NEC combines facial recognition technologies with Azure IoT technology

NEC Corporation of America announced it is demonstrating its biometric recognition solutions, which uses Microsoft Azure Internet of Things (IoT) technology, at the Hannover Messe 2016 trade fair held April 25 – 29 in Hannover, Germany.

The manufacturing solution combines NEC face recognition technologies and Factory Energy Management System (FEMS) with Azure IoT technology to create a complete end-to-end solution for factory maintenance, repair, and operation.

NEC’s solution integrates factory operational data with employee identification and the case management system to significantly improve operational efficiencies and provides the necessary information for process improvements.

Additionally, the use of biometrics for identification greatly increases security controls and removes any risks related to entry passwords.

The retail solution enables a retail outlet to understand the age and gender of their consumers and collects data regarding their interests and purchases.

The store’s management can use this information to refine store layout, product placement, marketing and promotional offers, and digital signage to improve operational efficiencies and increase revenues.

Both manufacturing and retail solutions rely on the integration of NEC biometric technology and Azure IoT technology including Microsoft Azure IoT Hub, Microsoft Azure Stream Analytics, as well as the Cortana Intelligence Suite. NEC has also incorporated Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Office 365, and Microsoft Band. The use of Microsoft’s cloud services simplifies deployment across multiple geographies.

Since 1979, NEC and Microsoft Corp. have partnered in the areas of server, storage, and networking solutions, as well as SQL Server. They eventually expanded their collaboration to include Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics CRM across various industries.

“NEC is excited to be working with Microsoft on innovation solutions available to global customers through the broad reach of Microsoft Azure IoT technology,” said Hiroyumi Inoue, VP of global platform solution center at NEC Corporation of America.

“Our strength in biometric solutions provides powerful endpoints for IoT solutions for manufacturing and retail industries. And as demonstrated at Hannover Messe, such solutions can easily incorporate Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM service for a more complete solution. While we are focused on manufacturing and retail solutions today, our offerings are applicable across many industries including public safety, transportation, and hospitality.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  identity verification  |  IoT  |  Microsoft  |  NEC  |  retail