Touchless Access Control Guide for Businesses

The era of touchless access control is coming, are you ready? The coronavirus pandemic may have moved into an endemic stage, but it has left long-lasting impacts on the way people live and work. Its outbreak prompted necessary changes to the old social interaction model, causing socially distant and virtual options to be embraced where possible to reduce virus transmission. For those returning to offices and jobsites, or for those that never left, touchless entry systems in busy areas remain important.

To reduce health and safety risks for employees in busy shared areas, we have multiple solutions for quick and secure touchless access controls, including the monitoring and management of multiple entrances and exits in commercial buildings, plus, access and timeclock systems for corporate offices, warehouses, factories, or laboratories. These areas benefit from fast and secure touchless access control solutions, reducing the potential for large crowds of people lining up to enter or leave at any one time.

According to global research, the coronavirus pandemic greatly accelerated the proportion of enterprises seeking touchless access control management. Moreover, adoption of these systems has been propelled by the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered biometric access control solutions.

Touchless access control management explained

Touchless access control systems are used to control the flow of employees, visitors, or other persons entering different areas of a site, using contact-free methods such as face or iris recognition, motion detection, or mobile device verification methods relying on NFC, QR codes or so on. Modern touchless systems offer distinct advantages over personnel entry and exit controls like fingerprint recognition, punch clock, personnel registration forms, counter card replacement, etc., as they limit the shared use of easily contaminated surfaces and tend to be much quicker and easier to integrate into smart office systems.

The top three benefits of enabling touchless access controls for businesses

In addition to effectively reducing the frequency of virus exposure, and strengthening epidemic prevention and other recommended controls, there are three major advantages to using touchless biometric access control in the workplace:

• Improve site security management: Touchless entry systems can deliver accurate AI-driven identity verification, combined with 24/7 all-weather monitoring of network security cameras. Together, these advances enhance site security and can reduce security staffing costs. Additional management controls can be implemented in this smart entry control system with administrators able to configure individual and group block lists, VIPs, and more.
• Accelerate clock-in speed and efficiency: Most traditional access control systems need to be augmented using employee identification cards, clock-in devices, associated cards and machinery. With touchless technologies, such as facial recognition time and attendance systems, personnel won't have to fumble for keys, cards, or fobs - but instead simply present biometric ID such as their face. Thus, touchless time and attendance systems provide fast and secure contactless access. Systems can also be configured for multi-person identification in order to process large incoming (or outgoing) crowds of people – for example, as factory shifts begin and end. Additionally, smart access control systems can also be easily extended to collect employee attendance records and provide various levels of access throughout a business premises according to IDs and work functions.
• Increase industrial safety and ensure the correct wearing of protective gear:The operation of equipment on construction sites or large manufacturing plants is complicated and should only be done by qualified personnel wearing the correct protective gear. Touchless facial recognition authorization can ensure that only qualified personnel can operate critical machinery and that they are wearing their protective face- and headgear correctly.

Further reading FaceMe TimeClock: Combining Facial Recognition with Attendance Systems in the Workplace

Five common touchless biometric access control management technologies

Different touchless access control technologies have particular strengths and weaknesses. It is important to consider a technology's implementation cost, installation time, system development and integration difficulty, as well as other factors, before committing to a solution. Below we consider the five most common touchless access control systems:

1. Facial recognition：Applying facial recognition technology to access control management has gained popularity in enterprises in recent years. It works by applying deep learning AI to convert an image of a face into a unique high-dimensional vector template. Subsequently, a database of registered biometric facial recognition data is used to verify an individual's identity.
2. Fingerprint identification：Fingerprint identification is probably one of the oldest established biometric identification technologies. In access control systems it verifies the identity of a specific person by comparing the uniquely patterned skin ridges at the end of the human finger with established records. Fingerprinting technology has recently joined the realm of touchless biometric verification thanks to advanced camera systems. Instead of pressing a digit onto a fingerprint reader, users can now authenticate their fingerprints optically, by simply showing their fingertips to the security camera lens.
3. Iris recognition：Access controls based on iris recognition technology recognize the annular area surrounding the pupil of a human eye. This is another human biometric quality that is thought to be unique. Iris recognition cameras scan the iris pattern through infrared light, and then compare the color and texture features to a database to confirm a person's identity.
4. Palmprint recognition：Palmprint recognition is a relatively new type of biometric identification technology. Again, the palm lines of every individual's hands are thought to be uniquely different. A modern palmprint reader goes deeper though, reading palmprint wrinkles, lines, the underlying veins and other information from a hand. Palmprint verification can be completed in a contactless manner and has been applied to in-store retail payment systems.
5. Mobile app unlocking：Using an app for touchless biometric access control employs the smart device's onboard unlocking system (PIN, fingerprint, face, iris) to send confirmation of their identity to an access terminal. The security control terminal can read the confirmation from the phone using technologies such as QR codes, Bluetooth, or NFC. Lastly, for added security, mobile devices can also be employed in a multi-factor authentication system.

Considering these five popular touchless access control technologies, facial recognition stands out for its appealing mix of qualities, speed, ease of implementation, and security. Furthermore, modern facial recognition technology is improving thanks to the use of deep neural networks (DNNs). For the utmost security, multi-angle facial recognition systems can be employed so recognition accuracy is further increased.

The five major advantages of using facial recognition access control for your business:

• Rapid and highly accurate recognition- it only takes half a second to verify an individual's identity
• Multiple faces can be detected simultaneously, even while people are in motion, reducing lines and improving ID verification efficiency
• Facial recognition can be flexibly integrated into an enterprise's existing VMS and security systems, reducing additional specialized hardware costs
• Plug-and-play facial recognition software can help enterprises upgrade traditional cameras to smart cameras, creating an all-in-one security control management system for employee attendance and access control
• Managers and administrators can set labels for specific faces or groups and implement communication systems to receive real-time alerts (e.g. SMS or email), shortening alert response times

Introduction to the FaceMe facial recognition engine

FaceMe is CyberLink’s AI facial recognition engine offering extensive facial recognition functionality including; face detection, 1:1 face comparison, and 1:N face search. In the US government's renowned NIST FRVT's 1:1 and 1:N performance tests it ranks near the top, with an accuracy rate of 99.73%. For individuals wearing masks, goggles, helmets - or if faces are partially obscured for any other reason – FaceMe is still highly accurate, achieving a score of 98.21%.

Addressing concerns about fraud and false matches, FaceMe's facial recognition engine passed the iBETA PAD Level 2 anti-spoofing tests in 2022 and has been demonstrated to effectively block 2D or 3D face spoofing attacks. Such protections are increasingly important in eKYC or remote access applications.

FaceMe is also cross-platform compatible, supporting a wide selection of operating systems (Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, Jetpack). The FaceMe software is optimized for mainstream CPUs, GPUs, VPUs and SoCs. It can operate flexibly on AIoT/IoT edge devices, high-end workstations, or office PCs. Companies can rapidly increase the scale of in-house facial recognition implementations to suit their existing hardware specifications, scale of operations, or business expansion needs.

Further reading How Does Facial Recognition Work?

How can companies create a facial recognition touchless access control system?

Facial recognition combined with security cameras, and flexible access control management systems, is expected to become the primary tool for enterprises to implement touchless smart security, and other varied smart office applications. The following will give a more detailed introduction to the three most common enterprise application scenarios of facial recognition:

1.Facial recognition combined with time and attendance systems

Traditionally attendance management was handled via a basic mechanical punch clock, or identification card swiping, however, many companies are now turning to contactless facial recognition systems. As well as removing any need for contact with shared surfaces, these AI-powered biometric attendance systems mean user ID cards won't be lost, stolen or used fraudulently.

FaceMe TimeClock is a facial recognition solution specially designed for verifying employee attendance. Thanks to its scalable nature, it can be deployed on systems ranging from a humble tablet or laptop with built-in web browser and camera, to more advanced GPU accelerated servers and established enterprise VMS. Human Resources Departments can directly view attendance records for each employee in the administrative user interface of FaceMe TimeClock, and can also search for specific employees by date, department, and attendance status using advanced filters.

FaceMe TimeClock is built on FaceMe Platform technology. The FaceMe Platform provides enterprises with a universal application programming interface (API) development platform for facial recognition. Using the API doesn't require professional programming or development skills, only some entry-level knowledge, and it can be used to quickly create practical facial recognition applications. If you want to know more about the FaceMe Platform, Please contact us.

2.Facial recognition integrated with video management systems (VMS)

To protect the safety of employees and company property, companies often set up network security cameras in various areas. It is then common to hire security personnel to monitor cameras around the clock, primarily to prevent unauthorized individuals from trespassing in controlled areas. However, when light is poor, the camera angle is too extreme, or other visual issues occur - the human eye isn't reliable for identity verification. Furthermore, the flow of people in and out of commercial buildings can be sporadic, and enterprises seeking to allocate security resources to monitor multiple areas with multiple cameras and irregular flows of personnel must make sure that there are enough staff available to ensure security. Personnel costs are relatively expensive, but solutions like FaceMe Security, which combines facial recognition with popular existing VMS, have become a logical choice for enterprises creating smart security controls.

What is FaceMe Security?

FaceMe Security is a touchless biometric access control solution designed with facial recognition technology at its core. It grants access rights only to those that satisfy its strict site access security controls. FaceMe Security can quickly identify a person through real-time face detection and face comparison. Offering a range of add-on functions and integrated services, such as time and attendance systems, body temperature monitoring cameras, camera recording and management systems, FaceMe Security can provide enterprises with secure site access management and controls.

Integrate with your existing VMS and communication system to upgrade security controls

FaceMe Security can be flexibly integrated with the world's most popular video management systems (VMS), including Milestone, Genetec, Network Optix Nx Witness, VIVOTEK VAST2, and the AXIS Camera Station (ACS). With the facial recognition functionality applied to these VMS, managers can monitor individual access, as well as classify groups of personnel using filters for employees, visitors, VIPs, or blocklists. For timely alerts from the FaceMe Security system, it is possible to integrate third-party messaging systems such as U Messager, Slack, LINE, SMS and others. These instant messaging alerts can be pushed to security or management personnel when specific persons or categories of persons are seen by the facial recognition system.

Automated smart security controls reduce business operating costs

Smart security's high degree of automation cuts the cost of hiring security guards dedicated to monitoring security cameras. One must also consider that some cameras may require monitoring 24/7 for 365 days a year, and the costs that involves. In addition to replacing costly human labor with smart security solutions, businesses can easily search for specific events, or draw the route of specific people, based on face identification. Any face recorded by the system can be used to directly search archived access control recording videos quickly, and lock on a specific person, to highlight their entry and exit times, and so on.

Further reading How Factories Can Use Facial Recognition for Access Control Systems

3.Face recognition as the foundation of a touchless access control system

Enterprise access control systems are mostly set up to protect private property and personnel safety, such as factory operation areas, warehouses, laboratories, offices and other areas. They can be purposed for granular control to areas with sensitive equipment, resources and data, allowing only specific persons privileges for access. With the rising profile of security and the importance of keeping intellectual property safe, facial recognition access control systems have started to become a mainstream solution for access control management.

A complete facial recognition access control system should have the following key characteristics:

• Accurate identity recognition
• Accurate identification of individuals, even when wearing glasses, helmets, masks, etc.
• Liveness detection and anti-spoofing technology, to prevent the use of either 2D photos or 3D masks

FaceMe provides access to the FaceMe SDK for developers and system integrators. Developers can leverage FaceMe facial recognition technology in their electronic locks or kiosks, as well as other systems and terminal hardware that could benefit from facial recognition functions and smart security. For example, using FaceMe to develop an enterprise epidemic prevention access control system, with facial recognition access control, means personnel identification and clocking-in or out can be completed within 0.5 seconds, creating an efficient and safer working environment.

If you are a system integrator or end user and do not use any software to enhance your VMS, the plug-and-play FaceMe Security is your best choice. Its built-in VMR Add-on (Video Monitoring and Recording) provides facial recognition technology for VMS with up to nine video surveillance feeds, with a floor view customized for each floor of the premises. Body temperature cameras can be included in these multi-camera systems, to monitor the body temperature of personnel as an epidemic prevention measure.

Further reading Why Facial Recognition Technology is Essential for Access Control Systems

Advance by applying an AI face recognition access control system in your business

The development of artificial intelligence and its application in business continues at a rapid pace, and enterprises need to keep up with the opportunities delivered by AI to maintain their competitiveness. Facial recognition is already widely used in areas such as retail, restaurant, finance, hotel check-in and check-out services, medical and other related industries. Additionally, facial recognition for security control is a natural fit to effectively strengthen building access management, reduce costly security personnel and operating costs, and improve employee efficiency.