NEC Iris Recognition Technology Ranks First in NIST Accuracy Testing

NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) today announced that its iris recognition technology achieved the highest matching accuracy evaluation in the recent Iris Exchange (IREX,(1)) IX evaluations of automated iris recognition algorithms performed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Iris recognition technology is a biometrics identifier that uses patterns from the iris, the donut-like tissue that surrounds the pupil. In recent years, this technology has been adopted by systems that require large-scale matching, mainly for organizations and companies, since it is possible to quickly provide highly accurate authentication with devices that do not require physical contact.

From the standpoint of privacy protection and security enhancement, government agencies in particular are in growing need of reliable personal authentication for purposes that include citizen ID, immigration control and criminal investigations.

NEC is a global leader in biometric identification technologies, including iris, face, fingerprint, palm print, finger vein, voice, and ear acoustics, and has supplied more than 700 systems in over 70 countries. Moreover, NEC’s face recognition technology has ranked first in the NIST’s benchmark tests four consecutive times(2), in addition to the company’s fingerprint recognition technology also ranking first. Each of these technologies belongs to NEC’s biometric authentication brand, “Bio-IDiom”(3).

NEC received the top accuracy ranking in the IREX IX evaluation among 13 participating groups, with a matching precision of 99.33% for near-infrared iris images. NEC’s evaluation was achieved with its original technologies in highly precise feature extraction, matching and advanced noise reduction.

Going forward, NEC will continue with research and development in order to further improve the accuracy of authentication technologies, including the development and provision of iris recognition products and services.

“The Social Solutions business is a major focus for NEC, including the strengthening of safety business as a global growth area. Following these results, we will continue to contribute to the realization of safe and secure communities with the global development and provision of our portfolio of technologies and services centered on biometric authentication, Bio-IDiom, including cutting edge iris authentication,” said Kazuhiro Takada, Executive Vice President, NEC Corporation.

(1) NIST Iris Exchange
https://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/image-group/irex-ix
(2) NEC’s Video Face Recognition Technology Ranks First in NIST Testing
https://www.nec.com/en/press/201703/global_20170316_01.html
(3) About Bio-IDiom
https://www.nec.com/en/global/ad/bio-idiom/