, they are
popularly utilized for various purposes such as
criminal investigations, immigration control, and
Unique ID systems as a dependable and accurate
personal identification method.
*Note: See the note 1 in page 13
■Features ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
・NEC’s technologies achieve high accuracy
and high speed
NEC achieves highly accurate and high-speed
identification taking advantage of its original
recognition technology which has a
"feature-relation approach." This approach also
contributes to achieving high security and privacy
protection since it extracts characteristic data,
which it can in no way reproduce the original
fingerprint from, and instead stores an image of
the entire fingerprint.
NEC’s original recognition technology and its
“features-relation approach”
・ Rich experience in actual environments
around the world
At NEC, a variety of knowledge has been
accumulated through its rich experiences in
systems operated around the world and is readily
available to respond to different issues. NEC
provides flexible solutions based on this
knowledge.
・ Data can be shared between different
systems
Data can be shared between different systems
since there are internationally unified standards
for fingerprint images, palm print images, and
data formats for fingerprint feature points data
formats. It also makes it easy to replace an
existing system with a new one.
・A dedicated device is required
A dedicated scanning device must be used.
19 © NEC Corporation 2018
Finger vein recognition
This is a technology that can detect a vein inside
a finger and analyzes its characteristics to identify a
person. It is used for financial institutions (ATMs,
for example) and PC log-in security as a technology
that is difficult to steal or forge.
NEC uses this technology in the world's first*
multi-modal identification technology, "Hybrid
finger identification," together with fingerprint
recognition. The advantage of this technology is
that the poor performance of fingerprint recognition
with a dry or wet finger can be complemented by
finger vein recognition. Additionally, unstable blood
flow does not cause any adverse effect to the
performance of fingerprint recognition. Each
technology complements each other so as to
achieve highly accurate personal identification.
Contactless hybrid finger scanner
Note: performance comparison with other
companies’ information by NEC at the time of the
release of this technology in 2011
■Features ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
・High accuracy and high speed recognition
technology
This technology provides highly accurate
identification which is equivalent to iris
recognition.
・Low risk of forgery
This is a modality with a low risk of forgery
because it uses the pattern of a finger vein, which
is invisible from the outside.
・Contactless
Unlike fingerprint recognition, finger vein
recognition does not require fingers to come into
contact with a scanner when performing
identification. It is a safer and more secure
technology because biological information does
not remain on the surface of the scanner, not to
mention the sanitary benefit it provides.
・Dedicated device is required
A dedicated scanning device must be used to
perform finger vein recognition.
20 © NEC Corporation 2018
4. Biometric Technology
Voice recognition
This is a technology that picks up voices using a
microphone, analyzes their characteristics, and
identifies people accordingly.
Until recently, it was not put into practical use
mainly due to poor performance in accuracy. The
situation has now been improved. It can provide
satisfactory identification performance with
changes in voice conditions if the change is within
the degree caused by a mild cold. In 2016, NEC
earned a top-ranking evaluation at the benchmark
evaluation SRE (Speaker Recognition Evaluation)
hosted by NIST*1.
We expect that this technology will be used in
smart speakers and call centers because
identification can be performed remotely via voice.
Comparing live voice with reference voice
data in the database
Note 1: National Institute of Standards and
Technology of U.S.A.
■Features ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
・Easy and simple operation
All the user has to do is speak into a microphone.
The system does everything else and performs
the identification. There is no need to be familiar
with the operation of a keyboard or smartphone.
・Contactless and can be performed remotely
This identification technology can be used even
through a phone line because it does not require a
contact and can be performed remotely.
・Wide scope of applicability
This identification system can be performed while
moving or working. Wearing sunglasses or gloves
do not affect identification performance.
・No special device required
There is no need to prepare special hardware
since the technology is designed to exercise its
performance with voice data captured by a
smartphone or tablet.
・Language does not matter
This technology can be used by anyone no matter
what language he/she speaks because it analyzes
speech, not language.
・Robust to environmental changes
Its robustness to the variation of conditions such
as lighting, angle, and the position of the
measuring devices is another advantage of this
technology.
21 © NEC Corporation 2018
Ear acoustic authentication
Ear acoustic authentication is NEC’s original
biometric technology that utilizes the shape of a
person’s ear hole. The shape of the ear hole is
unique to every individual. NEC developed this
technology in collaboration with Nagaoka University
of Technology. It analyzes the echo of sound using a
hearable device (microphone-integrated
earphone).
Many applications can be devised using the
hearable device and this biometric technology, such
as controlling a gate according to the result of
identification, sending useful information to
identified persons in real time, and triggering the
operation of networked equipment according to
uttered words. NEC expects to develop many
practical applications of this technology.
In addition, the hearable device is equipped with
a nine-axis motion sensor which is capable of
detecting a person’s position in a building and the
direction of movement. NEC plans to add a vital
sensor in the future so that the location and motion
of persons who wear the hearable sensor can be
monitored in real time by combining the outputs of
ear acoustic authentication, the nine-axis motion
sensor, and the vital sensor. More specifically, ear
acoustic authentication determines who it is, the
nine-axis motion sensor determines where each
individual is, and the vital sensor determines what
conditions they are in. Having these types of
information available can improve work efficiency in
a factory or a hospital, and workers can be
safeguarded from hazardous risks.
Operation mechanism of ear acoustic
authentication
■Features |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ・High accuracy and high speed authentication
Highly accurate and stable authentication can be
done instantly (within one second).
・Contactless, no forced actions
Authentication can be performed whenever
necessary without users having to do anything
special or feeling as if they are being observed.
・Wide scope of applicability
This identification can be performed while moving
or working. Wearing sunglasses or gloves do not
hinder the identification performance.
・Low risk of forgery
Forgery of the shape of the ear hole is almost
impossible because it is invisible from the outside.
Even if the hearable device is stolen, the
confidentiality of the communication can be
secured because only the person who cleared the
authentication can hear the communication.
・High affinity with the real world
The hearable device is a wearable device worn in
the ear. It does not interrupt vision, block a
screen, or the like. As a result, it has a high
affinity with the real world and never interferes
with the communication and work of people.