Panasonic's Facial Recognition Gate Selected by Ministry of Justice

Osaka, Japan - Panasonic Corporation announced today that its facial recognition gate has been chosen by the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice to streamline immigration procedures at a major Japanese airport in an easy and secure fashion.

As part of the measures to be implemented for the increasing number of foreign visitors, the Justice Ministry has been considering using facial recognition technology to streamline the departure and return processes for Japanese travelers. Since October 18, 2017, three units of Panasonic's facial recognition gate have been put into operation at Tokyo International Airport's immigration control. The system is contributing to the smooth immigration examination of Japanese travelers returning home. Without the need for prior registration of biometric data, the system compares photographic data of the traveler's face in the IC chip embedded in the person's passport with a photo taken at the facial recognition gate to verify the identity.

Panasonic's facial recognition gate was newly designed to streamline the departure and arrival processes of Japanese nationals, based on the concept of a simple, secure, and safe solution where both first-timers and the elderly can pass through the gate without delay, frustration, or confusion. This system will be available only in Japan for the time being.

The gate has the following features: (1) Intuitive usability for first-timers and the elderly thanks to the ergonomic design and sophisticated technology the company has developed for passport readers; (2) High performance of the facial recognition engine with advanced technology that can deal with appearance-altering variations such as aging, makeup, facial expression, and image quality; and (3) Spatial design and overall service design that enable the optimum arrangement in a limited space based on field trials.

Panasonic will continue to help authorities implement smooth and strict immigration control procedures at airports and seaports throughout Japan as the country aims to establish itself as a tourism nation toward 2020 and beyond. The company also aims to provide various solutions for consumers by combining its passport and facial recognition technologies.

[Features and concepts of Panasonic's facial recognition gate]

The concept of the gate is a simple, secure, and safe facial recognition gate solution where both first-timers and the elderly can go through without delay, frustration, or confusion in order to streamline the departure and arrival procedures for Japanese citizens.

Based on this concept, Panasonic has employed various advanced technologies that meet a number of requirements considered necessary to operate the gate properly. They include the advance elimination of factors that can cause false rejections, countermeasures against unauthorized entry and high-performance facial recognition engine. To improve usability, it has also achieved the following features through research and field trials in collaboration with external research institutes such as universities.

(1) Easy-to-use gate units for first-timers and the elderly with improved usability

• • A new passport reader that accepts passports in any orientation
• • Ergonomics-based all-in-one compact design of the facial recognition gate that improves usability (Good Design Award 2017 winner)
• • Various control terminal screens for the operation and management of the system that can be selected according to examination procedures

(2) A high performance facial recognition engine and fraud detection function that employ advanced technology

• • Highly accurate facial recognition engine that can deal with appearance-altering variations of the users
• • Ability to detect unauthorized entry such as tailgating

(3) Spatial design and overall service design that enable the optimum arrangement in a limited space

• • Flexible layouts in accordance with the number of units and the installation area
• • User experience (UX) design throughout the immigration examination area

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