Face recognition experts are carrying out groundbreaking research to improve the effectiveness of suspect identification on surveillance footage and adding lip movement and speech pattern recognition to existing face recognition.
A new combination of lip reading and speech recognition capabilities offers law enforcers new ways of securing valuable evidence about a suspect's identity from video, faster and more accurately than has ever been possible before.
The project, being carried out jointly by face recognition experts OmniPerception and international defense and security company BAE Systems, is set to transform the development of biometric recognition technology worldwide.
This research will take forward new advanced face finding and tracking technology for use with surveillance footage, and improved automatic detection and understanding of behavior and events, for multicamera systems.
The US$2.14 million project is being funded by BAE Systems through its Investment in Innovation program. The Investment In Innovation program was set up in 2008 to encourage and support innovative small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the development and delivery of new technology to improve security, in the UK and world-wide. The face recognition and behavioral biometric work with OmniPerception is one of the program's first projects.
This work builds on OmniPerception's existing capability to develop and deliver technology for the security market. BAE Systems' presence not only supports the development of state-of-the-art technology but also ensures that the core biometric technology is bringing real benefit to the operators of UK law enforcement and security systems.
David McIntosh, CEO of OmniPerception said, “The full potential of CCTV as a defensive security measure and as an investigative tool has yet to be realized. One of the keys to it is better automation, faster and more accurate. At a time when many agencies need improved confidence in these areas, our work with BAE Systems is designed to deliver new high tech solutions that make a real difference.”
David Mullin of BAE Systems said, “Our investment in this working partnership with OmniPerception underlines our confidence in the vital part this innovative company already plays in improving security through biometric and image processing technology, and its ability to take present day security capabilities to new even higher levels.”
The 18 month-long project will see BAE Systems provide financial, project management and engineering support to the team of experts from OmniPerception conducting the main research and development program.