The Ministry of Interior has gathered 61,000 face prints of people entering and exiting the country, through the face print system that was put in place in 2009 confirmed Lieutenant Jamal Al Hosani, Head of Technical Affairs Section at the Secretariat General of the office of H.H. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. He stated that the face print system is a means to stop exiled persons from returning to the country, thus boosting security and stability in the country.
On the sidelines of International Security & National Resilience Exhibition and Conference (ISNR 2012), he added that 50 face print scanning devices are in operation at the state level, granting the UAE a leading regional position in this field. The system has a positive impact on boosting the work and performance of the security system as a whole, and embodies the Ministry of Interior’s efforts to provide world-class protection.
He explained that the system is an application for ID verification that runs on a state-of-the-art program that scans a person’s face then analyzes and identifies it, using sensitive cameras to capture photos of individuals whether they are at a reasonable distance, or are standing still or in motion.
Al Hosani further stated that face recognition systems have been widely used recently for police and security purposes. These systems do not only verify IDs, but also send an alarm warning that undesired person(s) are in the state. It is also employed to spread the photos of the exiled people, suspects, and criminals at the airports, thus helping authorizes to take the necessary measures.
“Recognizing individuals is among the most successful technologies in analyzing images and carrying out operations based on data provided by them. Face printing is the fruit of progress achieved in all security domains, and the UAE is among the leaders in using face and eye prints,” he said.
Al Hosani concluded, “The face recognition initiative to protect society was part of our wise leadership’s guidelines to set a comprehensive infrastructure protection plan. The project was rolled out in the country phases since its launch in 2009, strengthening security all over the country.”
“First of Its Kind Worldwide”
The face print system is the first of its kind in the world, featuring surveillance cameras that capture face images, thanks to a cutting-edge technology that takes and enhances photos instantly, and high definition image recording technology. It surpasses current international standards for security and national ID databases.
It also boasts an advanced and highly accurate monitoring technology that can identify facial features and momentarily save them during the recording process, as well as another feature to draw the attention of individuals whose image is needed by instantly capturing a frontal picture. The system is also equipped with a lighting compensation technology that guarantees high resolution photos in different lighting conditions. It demonstrates superior surveillance and assessment to capture the best image, and digital technology to erase defaults, designed to instantly capture full frontal digital images to identify facial muscles and features.