Your face is the key

Covid-19 has caused major disruptions to our lives – from work, school and play to interacting and everything in between.

Modern as well as time honoured traditions have suddenly fallen by the wayside and technologies that were being widely embraced and developed, suddenly seem to be obsolete in the ‘new normal’. This is not an overstatement of fact but the absolute truth. Just look at your own daily life and how it has changed. Nothing is the same. We don’t even shake hands any more.

Life however, must go on and we are all adjusting to the ‘new normal’ as best as we can

Smart companies, entrepreneurs and governments are looking at ways in which adjusting to the new world can be made easier, more efficient and create less hassle. Just look at how far sanitiser spray systems have come in just a few months: We started off with bottles, wipes and sometimes jerry cans filled with water and soap. Soon, ‘tippy-taps’ came into wider use, meaning that there was a ‘no-touch’ sanitation solution. We now have dispensers with electronic sensor systems that require no physical contact.

The ‘no-physical’ contact has become an essential part of our daily routine and needs to be extended to all parts of our lives if we want the economy, schools and our lives to get back to some semblance of normality.

It all starts with us moving about and entering and exiting buildings, shops, schools and facilities without having to touch anything. Protecting ourselves and those around us by not coming into contact with surfaces which will then be touched by others.

This proves an immediate hurdle when we are asked to write our details in a register with a pen, have our fingerprints scanned to open doors or simply using door handles.

One way of circumventing these issues and truly making entry and exit procedures contact-free is to use facial-recognition. A scan of you face can literally open a door.

One way of circumventing these issues and truly making entry and exit procedures contact-free is to use facial-recognition. A scan of you face can literally open a door.

Facial recognition is a ‘no-touch’ and non-intrusive technology.

Imagine kids trying to scan their irises and planting their whole faces one after the other on the iris-scanning machine. The chance of cross infection is huge. Same goes for fingerprint scans. Besides, we recognize ourselves and each other not by looking at our fingerprints or irises, for example, but by looking at our faces. Our faces can be the key to allowing us access, opening automatic doors and registering relevant information.

These automated systems identify or check the identity of individuals in mere seconds based on their facial features: Spacing of the eyes, bridge of the nose, the contour of the lips, ears, chin and our temperature.

It’s simple, fast and efficient and basically fool proof.

The more we learn about Covid-19, the more obvious it becomes to use facial biometrics as the biometric scan of choice. Not just because of the ‘no-touch’ aspect, but also because it’s easy to deploy and implement. There is no physical interaction required by the end-user. Moreover, face detection and face match processes for verification/identification are speedy.

This technology is no longer in realm of Sci-Fi movies or hi-tech airports. Right here in Namibia, the technology is available and being rolled out. A simple one-time registration of personal details that are kept private according to the robust privacy laws in place, ensures that facial recognition opens doors for you.

‘Passcard’ facial recognition software is being rolled out in offices and being demonstrated to be safe, secure and the quickest way to grant people safe entry and exit into buildings.

Our ‘new normal’ world has becomes just a bit safer and less intrusive with facial recognition software. Imagine not having to register physically any longer with a pen and paper when wanting to go anywhere. A one-time registration is all it takes, your face does the rest.