Global facial recognition market set for ongoing growth: report

The global facial recognition market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 24.5 percent between 2012-2016.

That’s the major finding from a new report published in the Research and Markets library, which also notes that a major driver in the market is the growing need for high-level security in the government sector.

Government departments such as Intelligence, Defense, Finance, and Military are the major adopters and users of facial recognition technology. In recent years, the Government sector has been the major revenue contributor to the market.

The Global Facial Recognition market is witnessing an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions, and this trend is expected to continue during the forecast period. The existing vendors and new entrants are taking the acquisitive route to either enter the market or broaden their portfolio of offerings. For instance, says the report, Safran completed the acquisition of biometric solution provider L-1 Identity Solutions in July 2011 for US$1.09 billion. The acquisition helped Safran become a leading player in the Global Facial Recognition market. Similarly, 3M completed the acquisition of Cogent Inc. in December 2010 for US$943 million. In addition, Google acquired Ukrainian augmented and facial recognition start-up Viewdle for approximately US$30 million in 2012.

Further, the report states that one of the major challenges in this market is the lack of accuracy in facial recognition systems. Sometimes, facial recognition systems may show errors in the identification process due to factors such as aging, plastic surgery, and the non-permanent makeup of the persons whose images are previously stored in the database.

Facial recognition adoption and acceptance appears to be growing and according to a recent CNN/Time/Orc poll, 79% of Americans are in favor of using facial recognition at various locations and public events, and 81% support expanded camera surveillance on streets and in public places, though recent reports have shown some surveillance practices which have been pretty unsettling and have likely since had an effect on these estimates.

Article Topics

facial recognition  |  research