Facial recognition gates by JR West to launch at Osaka train station in March

West Japan Railway (JR West) announced it would deploy face biometrics gates at two train stations in Osaka, reports The Mainichi.

More specifically, the facial recognition “tickets” gates will be installed at Osaka Station’s Umekita Underground Exit and Shin-Osaka Station’s East Exit.

It is unclear at the time of writing if the biometric technology was developed by JR West in-house or outsourced to an external provider. A similar project was developed by Osaka Metro and Panasonic in November 2022 and saw the deployment of face biometric ticketing for travelers in wheelchairs.

In the latest deployment, JR West confirmed the new gates would use a camera to biometrically scan user faces and match them with pre-registered photos.

“We verified a new ‘ticketless authentication method’ that uses the face as a key, positioned it as a challenge to build a next-generation seamless mobile service that combines digital technology and the real world, and developed a face authentication ticket gate,” says the company.

“The face recognition ticket gates installed at Osaka Station […] offer an exciting experience with an innovative design that makes you feel the near future.”

The facial recognition gates are scheduled to start operations on March 18.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  Japan  |  transportation