Danish football stadium deploys Panasonic facial recognition to improve fan safety

Panasonic’s facial recognition technology is being used to improve fan safety at the stadium of Danish Superliga football club Brøndby IF and lessen the strain placed on staff during high profile matches.

Panasonic’s security cameras and FacePRO facial recognition software is being used at entrances to automatically identify any blacklisted individuals and message staff to take the appropriate action. The automated procedure at the stadium entrance will decrease congestion at the gates, resulting in a quicker, frictionless fan entry process. The stadium has an average attendance of 14,000 people per game and up to 100 registered persons on the blacklist.

To maintain personal privacy, the biometric security system does not store images or data of those who are not registered on the blacklist and the data of those who are registered on the internal Brøndby server is not connected to the internet or to any other system.

“Panasonic’s facial recognition system contributes to a safer stadium environment by alleviating security pressure on the ground, while ensuring that all data is protected from unauthorised external access,” explains Gerard Figols, head of the European security business at Panasonic.

“The system will significantly increase our efficiency in identifying blacklisted persons at our entrance gates, so we can ensure they do not enter the stadium,” adds Jesper Jørgensen, Managing Director of Brøndby IF. “We are always trying to optimise our stadium experience for our fans, and ultimately create the best possible fan experience. This is another step into the right direction.”

Panasonic notes that its technology can identify faces that are difficult to recognize with conventional techniques, such as those taken from an angle of up to 45 degrees to the left or right or 30 degrees up or down, and even when part of the face is concealed or hidden by sunglasses. The system also recognizes faces from photographs that are up to 10 years old.

FacePRO was launched by Panasonic at ISC West in April 2018, and was recently deployed by the West Platte School District in Weston, Missouri for security and access control.

Article Topics

access management  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  Panasonic