Over the past few years, facial recognition technology has been more ubiquitous than ever. Mid- to high-range phones are now equipped with face recognition to unlock phones, adding a security layer to safeguard personal and sensitive data. Facebook also uses the technology to identify members who appear on photos, allowing users to find photos they're in and get suggestions on who to tag.
Facial recognition has broken free from the realms of science fiction and made its way to the mainstream. But beyond unlocking phones and tagging photos on social media, facial recognition proves useful in other real-world applications.
1) Serve smart ads
Every year, there seems to be a new smart appliance entering the market. In the near future, however, expect to see smart advertising to become mainstream as well. Some of the biggest advertising companies plan on installing screens with facial recognition technology to identify different target audiences and deliver ads that have the best chance of getting their attention.
2) Prevent retail crime
The retail industry suffers massive losses from an external shrink. Face recognition is seen as a practical solution, allowing retail business owners to get notifications as soon as known shoplifters or members of organized retail crime are spotted entering their establishments.
3) Find missing persons and pets
In 2018, news about finding 3,000 missing children in India through face recognition made waves across the globe. This proves critical not only in finding missing children but also preventing human trafficking. By adding the faces of missing individuals to a database, law enforcement authorities can get alerts as they get seen in any public space with face recognition systems. The same applies to find missing pets where the faces of pets are added to a database instead.
4) Recognize VIPs
Face recognition is also used to provide world-class services to VIP clients. At sporting events, for example, face recognition applications can identify season ticket holders, allowing event venue operators to let them skip long queues and offer additional perks to boost customer loyalty. The same applies to retail stores where the same technology can be used for the identification of VIP clients and provide them with personalized services.
5) Confirm identity at ATMs
Many believe that ATM cards will get replaced by face scans in the future to facilitate more secure transactions. The ubiquity of ATM cards means it will take time before they get phased out, but in some places like Macau, face scans are already used at ATMs to protect the identity of users.
6) Add convenience to air travel
Airlines refuse to lag, employing the technology to enable passengers to check into flights, check bags, and board planes.
7) Limit access to sensitive locations
Because of the effectiveness of face scans as an identification tool, the technology can also be used to limit access to sensitive areas such as bank vaults, labs, and boardrooms.
8) Help the blind
By using a facial recognition app, the blind can get clues about the social situation they're in. For example, when the app recognizes someone smiling, the smartphone vibrates to alert the blind person.
9) Protect schools
Due to the various school shootings in the past few years, concerns over student safety have skyrocketed. Law enforcements advise schools to install face recognition systems that identify drug dealers, dangerous parents, and expelled students as they enter the school premises.
10) Diagnose diseases
In the field of medicine, doctors can use face scans to diagnose diseases known to cause changes to a patient's appearance. Some health professionals take things up a notch by training programs to correlate blood pressure, BMI, and body fat with face shape.
While the applications of facial recognition technology are left unnoticed by the general public, they're working quietly in the background to provide everyone with a safer, smarter, and more convenient world. What's exciting is the fact that facial recognition models get more sophisticated by the day. Its pervasive use also encourages competition, driving down costs and enabling small players such as startup businesses to leverage the power of the technology.
