NICTA face tech wins R&D gong

Beverley Head
Monday, 14 November 2011 16:58

Business IT - Security

Australian developed face recognition technology which can identify people using low resolution CCTV images has taken out a major international R&D award. The NICTA developed technology has already been installed in one Asia Pacific country to manage border control and is also the foundation for a free iPhone app launched quietly this year that allows people to use their phones to photo and identify up to 50 people (or their pets).

Professor Brian Lovell, from the University of Queensland and leader of NICTA's Advanced Surveillance Project, said the technology had won merit awards at both the State and National iAwards, but has been named the winner of the ICT R&D prize at the Asia-Pacific ICT Alliance Awards in Thailand.

Professor Lovell has been working in the field since 2000 and now has a team of 20 people involved in the project. The NICTA Face Search Engine differs from many other facial recognition programmes in that it analyses low quality images and can be used in non-cooperative settings.

While facial biometric recognition is already used in Australia to verify the identity of someone when checked against a passport photo taken under finely controlled and cooperative conditions, NICTA's technology can identify 'persons of interest' using CCTV footage of a crowd. Professor Lovell said that during a recent trial the technology successfully pinpointed 11 out of a total 12 persons of interest in airport footage monitoring arrivals off seven jets.

'That technology's going to be deployed at that airport next year,' he said.

In August a free app called eyeContact which makes use of NICTA's technology was quietly launched on the Apple appstore which allows people to take photos of people and link their image to their names. If the user forgets someone's name they use the phone to take a photo and up pops their name.

He said it worked for pets too.