Soccer Hall of Fame to Use NEC’s Facial Recognition for Personalized Visitor Experience

“…NEC’s facial recognition technology will be used to offer personalized information displays and experiences throughout the facility via its touchscreens and VR systems.”

NEC is going to see a relatively unique deployment of its NeoFace facial recognition technology when the National Soccer Hall of Fame opens this autumn.

The company has been working with National Soccer Hall of Fame administrators on a system that will be used to tailor the visitor experience on an individual level, using biometric identification. When guests first arrive, they’ll be prompted to share their hometown, favorite teams and positions, and to indicate their overall level of interest in soccer. From there, NEC’s facial recognition technology will be used to offer personalized information displays and experiences throughout the facility via its touchscreens and VR systems.

In a statement announcing the partnership, NEC Corporation of America President Mark Ikeno elaborated on the project. “With the opening of the Hall of Fame, soccer fans will be able to experience their favorite teams, players and moments in soccer history by just walking up to the various exhibits after registering with the system,” he said. “We believe this experience is unique in the sports world.”

It’s a novel deployment for NEC, which usually offers its facial recognition technology for security applications to government and enterprise clients, though the company has frequently showcased the next generation marketing capabilities of NeoFace. And the news comes soon after the announcement that NEC technology was being integrated into new smartphones, suggesting that the company is broadening its horizons with respect to NeoFace applications, perhaps as a result of the increasing mainstreaming of facial recognition in the consumer space.

The National Soccer Hall of Fame will be located in Frisco, Texas, and is slated to open on October 24th, 2018.

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August 23, 2018 – by Alex Perala