Early in the pandemic, before the mechanisms of COVID spread were clearly understood, there was talk about the disease being transmitted through contact with surfaces. Such concerns created a windfall for manufacturers of hand sanitizer, and broadly changed the perceived risks of touching surfaces, perhaps forever. Touching the same surface as hundreds of other people suddenly became less desirable, thus boosting the fortunes of “touchless” access control and security devices. But will the concerns persist in the aftermath of the pandemic? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: Will 2022 be the year for “touchless” security? Why or why not?
2022 will see a much wider adoption of touchless security. Among the factors fueling this trend will be increased user comfort with contactless biometrics and higher throughput and reliability of next-generation biometric reader technology and facial recognition software. Also driving adoption will be better/simpler solutions for mobile credential readers and more cloud-based identity management solutions. There will be continued growth in data governance and privacy regulations, which drive innovation and compliance and increase the willingness of companies and their employees to utilise biometric technologies. All these factors will set the stage for significant growth in touchless security. New technology partners with better solutions are entering the market and driving innovation at legacy providers. Most are predicting strong double-digit growth in 2022.
With the pandemic bringing a renewed focus on the need to avoid touching surfaces to reduce the risk of transmission, “touchless” or “frictionless” security is here to stay. According to Omdia (2021), facial recognition readers will continue to lead the biometrics market with projected 27.1% average annual growth over the next five years. Improvements in 3D facial modeling and analytics technologies have led to facial recognition becoming much more accurate, and analysts predict that error rates for advanced facial recognition readers will soon mirror the accuracy rates of fingerprint readers. This, combined with declining average sales prices, will drive robust growth. The use of mobile credentials will also continue to grow exponentially since cardholders get to use their own device to access secured areas without needing to touch an actual reader. This is especially important when dealing with visitors or contractors that are granted temporary access credentials.
As business owners seek to create the safest and healthiest environment for employees and customers, touchless access control systems are becoming a popular way to reduce common touchpoints. These solutions are available in many forms, from Bluetooth and NFC (Near Field Communication) with smartphones to face-based biometrics. Of course, the touch problem is not truly solved unless the door itself is integrated within the solution. Depending on the organisation, touchless security solutions can bring their own sets of challenges. Facial recognition is probably the most perfect example of a touchless access control system; however, the need to enroll and “opt-in” employees comes with concerns over privacy that can be a cause for friction. Using smartphones is likewise complicated when people misplace, upgrade, or otherwise change their phones. This causes an additional burden to administrators who are effectively managing an employee’s personal property. Nevertheless, touchless security solutions are on the rise.
Like 2021, I think 2022 will see the popularity of touchless security continue to grow in reaction to the cleanliness requirements of the pandemic. All organizations have a duty of care to their employees and visitors, ensuring not only a safe physical environment but also ensuring people feel safe psychologically. We will see more adoption of facial recognition technologies, whether that is through CCTV cameras or the discrete use of facial recognition readers. Also, occupancy management systems will play a big part in ensuring a safer touchless environment in communal areas. There is an understandable demand from people wanting to avoid overcrowded or poorly managed spaces that present a risk (either real or perceived) to their health and wellbeing. It also makes sense to invest in these touchless systems moving forwards to ensure that this potential vector for any future infectious diseases is limited and controlled.
Touchless security has continued to rise since 2020 because of health concerns associated with the pandemic and will likely continue in an upward trajectory this year. Technologies such as touchless intercoms will stay relevant in 2022 as traditional access control no longer suffices for many markets. By equipping sensors that remove the need for repeated physical contact, video intercoms can offer a communication solution that diminishes health risks. Beyond safe hygiene practices, a touchless video intercom provides an additional resource if someone forgets an access card or needs to facilitate contactless deliveries. While the pandemic has shown us the numerous benefits of touchless technology, the popularity of these features will not dwindle as more facilities recognise the importance of these solutions beyond security.
Touchless or frictionless, access control has become increasingly popular as people return to offices and want to know that everything has been done to ensure their health and safety. Face-based biometric access control is truly touchless. By removing the need for employees to touch common surfaces, the possibility of surface-born infection is drastically reduced. Employees have become hypersensitive to such chokepoints and may attempt to circumvent access control systems purely for their health and safety. Having a frictionless biometric component such as facial recognition eliminates concerns and adds to the overall confidence in the solution. Coupling face-based access control with an automatic door or locks further rounds out such a system. The additional security provided by intelligent video analytics, such as tail-gaiting detection, coupled with the utility of video intercom and remote enrollment, makes facial recognition a leading contender for a touchless access control solution.
The last two years have shown the world how quickly we must adapt in the security industry and beyond. Access control is a hot topic as social distancing measures and the push for reduced in-person interaction become the norm across all aspects of our lives. Implementing “touchless” audio monitoring such as hands-free two-way communication with incorporating talk-down features is an obvious next step. The ability to effectively communicate without requiring any face-to-to face interaction or pressing buttons will likely become a standard component of facility security systems, the idea of security is expanded to include safety and health as well. To meet end-user demand, current security systems can be retrofitted with audio components as well as other features that enable the reality of “touchless” security to come to fruition.
In 2020 there was a shift within the security industry to focus on touchless solutions. In time, it became clear that surfaces were not a significant factor in spreading the COVID-19 virus. Still, people were more aware of the number of surfaces we touch every day, with their potential to spread germs. We offer touchless proximity card access and facial recognition key cabinet access, so users don’t have to touch the outside of the unit. While this is not directly significant in stopping the spread of COVID-19, it helps reduce common touchpoints between users, minimising the possibility of cross-contamination and disease transmission. For any facility, it is in the interest of management to protect their staff, students, vendors, and visitors by deploying touchless (or frictionless) options. This perspective is likely to continue to gain traction in 2022 and beyond.
2022 is the year for touchless security because of what it does, and how it helps operations get back to business after COVID. Touchless security provides remote real-time operational insight while reducing resources requirements, as a staff is not required to physically be there to ensure safety. It also offers the side benefit of reducing people having to physically interact with things and other people, thus supporting social distancing and preventing the spread of infection. Touchless security represents a broad spectrum of technologies, from automatic doors to remote monitoring, online booking tools, etc. By digitally transforming operations, we could take the concept of touchless safety one more step. We could automate daily work plans to ensure nothing is missed. We could provide real-time insight and remotely monitor what physical actions have been taken to maintain a secure environment. We could reduce the requirements for quality control inspections and save more resources.