"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."