Nowadays, biometric authenticated secure mobile payments have become very popular, which shows just how much importance people place on personal security. It is a huge market. According to a recent report by Emergen Research, the Biometrics-as-a-Service global market size is predicted to surpass USD 6.4 billion by 2028.
This encompasses not only building security but also mobile devices, etc. And that is just the consumers, the individuals. When you look at larger organizations such as corporations, industrial complexes or government buildings, security is paramount, and biometrics is king.
Facial recognition has long had a reputation for having a “one-race bias,” meaning that any facial recognition system would typically only be able to recognize people of the same ethnicity as its developer since that is what the AI is trained to “see.” In the early 2000s, fingerprint recognition technology was the leading biometric solution.
This technology requires complex algorithms for image processing, as well as custom hardware and software. However, Suprema India had the competitiveness of the researchers fit for the task, so the company went on to develop its own fingerprint recognition algorithm.
Based on this algorithm, Suprema took first place in the Asia of 2002 Fingerprint Verification Competition, and in 2004, it ranked first in the world. Fast-forward to 2021, and this highest-rated technology is now Suprema’s facial recognition and mobile access solutions.
Under the adept leadership of Shreyans Vasa, Country Manager at Suprema India, worked tirelessly to overcome this limitation. It is proud to say that it is amongst the industry-leading companies in this niche. FaceStation F2 biometric terminal is capable of recognizing people of any ethnicity, in any lighting conditions, a factor that has helped us to lead the biometric security market in the global market.
Shreyans also expressed, “together with face recognition, we are also looking at a big move in the mobile access area. Suprema has spined off MOCA inc. as affiliates in 2019 to grow its mobile access business, and MOCA has successfully made a quantum leap in the mobile access area.”
“Suprema is always trying to give more valuable solutions and services to customers, and we are constantly facing challenges when we try to make this kind of effort work in the market,” he added.
Exemplary Leadership Charisma
Shreyans Vasa is the Country Manager at Suprema India. He has extensive experience with a wide range of access control and security technology, including biometric devices, CCTV surveillance, fire alarm detection and suppression and building management system and intrusion security, as well as related technology such as time/attendance systems telecom, and other industrial solutions.
He joined the Suprema India team in 2020, following a decade-long career in team management. Shreyans has a Bachelor of Technology degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering and a Mini MBA in Business Administration, Management and Operations.
A plethora of Perpetual Innovations
The global pandemic has also undoubtedly had an impact on the industry, however. A report by Omdia revealed that revenues from biometric reader sales declined by 6.9% from 2019 to 2020, owing to the impact of COVID-19. As these numbers include fingerprint readers, this should not be surprising when the rising interest in contactless access control is considered. However, sales of contactless facial recognition readers are still going strong—a fact to which we can attest.
Since a lot of people no longer want to touch public access points such as door handles, RFID cards, etc., one knock-on effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a rising interest in contactless access control. This has resulted in a plethora of new vendors entering the space to fill the demand. However, Suprema has been innovating and pioneering contactless access control for over ten years, specifically facial recognition.
Ushering an Era of Reliability
During this time, the company has seen a market grow steadily, thanks to advancements in technology that increases accuracy and user comfort. While the core technology itself is nothing new, the team of Suprema believes that the pandemic has affected the public in such a way that acceptance of facial recognition and other contactless access control is much more commonplace.
For some examples of Suprema’s contactless devices, our above-mentioned FaceStation F2 facial recognition access control terminal is extremely fast—it can authenticate and grant access as people walk by without requiring everyone to stop and look at the camera. Suprema has recently released X-Station 2 and AirFob Patch, which are both very versatile mobile access devices that use Bluetooth and NFC technology to read digital access cards stored on a smartphone.
This allows admins to send access cards in advance via email, and visitors can walk straight in—zero face-to-face contact required. AirFob Patch is also particularly easy to install—it can be attached to an existing RFID reader via an adhesive strip and requires no electrical plug or batteries. These are some of the contactless devices that have been selling very well during this pandemic period.
Evolving Around the Emerging Technologies
There have also been significant technological advancements during the past couple of years. There are a lot of opportunities to be found in the growing sophistication of Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning, both areas where Suprema has a core competence.
There is also a growing demand for access control devices supporting multiple authentication methods. Suprema believes that it will become increasingly important in the future for systems to seamlessly support this kind of flexibility. In a world that is increasingly placing more and more emphasis on both personal and corporate security, biometrics are definitely here to stay. However, if used incorrectly, such data can be used for ill purposes.
Towards Comprehensive and Eminent Advancements
Biometric authentication access terminals strengthen security systems for the companies that install them. But they also offer a range of benefits for the people that actually pass through these access points, including staff, management, customers, and visitors.
Facial recognition, for example, has become the gold standard for contactless identity verification, which has become particularly important during the ongoing pandemic. Suprema’s FaceStation F2 can authenticate users as quickly as they walk past — when installed at a checkpoint with touchless turnstiles, visitors can pass through very quickly with the minimum physical contact required.
On the other hand, you have fingerprint recognition, which offers the high level of security that biometric authentication has to offer, even while people are wearing masks or are otherwise covering their faces. And for those who require very high levels of security, it is possible to store biometric information on physical RFID cards or digital mobile access cards.
Meaning, that you could set up an access point to require all three types of identity verification: fingerprint, facial recognition and a swipe of an RFID or mobile access card. This makes it virtually impossible for anyone to spoof their identity and gain unauthorized access.
Indulging in the Pearls of Wisdom
Sharing a piece of advice for the budding aspirants, Shreyans shared, “As such, it is important for new entrepreneurs to consider how best to respect and secure the privacy and rights of those who—consensually or unwittingly—give up their biometric identifying information.”
Embracing the Future Roadmap
Suprema envisions a future where security and human rights can continue to coexist harmoniously. Suprema ranks first in global market share in the field of biometric readers, largely thanks to our top-of-the-line visual recognition systems.
The company believes that visual recognition technology will soon spill over into the security industry, with surveillance cameras featuring built-in AI capable of efficiently alerting people when it identifies smoke, intrusions, weapons and other suspicious or dangerous activities.
Essentially, Suprema envisions a future where access control and security are merged as one, with everything being controlled by cameras and AI.
However, this means that Suprema will have to change its business model to take advantage of this market opportunity. Over the past 20 years, it has been focused on access control and developed everything in-house. But now, Suprema is now looking to make partnerships that can help in building synergies.
Suprema aims to develop its visual recognition algorithms to not only recognize faces but also, for example, weapons, suspicious body movements or smoke. As this requires crossing into a technology sector, though the company does not yet have much experience with, the right partnerships will make all the difference.
Recognition of Achievements
The main advantages of working with Suprema for us are that it is a product we know really well. It integrates fully with our current infrastructure; it sits with our existing technology portfolio, working seamlessly with Windows, Net2 and our iOS environments. And importantly, it protects the school’s current investment structure.
- Paul Hancox, IT Systems Director at Wolverhampton Grammar School
Suprema’s (fingerprint terminal) solution has given us confidence that the building is secured, and you can have different levels of access. For example, there are some offices that certain staff do not have permission to be in.
A relative visiting (WCS Care’s home for senior citizens with dementia) could have access to the front door, but they do not have access to offices. The flexibility in the system has been beneficial for the staff.
- Ed Russell, Director of Innovation and Development at WCS Care
