Company spotlights have been created to give firms operating in the biometrics and identity industry an opportunity to discuss trends, product innovations and achievements.
These interviews also offer readers insight into a company’s outlook, history and future directions.
Tell us about recent developments at Cognitec that are highlighting the company’s strengths?
In the beginning of this year, we were able to release our complete product line with an outstanding new face matching algorithm, recently acclaimed by NIST for market-leading speed and accuracy. For this algorithm, Cognitec was proud to report remarkable leaderboard positions in the NIST Ongoing Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT) 1:1, ahead of all face recognition companies with well-established market presence and products.Last week, Frost & Sullivan honoured our commitment to leading-edge product development and trustworthy client relationships with the 2019 Global Facial Recognition Customer Value Award.
How does Cognitec fit into the global face recognition ecosystem?
In the last five years, we have witnessed the rapid expansion of face recognition technologies and their use cases. Competition is fierce, with new vendors and ideas coming to market each week, and certain vendors receiving inordinate funding from their governments to drive research and development. Recent NIST tests have shown an unprecedented density of high-performing matching algorithms, and deep learning techniques will quickly add more players to the leaderboard. Established vendors, such as Cognitec, must uphold the algorithmic expertise and performance expectations.
But in addition to technical excellence, we offer longstanding experience and dependability, and truly collaborate with our partners on best practices within a customized project design.What do you see as most important drivers and detractors for the face recognition industry over the coming year?Popular face recognition applications have convinced the public that the technology can provide convenience and speed when needing to establish your identity.
Phones are unlocking at a glance, travellers can cross borders via self-service eGates, and soon you can complete the whole airport journey by looking at cameras along the way. Your face is opening doors, quickly and securely. Users will demand more implementations for fast access to devices and places, and vendors are going to realize even more tasks and processes with the power of biometrics.
While usage spreads, the privacy debate continues loud and clear. Law suits are trying to unravel the confusions around data consent and ownership. And new laws, even the GDPR, are not giving enough explicit guidance to technology providers and users. Each week reveals more instances of face recognition technologies misused, or used without transparency. Such questionable practices fuel the general fear of losing the right to privacy and other basic human rights. Finding the right use cases, where the consent is given in person and in a general sense, will ensure a healthy future of biometric technologies.
Privacy vs. convenience and security – let’s find the right match!
Can you tell us something unique about your firm?
Cognitec is the only company worldwide that has worked exclusively on face recognition technology since its inception in 2002. The company was never sold, acquired or merged, but has grown at a steady, responsible pace. As the industry landscape is changing quickly, the company is proud to maintain a stable, market-leading position within the industry, and to uphold the trust it has gained as the reliable, most experienced provider of face recognition technologies for enterprise and government customers worldwide.
