IDEMIA launches VisionPass facial recognition

Issue 4 2020 Editor's Choice

IDEMIA has launched its VisionPass facial recognition solution in Africa, offering secure and contactless access control to companies of all sizes and in all markets. Hi-Tech Security Solutions spoke to Nicolas Garcia, sales director (Biometric Terminals), Middle East & Africa at IDEMIA to find out more about VisionPass.

Garcia explains, “VisionPass is a facial recognition device, designed with and for our clients, with speed, hygiene and performance in mind. It builds on IDEMIA’s experience in biometrics and expands upon our facial recognition algorithms.

“For us, frictionless means more than contactless, it is the combination of security, speed and convenience for a better user experience. VisionPass is IP65 certified which means that it is fit for both indoor and outdoor purposes. It includes a variety of technologies to ensure that people are accurately identified within a wide range of uncontrolled conditions, such as light and weather.”

To ensure the accuracy and security of its facial recognition capabilities, the device includes a camera set that takes 2D, 3D and Infrared images, analyses and compares them to make sure that there is a real person in front of the device and that the correct person is identified. Additionally, the system ensures that identification still takes place accurately, no matter what the person may be wearing, for example, spectacles or a cap etc.

Garcia explains that the mix of the three technologies (2D, 3D and Infrared), ensures that one cannot use a picture, whether printed or on digital media, or a video (which is an aggregation of 2D pictures), or even a 3D mask to gain access. The 3D camera picks up several thousand points on a face and ensures consistency of the information and therefore that the person is physically present. The infrared camera ensure that one can be identified even when lighting conditions are not optimal.

To ensure that it can handle all scenarios, Garcia says the wide-angle capture enables frictionless access to people between 120 cm tall (for someone in a wheelchair, for example), up to 200 cm. “The users don’t need to adjust or compensate for the VisionPass device, the device adjusts for them.”

While there are some companies offering enrolment for facial recognition via a ‘selfie’, Garcia explains that this is basically a 2D picture which can easily be manipulated for fraudulent purposes. “Although we recognise the convenience of using 2D pictures, we currently make use of the 3D functionality within VisionPass to raise the level of security and to ensure the person is physically in front of the reader.”


Nicolas Garcia.

For this reason, enrolment of people is done quickly and easily in front of the VisionPass device. This adds further security features for the individual and the company, such as the processing and encoding of templates on the device, which can be transferred through a secured network to a server for user rights management.

“VisionPass is aimed at environments where hygiene and security is a concern and where the use of fingerprints is not possible or not recommended,” adds Garcia. “It is specifically adapted for high throughput areas, being able to handle up to 30 people per minute.”

Additionally, he explains, “To facilitate integration into existing access control systems, VisionPass follows the IDEMIA philosophy in that it can be integrated with a range of management platforms, whether our own MorphoManager or any of our partners’ platforms.”


Credit(s)




Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

Deepfakes and digital trust
Editor's Choice
By securing the video right from the specific camera that captured it, there is no need to prove the chain of custody for the video, you can verify the authenticity at every step.

Read more...
A new generational framework
Editor's Choice Training & Education
Beyond Generation X, and Millennials, Dr Chris Blair discusses the seven decades of technological evolution and the generations they defined, from the 1960’s Mainframe Cohort, to the 2020’s AI Navigators.

Read more...
Back-up securely and restore in seconds
Betatrac Telematic Solutions Editor's Choice Information Security Infrastructure
Betatrac has a solution that enables companies to back-up up to 8 TB of data onto a device and restore it in 30 seconds in an emergency, called Rapid Access Data Recovery (RADR).

Read more...
Key design considerations for a control room
Leaderware Editor's Choice Surveillance Training & Education
If you are designing or upgrading a control room, or even reviewing or auditing an existing control room, there are a number of design factors that one would need to consider.

Read more...
CCTV control room operator job description
Leaderware Editor's Choice Surveillance Training & Education
Control room operators are still critical components of security operations and will remain so for the foreseeable future, despite the advances of AI, which serves as a vital enhancement to the human operator.

Read more...
A passport to offline backups
SMART Security Solutions Technews Publishing Editor's Choice Infrastructure Smart Home Automation
SMART Security Solutions tested a 6 TB WD My Passport and found it is much more than simply another portable hard drive when considering the free security software the company includes with the device.

Read more...
Navigating the complexities of privileged access management
Editor's Choice Access Control & Identity Management
Privileged Access Management and Identity Access Management are critical pillars of modern cybersecurity, designed to secure access to sensitive resources, enforce principles like least privilege, and implement just-in-time access controls.

Read more...
Rewriting the rules of reputation
Technews Publishing Editor's Choice Security Services & Risk Management
Public Relations is more crucial than ever in the generative AI and LLMs age. AI-driven search engines no longer just scan social media or reviews, they prioritise authoritative, editorial content.

Read more...
Efficient, future-proof estate security and management
Technews Publishing ElementC Solutions Duxbury Networking Fang Fences & Guards Secutel Technologies OneSpace Technologies DeepAlert SMART Security Solutions Editor's Choice Information Security Security Services & Risk Management Residential Estate (Industry) AI & Data Analytics IoT & Automation
In February this year, SMART Security Solutions travelled to Cape Town to experience the unbelievable experience of a city where potholes are fixed, and traffic lights work; and to host the Cape Town SMART Estate Security Conference 2025.

Read more...
Historic Collaboration cuts ATM Bombings by 30%
Online Intelligence Editor's Choice News & Events Security Services & Risk Management
Project Big-Bang, a collaborative industry-wide task team, has successfully reduced ATM bombings in South Africa by 30,7% during the predetermined measurement period of November, December and January 2024/5.

Read more...