NEC, NTT DOCOMO Trial Facial Recognition Over 5G

“…with NEC’s ‘Context-aware Service Controller’, the system is designed to dynamically allocate network resources as needed, switching to high-definition images only when faces are detected.”

A trial of facial recognition technology from NEC could point to how such technology could be used in the 5G future.

The company has announced that it has provided a demo system based on its NeoFace biometric engine to NTT DOCOMO, Japan’s biggest Mobile Network Operator, for evaluation in the DOCOMO 5G Open Lab OKINAWA, a newly established testing center for 5G technologies. The companies are looking to trial the operation of NEC’s facial recognition system over a 5G cellular network.

The demo uses Multi-access Edge Computing, which NEC described in a statement as “a network architecture concept for next-generation communications”. The company added that with 5G connectivity, MEC architecture “enables instantaneous face recognition under mobile networks.”

And with NEC’s ‘Context-aware Service Controller’, the system is designed to dynamically allocate network resources as needed, switching to high-definition images only when faces are detected.

The trial is only just getting underway, but it already indicates how the evolution of cellular network connectivity will enable enable expanded applications of biometric technology, with NEC asserting that this particular system being trialled “makes it easier to introduce a temporary face recognition system at an event venue without the need for new cable installation.”

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January 18, 2019 – by Alex Perala