Wicket, CyberLink, Synaptics form partnerships for biometrics at the edge

Several companies have recently formed partnerships to deploy biometric and edge tools for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Verizon partnered with Wicket, CyberLink integrated its artificial intelligence (AI) face biometrics engine in MediaTek’s artificial IoT (AIoT) platform Genio, and Synaptics partnered with WNC on smart display devices.

Wicket and Verizon join forces for biometric stadium entry

The deal will see Wicket accelerate the deployment of its company’s facial recognition ticket entry system at sports venues that run on Verizon’s 5G network.

The companies have not yet disclosed which specific stadiums will offer Wicket’s face biometrics-powered ticketing. Still, the opt-in system is already available at the Cleveland Browns’ FirstEnergy Stadium and Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Wicket also confirmed the Browns plan to roll out its sensors for facial age verification for fans purchasing alcohol at their stadium later this NFL season. The partners will also work on an in-stadium facial payment offering.

Some teams currently use Wicket for internal building access to enable office members to unlock doors using their faces instead of keycards.

The latest deployment of the Wicket face biometric system was by the New York Mets. They expanded the facial ticketing system from VIP gates introduced in October last year to all entry gates at Citi Field in July.

FaceMe integrated into MediaTek AIoT platform Genio

According to CyberLink and MediaTek, pairing the former’s accurate and versatile FaceMe engine with the latter’s high-performing and power-efficient Genio platform provides the market with a premium edge AI solution for facial recognition AIoT applications.

FaceMe will enable IoT/AIoT developers and system integrators to add facial recognition capabilities for flexible deployment across different industries and use cases.

Further, MediaTek and CyberLink said that by bringing computing power to where the data is collected, edge computing could provide rapid recognition times, low latency, high privacy and security, alongside scalability, better neural networks, and more efficient use of bandwidth within networks.

“As AIoT and the number of use cases continue to grow, the market will demand higher-performing and more power-efficient solutions for their AI purposes,” says CyberLink CEO Jau Huang.

“Our partnership with MediaTek couples Genio’s AI-enhanced hardware capabilities with FaceMe’s quick, reliable, and accurate facial recognition engine to meet these demands.”

Huang also recently confirmed facial recognition will start contributing revenues to CyberLink from 2023.

Synaptics and WNC partner on biometric display

The collaboration will see the integration of the Synaptics VS600 series processor and the Synaptics SyNAP development framework within WNC’s Smart Display platform.

The move will provide the camera-enabled smart display with multiple features, including face and voice biometric authentication, augmented reality (AR), and AI-assisted wellness.

The platform’s versatility reportedly addresses multiple market segments, including operator assistants, monitors, video conferencing devices, security panels, and kitchen appliances.

“The incorporation of AI into display devices has the potential to completely change how viewers interact with these screens,” explains Craig Stein, senior vice president and general manager at Synaptics.

“It shifts these devices from display-only into interactive platforms that can be used standalone to enable a new level of end-user experiences.”

The WNC partnership represents only the latest move of Synaptics towards edge AI. The company launched its edge AI kit for IoT and monitoring applications last April.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  biometrics at the edge  |  CyberLink  |  edge AI  |  edge cameras  |  facial recognition  |  IoT  |  Synaptics  |  Wicket