6/5/2014

Speakers
• Patrick McEvoy
Emerging Technologies – Sr. Mgr. of Asset Protection Systems and Technology,
Hudson Bay Company
• Matt Sack
Is Retail Ready for Facial Recognition? – President and CEO of Rume/Best Security Industries.
• Chris Helin
– Director of Integrated Solutions, Rume/Best Security
Industries.

Minority Report
What is it?
• Facial Recognition is a biometric software
application where measurements of an
individuals face in a digital image are taken
and compared to a database to determine
or confirm that individuals identity.
• Facial recognition can be done through
both live video as well as through digital
images.

How Does It Work? System Architecture

• Images are taken of subjects and loaded into the software's database.
– Images generally must have - pixels in the face area to insure they are
accurate.
– Images in the database are given a profile to provide users a SOP if identified.
• Cameras located at choke points provide video to the system.
• An algorithm is used to identify faces from the video images.
– This is referred to as a face capture.
• Software matches captured faces to the database.
– Software scores the capture to possible matches in the database based on its
similarity to the database images.
• Probable matches are then identified based on their high score.
• Users can determine thresholds to narrow or broaden the display of database
matches.

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Traditional Uses
• Government as both a live and forensic tool
LIVE DEMO • Airports, Train Stations and large arenas for
public safety
• Offices for access control.
• Gaming for identifying cheats and individuals
with gambling addictions.

History In Retail
• Facial Recognition is not new to retail.
• Many retailers have dabbled in its use for years. IS RETAIL READY NOW?
• Lack of adoption.
– It just didn't work
– It was too costly
– Didn’t see the benefit
– Just were not ready

Uses In Retail
• Three Major Categories of Use in Retail
– Uses for detecting and identifying known bad actors.
• Recidivism
•
•
BOLO Identification
Dishonest or termed Employees SO YOU THINK YOU’RE READY?
• Terrorism
– Uses that can drive customer satisfaction and sales.
• VIP Customer Identification
• Targeted Marketing
• Customer demographics
– General everyday physical security.
• Access Control
• Capacity Management

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Technical Requirements Use Case: Saks Fifth Avenue

Cameras
•
– Several companies require specific cameras running uncompressed video. • Primary reason for use of Facial Recognition
– Mounting of cameras requires angles of around 15 to 30 degree for consistent capture.
– Cameras are focused to capture faces within a small area of roughly 4 cubic feet. was for the identification of bad actors.
• Multiple cameras are often needed to effectively capture at a double door entrance.
• Server Intensive – Desire to identify ORC groups and professional
– Multiple servers needed to run face capture and database matching.
• At least 1 server is designed to run the matching software
thieves.
Several companies limit the cameras to 3 per server for processing of video captures.
•
• Average installation could require rack of servers for an install of 15 to 20 cameras. – Wanted real time alerts to provide actionable
• Database Photos
– Photos must be of a certain resolution for optimal use in matching to live video.
intelligence.
•
•
Processing photos require good lighting and good positioning of the subject.
Challenges can occur in using past video for purpose of matching due to quality.
– Use as a deterrent of future thefts
– Use as a layer of protection from Terrorist acts.

Implementation
Prior to Installation
• 12 Cameras to cover 6
• Identify the scope of use of the technology. customer entrances
– Limit use to individuals deemed to be bad actors. plus the employee door.
• Identify choke points where • 1 Server per camera to
capture/identification would be optimal. process video and
• Review with Legal capture faces.
– Do not use technology to track customer activity • 2 Servers to house
– Do not use technology to track ethnicity or race. database and perform
– Do not act on identification alone. matching.

Findings
• Technology requires high level of specificity to accomplish
consistent results.
FACIAL RECOGNITION IN ACTION AT • Desired results are definitely obtainable.
• Real Time Alerting provides actionable Intelligence.
SAKS MOVIE CLIP • Thresholds of matching will vary depending on use.
– If monitored, threshold is lower and verification is determined
live by operator.
– Automatic alerting on higher thresholds.
• Database Image requirements can be restrictive.
• Camera and Server requirements can be cumbersome.

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Cost Adoption Issues

• Understanding pricing structure.
– Purchase software licenses for cameras/servers.
– Purchase site license based on location.
• Significant cost in hardware including servers and
cameras.
• Labor and technical costs can vary based on size
of install and complexity.
• Establishing an ROI on the technology.
• Privacy Concerns
– Is the Retail Customer ready?
– Recent Backlash from customers on targeted
marketing.
• Legal Concerns
– Customers file suit alleging violation of privacy.
– Lawsuits stemming from action taken based on the
alerts.
• Do you advertise the use or not?

What’s Next
• 3D Modeling for more accurate Facial
Recognition.
• Facial Recognition within Google Glasses
• Analytic moves to the edge.