A face search software program developed by a Michigan State University professor will begin being offered to law enforcement and commercial entities through Irving, Texas-based technology service provider NEC Corporation of America.
Developed by Anil Jain, a professor of computer science and engineering at Michigan State, the software system can use a photo from surveillance or a crime scene to quickly retrieve a list of potential candidates by searching a large database of face images.
“The addition of the MSU large-scale face search algorithm with our … NeoFace facial algorithms will lead to even more compelling solutions to address ever-increasing security threats and enhance public and national security,” says Raffie Beroukhim, vice president of NEC Corporation’s biometrics solutions division.
Jain says the strength of this face search system is that it can process and search so-called ‘faces in the wild’ unconstrained images.
Unconstrained means faces that show a large range of the variation seen in everyday life, including variations in pose, lighting, race, age, gender, clothing, and hairstyles, among other parameters.
Beroukhim says the technology will be coupled with NEC Corporation of America’s NeoFace facial recognition algorithm, which is known its ability to match low resolution, poor quality facial images.
