Speech Technology Center Smart City facial biometrics used to enforce quarantine in Sakhalin

More than 20 people violating quarantine orders in the Russian island Sakhalin have been identified by a biometric facial recognition system known as Smart Tracker FRS, provided by Sberbank’s Speech Technology Center Group (STC Group).

Smart Tracker FRS analyzes images from more than 1,000 SSTV (slow-scan television) cameras as a hardware and software suite making up part of Sakhalin’s Smart City system.

“Sberbank’s transformation into a world-class IT company and creation of its ecosystem let us market comprehensive tools based on the advanced technologies, including AI, computer vision, and facial recognition,” says Sberbank Senior Vice President, Head of Sberbank Ecosystem Development Unit (SberX) Andrey Vanin. “Combining all these, the Safe City project is being implemented by the state and businesses to create a safe and comfortable environment. In the current situation, the project is becoming particularly relevant. We are ready to scale up this successful experience by supporting regions in the fight against COVID-19.”

The solution was not tailored to COVID-19 containment efforts, but uses a long-established facial recognition system used as it came out of the box. Smart Tracker FRS is used in five Safe City projects, 14 sports facilities including Moscow’s Central Stadium Dynamo and 24 transport facilities, according to the company, and offers the advantage of efficiency in challenging conditions with people wearing collars, scarves, or medical masks.

“Smart Tracker FRS has been used across Russia for many years, for example, at sports facilities and transport to protect public order,” comments STC Group CEO Dmitry Dyrmovsky. “This effective tool with a full cycle of functions and a well-developed interface was also chosen during the coronavirus pandemic. Facial recognition is becoming one of the tools to fight against coronavirus. Thanks to Smart Tracker FRS, we can start detecting quarantine violators as soon as possible.”

Moscow has also used facial recognition to enforce coronavirus quarantine orders.

Article Topics

AI  |  artificial intelligence  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  Russia  |  smart cities  |  SpeechPro