Face recognition has gone from being an obscure technology only used by government organizations or law enforcement to being a trendy technology used practically everywhere, even when it makes no sense. When used appropriately – voluntary and opt-in - it gives people a way to verify their identity in a radically more convenient way. For the live events industry, facial recognition streamlines security and access – no more standing in line. It helps event organizers understand how their customers use the physical space of a venue and improve upon it. Let’s dig into the details of how face rec provides these benefits and how it works.

Facial Recognition 101

Biometric technology identifies a person by unique physical characteristics, like fingerprints or facial features. There are many characteristics that can be a biometric modality – we can identify people based on how they walk, how they type, even by the appearance of their ears. Face recognition, which should really be called “face matching”, is a way to identify a person using the unique features of their face. A photograph is converted into a template, which you can think of as a machine-readable face barcode. The important thing about a template is that it can never be converted back to a photograph. Only the algorithm can read the templates. To verify a person’s identity, you take a photograph, convert it to a template and compare the template to the template that was created when they enrolled into the database. All the current methods of access control use tokens to represent an identity. Whether it is an RD-ID card, a government issued photo ID, a metal key, or a name tag sticker, these are all things that represent a person and a level of access. With facial recognition, all of that is eliminated and person can be quickly and securely identified with just their face. The benefits are clear – this method is more secure, easier to use and faster than traditional methods of access control.

Face Recognition at Live Events

If you want to use facial recognition technology at your live events, there are several things to consider and plan. All identity systems have two parts – enrollment and matching. You need to think about how you are going to get your users to enroll into the system and how you are going to configure your entrance to allow for the system. It’s also important to think through how you will communicate with your customers and help them through this new process. Finally, you want to consider how you will manage the system in the future and the relationship you want to have with your vendor.

Enrollment

At Blink Identity, enrollment is as easy as taking a selfie, but you should think through when you are going to ask for the enrollment photograph and how to communicate the request. Asking them to enroll when they buy the ticket or sign up for the event is the best practice. If possible, make the use of this new technology optional – invite people to opt-in to the system. People love technology when it makes their life easier, but they want to feel a sense of control. Motivate them by offering something in exchange for the enrollment.

Matching

Once at the event, use signs on both the floor and on walls to make it easy for people to know where to go. Despite what you might think, people like being told what to do when they are in an unfamiliar situation. Make it easy for them to use.

Addressing Concerns

All new technologies follow a typical adoption cycle: it is first adopted by a small group of “innovators” and “early adopters”. These two groups are small but are enthusiastic about new technology and they are vocal and influential. This is followed by the slower adoption by the “early majority” followed by the “late majority”. The early majority are open to new ideas but generally want to see it being used by others first.  Last to adopt is a small group of “laggards” and they may never adopt the technology at all.

Despite its many positive uses, people often fear new technologies like face recognition. The media hasn’t helped with many inaccurate and fear mongering articles published about the subject. Make your customers comfortable by making sure they know about the privacy protections you have in place and make sure they know where they can go if they have questions.

The most common questions that people have are:

• How is my information stored and kept secure?

• How do you use my data?

• How long is my data stored?

• Who has access to my data?

• What happens to my data after the event?

Be prepared to address these concerns. At Blink Identity, we take privacy and security very seriously. Our entire model is based on giving people a privacy preserving way to use their identity. We never store photographs of people – only the “templates” and they can never be converted back to a photograph. We encrypt our data in transit and at rest. We never sell, share, or lease our data and we never connect to government databases. Our users have transparency and control over their data. They can see it and delete it at any time.

How Do People Feel About Facial Recognition at Events?

People have concerns about any new technology. That’s natural. But when given a chance to use it they quickly become comfortable. Keller Williams used face recognition technology at their “Spring Masterminds” event in Washington, D.C. in April of 2018. The response was positive from both attendees and staff. The event drew 1,360 registrants, and 48% of attendees opted to use face recognition for check-in.

Use of facial recognition at events will increase as people get used to the technology. Event attendees will see the benefits of it in action when they check-in without standing in line.

Benefits of Facial Recognition For Events

For both event planners and attendees, facial recognition has the power to streamline events by increasing throughput, eliminating waiting in line, and increasing security. There are also benefits through the analysis of the data post event.

Increased Throughput at Check-In

Most people have had the experience of showing up for an event, only to find a long line of people, all trying to register at once. It’s unclear where you are supposed to go or if you are in the right line. It’s a frustrating experience and everyone starts out in a sour mood. Facial recognition can eliminate this problem. Check-in by a person who registered in advance with a “selfie” takes only seconds. Your customers don’t have to worry about bringing tickets, proper identification, or a printout of a confirmation. Their face is now their ticket and they can breeze through the line by just looking at a camera.

Increased Event Security

It’s common for people to share credential at expensive events or even crash an event without registering at all. But when your face is your ticket, this becomes impossible. But the use of biometrics increases security in an unparalleled way. The technology is in the process of being rolled out at most of the airports in the US.

Increased Efficiency of Event Staff

Face recognition also makes the event easier for your event staff. You can easily separate VIPs from general attendees and you never have to worry about someone borrowing or sharing credentials again. You can use the system to allow speakers and sponsors into restricted areas.

Increased Data Analysis

Not only can you increase the efficiency and safety of your event, you can use face recognition at events to optimize your future events.  You can track who attends specific sessions at your event. This gives you valuable insights about your audience’s experience. You can see attendance numbers and evaluate which speakers or topics are popular and which were not.

Facial recognition technology at events is a powerful tool that is rapidly expanding across industries. It can transform events by improving the user experience, increasing security, and providing data for event optimization. Our expert sales team is here to help you through tough decisions concerning your use of facial recognition at your live event. If you’ve been considering our identity solution for your organization, please reach out and book a consultation with us today.