Security vigilance can be sporadic at many companies and institutions. Facilities tend to tighten security in the days after a scary event happens or makes headlines, and people are generally tolerant of the associated inconvenience – for a time. But as memory fades, so too does tolerance for being inconvenienced. We want to be safe, but we also don’t want to be bothered. We want a security system that both provides safety and is unobtrusive.
Security doesn’t have to be inconvenient. That’s a core message of FST Biometrics, which leverages multiple technologies to identify people in motion, ensuring non-invasive, seamless security in a variety of environments.
“In Motion Identification”
FST Biometrics’ system analyses body size, gait, movement and direction as an individual approaches an entry point, and then uses facial recognition to confirm that person as someone authorised to enter a facility |
The approach, says FST Biometrics, is to combine facial recognition biometrics with analysis of body behaviour and characteristics. Their system analyses body size, gait, movement and direction as an individual approaches an entry point, and then uses facial recognition to confirm that person as someone authorised to enter a facility. It all happens without the individual realising it or thinking about it – in effect, tightened security is invisible and non-intrusive to the environment being protected. FST Biometrics calls it “In Motion Identification” (IMID).
The benefits are obvious in a global environment where security increasingly is needed everywhere.
“It’s very accurate identification that translates into security without a high visibility of security,” says Arie Melamed, CMO of FST Biometrics. “If you have security that isn’t invasive, and without changing the status quo of life, people feel safer and they will be safer.”
Accuracy
With a false accept rate around 3 in 10,000, the system is sufficient for all but the most secure facilities, says Melamed. If additional security is needed, the system can also implement a voice recognition element, or other multi-factor identification such as cards or smart phone credentials can be added (with resulting false accept rates around 1 in 1 million).
FST Biometrics’ software includes visitor management and access control suites, too. It can also be integrated with access control platforms such as Lenel, Tyco’s C-Cure, Honeywell and others.
Analysing body recognition factors
FST Biometrics analyses body recognition factors as an individual approaches an entry point to narrow the field of possible identities, from which a face is confirmed at the entry point. Narrowing the possible matches from 10,000 to 500 or fewer, the system both simplifies the task of recognising the face and eliminates a majority of possible false accepts, thus improving the accuracy of the total system.
Body characteristics are analysed at distances ranging 12 to 18 feet from the entry point, and the final facial recognition takes place 2 or 3 feet from the entry. The system can be used with doors, speed gates or turnstiles, or even in an open environment where a security guard is notified if a person isn’t recognised. The company claims throughput at turnstiles of 30 people per minute.
“It’s very accurate identification that translates into security without a high visibility of security. If you have security that isn’t invasive, and without changing the status quo of life, people feel safer and they will be safer”, says Arie Melamed, CMO of FST Biometrics |
The software system works with standard hardware, including a 5 megapixel IP camera installed at the entry point, and a server. Only the facial image is enrolled in the system. Over time, the system then “learns” information about body behaviour and characteristics -- and applies the data to simplifying identification and increasing accuracy.
About FST Biometrics
FST Biometrics was founded in 2007 by the former head of Israel’s military intelligence. The company installed the first systems in customer facilities in 2012, and has been receiving feedback since then. In 2014, they began to focus on the enterprise market, including “open campuses” that want security but without the “feel” of security. Clients include corporate, retail, financial services, telecommunications, residential and governmental sectors.
Melamed says a new $15 million investment in FST Biometrics by GMF Capital is an endorsement of the company’s approach and a statement of trust. “We know how hard they look for uniqueness [in companies they invest in],” he says. “They are looking for companies that are changing the world.” Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak will represent GMF Capital on the FST Biometrics Board of Directors.
FST Biometrics has also introduced a system that uses an Android-based mobile device (such as a smart phone with a camera) to enable a security guard to recognise people without being tied to a specific location, even in an environment such as a parking garage. After the identity is confirmed, the mobile system advises whether the person can enter and may also list who is authorised to be a passenger in their car (to identify possible car-jacking scenarios).