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Facial access control for ministry

The Ministry of Culture in Saudi Arabia has a crucial role to play in delivering Saudi Arabia’s ambitious transformation programme, Vision 2030. Its goal is to contribute towards building a vibrant, thriving and ambitious nation.

The Ministry formally launched on the 27 March 2019 with the publication of its cultural vision for the Kingdom. This set out the Ministry’s key aspirations, which are promoting culture as a way of life, enabling culture to contribute to economic growth and creating opportunities for international cultural exchange.

ZKTeco was given the task of installing a new access control system that would provide enhanced security for the Ministry’s new office building.

Client requirements

Among the client’s access control requirements was to implement verification methods suitable for different needs. While the Ministry was impressed by ZKTeco’s visible light facial recognition technology as it is able to operate under normal lighting environment and no longer needs infrared sensors, it was also a concern that most Muslim females’ faces are covered. Therefore, apart from facial recognition, the client required the solution to provide different biometric verification methods that are compatible with different users’ needs.

Twelve ZKTeco FBL5000 Flap Barriers were deployed at the entrance of the building. Each barrier is equipped with a ProFace X Visible Light Facial Recognition access control terminal and a FR1200 fingerprint reader. Additionally, there are four other doors and the ProFace X and FR1200 are also installed at each.

All staff are registered with their personal information, face images and fingerprints. Whenever they enter the building, they are required to either scan their faces or fingerprints for verification. Only upon successful verification are they allowed to have access to the building.

Each staff member is also provided with a staff card containing their personal information. It is an RFID card which can be scanned by the access control terminals. Visitors are also required to register their faces and fingerprints to gain access. A benefit of the ProFace X is that a selfie can be used to register staff and visitors, although IP cameras have also been deployed on-site for photo registration.

The ProFace X can handle a maximum of 50 000 facial templates, facial recognition speeds are less than 0.3 seconds per face, and it includes anti-spoofing capabilities against almost all types of fake photo and video attacks. The FR1200 is an IP65-rated, rugged fingerprint reader offering extra durability in all weather conditions, including outdoor environments.

All terminals and readers are connected by the InBioPro access controllers and are centrally managed by the ZKBioSecurity access control software. The system’s status can be reviewed anytime and access control reports can be easily generated.

ZKBioSecurity is a web-based security platform developed by ZKTeco. It contains multiple integrated modules: access control, time attendance, elevator control (online/offline), hotel module, visitor management, parking, guard patrol and video linkage. It also offers an optimised system architecture designed for high-level biometric identification and a modern, user-friendly interface.

In the next phase, the client is planning to integrate the facial recognition system with other systems, such as ERP, CRM and HR management systems. All these integrations can be easily achieved as through the ZKBioSecurity API, creating an intelligent office for the ministry.

For more information, contact ZKTeco (SA), +27 12 259 1047, sales@zkteco.co.za, www.zkteco.co.za.

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