This award was presented to the team for its achievements in developing a highly-accurate face recognition technology that contributes to the safety and security of the world.
But what exactly is it that makes NEC’s face recognition technology so remarkable?

The September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001 led to a dramatic increase in demand for facial recognition, most notably the introduction of biometric passports. Now, two decades later, face recognition technology is not only used at airports but also in various other situations, including smartphone personal authentication and access control at events.

NEC has been an active player in bringing these technologies to the world, and even developing new and groundbreaking use cases.

According to Hitoshi Imaoka, “NEC’s strength lies in the ability of its technology to adapt to both changes over time and face orientation.”

NEC has made continuous efforts to improve both the accuracy and speed of its face recognition technology, resulting in it being ranked first in the world five times in benchmark tests conducted by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for face recognition technology. Today, NEC’s face recognition technology is used in 45 countries around the world, and it is Mr. Imaoka who has blazed the trail.

Mr. Imaoka shares, “I first became involved in face recognition research at NEC’s Biometrics Research Laboratories in 2002. Accuracy was approximately 70% at the time, and at one point the Biometrics Research Laboratories was comprised of just two members. Fast forward to today—we now have an error rate of less than 1%, which is outstanding compared to our competitors. This award is the culmination of those times and the hardships we have experienced along the way. I am delighted that the results of my many years of research have been recognized, and that I was able to receive this award together with the four other team members.”