RealSense targets robotics, 3D facial recognition security with $50M in hand

RealSense has cut the cord tying it to Intel Corp, where the 3D camera company was born, with $50 million in early-stage funding.

Expanding RealSense’s biometrics offerings was part of the rationale provided for spinning out the division as a startup when the plan was revealed at the beginning of the year. Intel launched RealSense products for building biometrics into hardware for access control, time and attendance tracking and retail purchases when it quietly relaunched the brand last year.

The company also notes the increasing adoption of face biometrics for airport screening and access control at events in its announcement.

The funding comes from Intel Capital, MediaTek Innovation Fund and others, and will be used to scale up manufacturing and expand the company’s market reach. Some of the money will also go towards research and development for AI software and the next generation of depth-sensing cameras.

The company has more than 3,000 active customers “and pretty high growth year over year,” CEO Nadav Orbach told Reuters.

RealSense depth-sensing cameras are already found in 60 percent of autonomous mobile robots and humanoids worldwide, but its plans still include expanding into more security systems with facial recognition, according to the report.

The spun-out company is headquartered in the U.S., with manufacturing operations in Asia, including Thailand.

Article Topics

3D facial authentication  |  biometrics  |  depth camera  |  facial recognition  |  funding  |  Intel  |  Intel RealSense  |  RealSense  |  RealSense ID