NEC launches facial recognition technology for shoppers in Hong Kong

NEC has launched a new Mobile Facial Recognition Appliance that enables organisations in any industry to offer an ultra-personalised customer experience by recognising the face of each and every customer as soon as they set foot on the premises.

The ICT company said in a statement that it has combined its NeoFace facial recognition with an innovative electronics platform to create the industry's most, flexible, high-performance face-analysis solution.

The system uses compressed and encrypted wireless links to communicate with a master facial information database server in a secure location.

"Everyone loves to feel special. That's why any organization that can greet a customer by name and start helping them the minute they walk in to a shop, bank or hotel will have a tremendous advantage over one that relies on ID cards or other impersonal procedures," said Elsa Wong, Managing Director, NEC Hong Kong.

"With this kind of technology at its fingertips, any organization can offer the full VIP treatment to everyone. It can take customer relationships to an entirely new level of excellence and dramatically enhance an organization's competitive edge," she said.

The appliance, which measures just 14cm (width) x 14cm (depth) x 8cm (height), can be integrated into a closed circuit television (CCTV) network. It can use WiFi or 3G mobile networks to compress and transmit facial images to the server. The device is easy to install, the company said in its statement.