Tokyo, July 19, 2007 --- NEC Corporation delivered an immigration control system to Hong Kong immigration office that features the world’s first car passenger face identification system. The system, which enables face identification of car passengers by way of a database check when vehicles pass through immigration control points, begins operation this month.
The new system is based on e-passport, which employs NEC’s cutting edge face recognition technologies and “NeoFace” system. 8 gates at security check points between Hong Kong and Shenzhen adopt the new system this month, and by August the system will be deployed to all 40 gates. The system aims to identify drivers living in Hong Kong that have identification cards (smart cards).
In Hong Kong, all citizens are required to carry personal identification cards containing individual identification information. In addition, every car in Hong Kong is registered to a specific driver. As trucks approach immigration control points, the system can identify the face of the driver and whether the driver is registered to the vehicle. Once identified, the gates open to allow the vehicle through. (Currently, the new system is being combined with the existing fingerprint identification system).
A new version of this system is already being developed for the Hong Kong authorities. The upgraded system will enable identification of all of the passengers in a vehicle, and will not be combined with the fingerprint recognition system, but operate independently.
Through stricter immigration control the new system is expected to improve security, enable smooth immigration checks through automated facilities, and reduce staff requirements by enhanced productivity.
NEC was chosen to lead this project as a result of its long history of successfully constructing and deploying large systems, its unmatched project management capabilities, and high evaluation of the face identification system that it provided to Hong Kong 2005.
Hong Kong achieved economic growth of 5.6% in the period from January to March this year. As a result, traffic volume from mainland China is growing, increasing the need for a fast and effective immigration control system. NEC’s new system has been designed to comply effectively with immigration checks, without compromising on security.
*All company and brand names used in this release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
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