NATIONAL CHARITY ADOPTS FACIAL RECOGNITION
TECHNOLOGY TO HELP IDENTIFY MISSING PERSONS
4 March 2004
The National Missing Persons Helpline (NMPH) is one of the latest organisations to sign up
for a new generation of facial recognition technology. The charity recently launched the first
online database of missing persons in the UK, and the software will act as a valuable search
tool to help identify these people.
Auriole Prince, Head of the Identification and Reconstruction Department at NMPH, is very
aware of the potential that the software has for the Charity in their work for identifying
missing persons.
“The NMPH is thrilled to be working with Aurora’s cutting edge facial recognition software
package, Gallery. We are now using the software as a tool to help identify more people who
may have been reported missing. Gallery allows us to compare images of unidentified persons
against the vast database of missing persons’ photographs in a matter of seconds. This is an
invaluable resource for the NMPH.”
The software, provided by Aurora, the UK’s leading supplier of facial recognition technology,
has also been taken up by a number of innovative UK police forces looking for new ways to
improve their operations. The identification product, known as Gallery, allows a facial image
to be checked against a database of known images. The database is then reordered, within
seconds, to present the most likely matches on screen. Those currently implementing the
system include West Midlands Police, Greater Manchester Police, West Yorkshire Police,
The Ministry of Defence Police, Northamptonshire Police and Hampshire Constabulary.
Together with the NMPH, these forces are moving towards the latest product to be released in
the ‘facerec’ range – eGallery. This web-enabled version of the identification product will
provide greater scope for those using the software, as it will become accessible force-wide
across a secure intranet. An ‘early adopters’ group has been formed that will allow the police
forces and the NMPH to meet regularly with Aurora to work on ways of developing the
software further to meet individual needs. From a policing perspective, the technology will
act as a valuable investigative tool to help search custody databases for unidentified suspects.
These databases often contain tens of thousands of images, and simply cannot be searched
manually.
Hugh Carr-Archer, CEO of Aurora, is delighted for the company to be working with members
of the ‘early adopters’ group. “The scope and potential of the software is fantastic, but we are
keen to ensure that it is developed carefully, in line with user requirements. Meeting regularly
with those using the product is a really effective way of successfully developing the product to
a high specification.”
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About Aurora
Aurora Computer Services Ltd was founded in 1998 to develop biometric solutions
particularly regarding security, surveillance and access control. After a period of rapid
product development, its face recognition programs are in use in operations involving
transport, construction, import/export and the police. It is the UK’s leading provider of
working face recognition software. It is a strategic partner of Identix Corporation, New
Jersey, the leading developer of face recognition technology worldwide.
More information on Aurora can be accessed via the company’s website at
www.auroracs.co.uk or by calling 0870 606 0412.
facerec.com
steve
ps, Facerec=FaceIt
facerec.com |
