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NEC’s Face Recognition Walkthrough Gate for JR East railways wins “Best of the Best” at the “Red Dot Design Award 2026”

Tokyo, Japan, June 12, 2026 — NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) today announced that its Face Recognition Walkthrough Gate, which has been used in a field test on the Joetsu bullet train conducted with the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and JR East Mechatronics Co., Ltd. (JREM), a leading producer of station equipment, was named "Best of the Best," the highest honor awarded at the "Red Dot Design Award 2026."

NEC’s Face Recognition Walkthrough Gate awarded "Best of the Best" at the "Red Dot Design Award 2026"

The Red Dot Design Award, established in Germany in 1955, is one of the world’s largest product design awards. It attracts approximately 20,000 entries annually from over 60 countries and regions. Among these, the Best of the Best award, given to only about 1% of all entries, is a highly honorable distinction reserved exclusively for products deemed to be setting new global standards.

About the Face Recognition Walkthrough Gate

The Face Recognition Walkthrough Gate utilizes NEC’s world-leading face recognition technology (*) to ensure secure identity verification. Face recognition allows users to enter and exit smoothly without using IC cards or other devices. Furthermore, since the face recognition system can be easily installed with existing ticket gates, it can be quickly and effectively implemented.

Reasons for the award

  • Creating a new passenger experience: User Experience Design utilizing the world’s No. 1 face recognition technology
  • Low-profile, flat design with no protrusions: A design that widens the field of view and prioritizes the safety of users and the area around the ticket gates
  • Ease of Installation: A sustainable design that is easily installed with existing infrastructure

Going forward, NEC will continue to promote the creation of solutions that actively incorporate advanced technologies, with the goal of realizing walkthrough ticket gates that allow a wide variety of people to enter and exit smoothly.

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  • (*)
    NEC ranked No.1 numerous times in face recognition vendor tests conducted by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Evaluation results do not represent recommendations by the U.S. government for specific products.
    NEC Press Release: "NEC Face Recognition Ranks First in NIST Accuracy Testing"
    https://www.nec.com/en/press/202603/global_20260309_02.html

About NEC
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