This is bleeding edge, said Arun Vemury, director of the group s Biometric and Identity Technology Center.
At best, the technology identified 96% of masked passengers, compared to almost 100% of unmasked passengers, according to results from the 2020 Biometric Rally, hosted at a DHS-affiliated testing laboratory. The tests evaluated 60 combinations of various cameras and algorithms used to identify a person.
For people wearing face masks, the median accuracy was 77%, compared to a median 93% for unmasked participants. The worst rate was 4% for masked passengers and 11% for unmasked, the data shows. In our perfect world it works for 100% of people 100% of the time, Vemury said of the results. He later added that still, the best algorithms right now are definitely better than the best people at looking at faces.
DHS Works to Improve Biometric Scanning of Masked Faces TZIDO SUN/Shutterstock.com
email
Perhaps the most-worn accessories of 2020, face masks mark an unexpected new constant in people’s lives providing necessary protection against COVID-19 but they’re also known to pose some trouble for contemporary facial recognition systems.
The Homeland Security Department, one of the government’s biggest biometrics systems users, is now steering research to confront the complexities limiting existing technology and help push forward tools to safely verify people’s identities at security checkpoints in a pandemic.
Initial results from one recent effort “are actually quite promising,” according to Arun Vemury, director of DHS’ Biometric and Identity Technology Center.
Published 16 December 2020
Face masks have become a way of life due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We now wear them nearly everywhere we go at grocery stores, on public transportation, in schools, at work any situation that requires us to be around others. But what about at places that require a higher level of security, like airports?
Face masks have become a way of life due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We now wear them nearly everywhere we go at grocery stores, on public transportation, in schools, at work any situation that requires us to be around others. But what about at places that require a higher level of security, like airports? One of the challenges the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is now working to address is how to verify someone’s identity while maintaining overall safety.