Does facial recognition tech help or hinder? Learn how TouchByte uses facial recognition to support you, your business and society.
by Sophia Murjaneh, Penryn College.
Cornish company, TouchByte describes facial recognition as “a way of picking up various points on a face to trigger something, whether that be to recognise an individual, to analyse points on face or to look at gender, age and even emotions.” At a later date this data can be used to benefit businesses.
The company has visions of using their technology to make simple changes that have a big difference to society.
Facial recognition is most commonly used in security and law enforcement, however CEO of the company TouchByte, Jeremy Sneller, has discovered new ways of using this technology to benefit businesses and individuals.
““Once people start using it, people just won’t go back, it’s just so efficient. You walk up to something, it happens, you don’t have to worry about have I still got my keys on me, have I got my phone. It’s just simple, efficient and secure.””
Andrea using Facenty at a Cornish Carehome.
The company uses various types of facial recognition services to benefit different sectors of work and different needs.
One example of this is Facestream, which recognises genders, ages, emotions and features, rather than specific people, helping businesses to identify the demographic of customers they attract. This gives concrete information so that businesses can understand their pain points. It can also count numbers of people entering and exiting an area, therefore enabling businesses to recognise when their busiest times are, so that they can adjust sales, employment and marketing.
An increase in business revenue is also expected by improving customer experience and personalisation due to knowing the demographic of their customers, as well as making work environments more efficient, reducing queueing and even allowing employers to work out how much they earn at specific times in the day, based on the number of customers and staff and viewing trends in sales.
Jeremy Sneller says “It will make the businesses more profitable, and the productivity will increase”
For example, if a coffee shop knows that their busiest time is on a Saturday 12pm-3pm, they can plan to have extra staff at this time to accommodate the larger number of customers.
Alternatively, Facestream can be placed at the entrance to a clothes shop, so, when a person walks in, the camera will identify their age and gender and advertise on a screen brands and clothes in the shop that they may be most interested in. For example, in winter, if an elderly lady walks in, the advert may show knitwear and jackets instead of shorts and a crop top.
The age recognition in this software is also currently being used for ID purposes.
TouchByte also uses Facentry technology that can be used to identify individuals based on specific features that are then converted into a series of numbers and measurements. This can be used in businesses for employees to sign in and out of their workplaces, allowing employers to track attendance and appropriately manage overtime pay. Alternatively, it can be used as a security device instead of a password, key card or fingerprint scanner, to regulate access to areas.
““My vision is, why don’t we unlock our car, a house or office, go to the gym, to a hotel, and we don’t have to worry about how we are going to access those.””
Currently there are over 6 billion key cards being used around the world, a huge use of plastic, that affects our environment. Using facial recognition doesn’t use plastic or energy, all that is needed is you and your face. Furthermore, the software does not require passwords that may be hacked and shared or keys that get lost.
However, Facentry doesn’t have to be security based, it can be used to personalise experiences, recognise when a specific person enters a space so that you can go straight to them for service purposes. This software is called NotifyMe
The technology also works with masks, sunglasses, glasses, beards, any type of hair, and identities rarely need to be updated.
TouchByte products can even be personalised and made to suit the look of an area or space!
Customers say, “the thing I like most about it is it’s versatility”. This is represented in the variety of types of camera and the wide range of ways these cameras can help your business.
Jeremy Sneller
Managing Director, TouchByte
Jeremy Sneller has worked in various sectors of artificial intelligence. He has previously been a sales director for a large global giant, NEC, which uses facial recognition to improve security. He founded TouchByte in 2015 to help businesses and generate more revenue. He believes that “the opportunities are phenomenal”.
Jeremy says that facial recognition use in business is completely different to its use in governmental work, and can provide massive advances in security, efficiency and convenience.
Facial recognition use in governmental work has a negative cloud hanging around it due to alleged breaches of privacy, however, TouchByte does not need any personal information to work, it is GDPR compliant and security regulations over this type of software are tight meaning it is reliable and safe. Moreover, the accuracy of the software is now almost 100% and it is a perfect time to start investing.
Jeremy has explained that facial recognition services in businesses has “massive potential”.
TouchByte has supported businesses all over the UK to develop and adapt to customer needs. For example, they implemented Facentry into Goonhilly Earth Station, which allowed them to increase security into their mission control room, and have a record of who uses these rooms, and when they were used. Furthermore, the cameras have a liveness check on them so it can separate pictures or videos from real people, making areas much more secure.
Goonhilly’s estate manager commented that:
“The system is reliable, easy to use and has, being contactless, helped us further protect our staff during the COVID pandemic. It has been great working with the TouchByte team.”
Currently TouchByte is currently working with businesses like Microsoft, Vodafone, Wildanet and the NHS.
Jeremy Sneller also mentioned that construction businesses could particularly benefit from the technology because it is a legal requirement for them to know who is on site. Using facial recognition, which is much more hygienic than a thumbprint scan, allows construction sites to have a record of who is working where in the business and if anything, such as a fire or accident, happens they can immediately know where each individual is to help them.
Furthermore, key codes rarely get changed so people who no longer work at the business can easily access things that they shouldn’t be able to, but with Facentry you can easily delete a person from the system without having to change anything else.
Construction company, Midas, worked with TouchByte and said face recognition is “excellent for ensuring a Health and Safety compliant site”.
TouchByte have also worked with care homes, allowing residents to have much more freedom and making areas more accessible to them. One customer stated that TouchByte had given them “much more autonomy” in their life.
Others say “that’s what I love about Facentry – the simplicity of it. You don’t even think about it. It just works. I love it.”
Kelly using personalised Facentry camera at Midas Bodmin Construction Site.
TouchByte and the technology that it uses has huge growth potential, for example in the leisure industry, Jeremy said that TouchByte “can give them a far slicker, more efficient way of managing their membership”. Leisure centres could also become accessible 24/7 because each member will have their face as a passcode, so there’s no need for someone to be present to let you in, and the owner will get notified that you have gone, called NotifyMe. “It’s better for the owner and better for the member”.
This also applies to Hotels, restaurants and other parts of the hospitality sector.
Facial Recognition services are constantly developing and expanding. TouchByte plans to keep up with this growth, considering new service offerings to benefit the community as well as expanding the company to international markets in the coming years.
For example, Jeremy says that TouchByte has started “working around safeguarding with children at school”.
TouchByte also believes that it can support those with disabilities and make spaces more inclusive for their needs to empower them. The technology is not biased, it has no preference of person, there is a chance for everyone to experience this new way of life.
Currently, they are using Facentry with people who are able-bodied. Customers believe it could be “extremely useful for people who have physical disabilities. So, somebody who has a wheelchair or somebody with a severe mental disability that wouldn’t have the ability or the understanding to touch a keypad, get out a key or enter a code. It could be really helpful for that. To give someone back their independence, and that nice little bit of skill. Why should someone have to wait for a member of staff, or a family member to open a door for them? They shouldn’t have to – it’s their house.”
TouchByte believes that Facial recognition will become “a way of life”. Cars will know who drives them, faces will become tickets for travel and cards won’t be needed at tills. It can even be used on online training sessions to make sure the person on the other end is truly there or in online meetings to guarantee that you are talking to the right person.
For example, if a doctor is contacting a patient and giving private information they will be able to make sure it truly is the patient on the other end of the phone, this is currently in place, called Securecall.
The company also believes that there are unlimited other ways that the technology could help people, and TouchByte are constantly unfolding and discovering endless benefits. Currently they are collaborating with, and hope to get more involved in retail stores, education, car parks, companies, hotels, leisure, security, care, the global access control market, gyms, homes and many more.
“As we develop, we will find out more ways that we could actually solve whatever problems that may be out there.”
“As we develop, we will find out more ways that we could actually solve whatever problems that may be out there. ”
Jeremy & Sophia
Sophia is a Year 10 student at Penryn College, who has successfully completed a weeks’ worth of work experience with TouchByte. During the course of the week, she researched the technology, interviewed Jeremy, our MD and compiled this report independently.
We’re always keen to support students with work experience, internships and career opportunities. This generation is the future, and we believe in creating opportunities within the technical and creative spaces.
For more information, get in touch here: media@touchbyte.co.uk
