BriefCam Bytes: Demystifying Face Recognition Technology

BriefCam Face Recognition Explained

BriefCam provides Face Recognition (FR) as one of the many features in our comprehensive Video Analytics Platform. Face Recognition is powered by deep learning – a subset of artificial intelligence – and is used to match faces to a source image by correlating biometric features.

BriefCam Face Recognition encodes facial features to a feature-vector representing a face. This vector is then compared with feature-vectors extracted from images that have been added to a watchlist. The output is a score approximating the probability of the feature vectors belonging to the same person. A matching score above a certain threshold will be considered a positive match by BriefCam Face Recognition, which then needs to be confirmed by the system operator.

Additionally, BriefCam supports scalable face recognition watchlist management and powerful alert configuration to enable rapid notification when selected faces or faces in a watchlist are detected in your environment.

Supporting Responsible Use of Advanced Technology

When intelligent technology – of any kind – experiences significant advancement, questions are always raised about how to implement critical capabilities while addressing ethical concerns like privacy. Because our company is committed to empowering positive impact through innovative and intelligent technology, BriefCam enables its Face Recognition end users with tools to support the use of its software in compliance with local privacy laws and our responsible use of technology expectations. ​BriefCam Face Recognition does not directly or indirectly interface with third party image databases for monitoring and identifying people.

Data Protection and Privacy

Additionally, many people are rightfully concerned with the collection and storage of their personal information. ​BriefCam, the company, does not store personal information on individuals or vehicles either by itself or through its users. BriefCam has no access to images or video stored on its software, as they are the sole property of the end customer. Images used for face recognition are individually uploaded into the system by the end customer or identified in its video content.

Because end users could be collecting and/or processing video data on servers that include the BriefCam Video Analytics Platform, it is important for end users to adhere to both BriefCam’s expectations for responsible and ethical use of its technology and the applicable government regulations for their country or region. In order to support your critical compliance efforts, BriefCam is proud to offer customers GDPR-friendly software and guidance for utilizing and configuring the system in compliance with GDPR standards.

BriefCam without Face Recognition

For end user organizations that cannot or prefer not to utilize face recognition as part of the BriefCam Video Analytics Platform, BriefCam offers a version of the BriefCam platform with face recognition completely deactivated and excluded from the user interface.

Face Recognition Technology On-Prem vs. In the Cloud

BriefCam is an on-premises solution, meaning the technology is hosted locally on a customer’s servers. What does this mean for Face Recognition with our solution:

• Local Processing: Facial recognition computations are performed locally within the end user organization’s infrastructure.
• Data Security: All facial recognition data is stored and processed on the end user organization’s servers, providing a higher level of control over data security and privacy.
• Compliance: Some industries or regions with stringent data protection regulations may prefer on-premise solutions to ensure compliance.
• Latency: Processing occurs on-site, reducing latency compared to cloud-based solutions

While on-site solutions are ideal for data security and privacy, face recognition can still be deployed on cloud-based solutions where the processing is performed by the cloud provider.

• Cloud Processing: Facial recognition computations are performed in the cloud, by the cloud provider.
• Data Storage: Facial data is stored on cloud servers, raising concerns about data security and the potential for unauthorized access.
• Data Transmission: During data transfer between the client and the cloud, there’s a risk of interception if proper security measures are not in place.
• Accessibility: Accessible from anywhere with an internet connection.

Face recognition technology is a critical technology. Not only can it support increased security and save lives, but it can also be leveraged to provide data-backed business intelligence that can enhance our experiences in areas as diverse as banking and healthcare. Face recognition technology holds an important place in our world, and BriefCam is committed to supporting and advocating for its ethical implementation as it becomes more sophisticated and widely adopted.

Interested in learning more about BriefCam’s Face Recognition technology? check out our technical white paper on BriefCam Face Recognition.