In the US, the Department of Homeland Security has developed an algorithm capable of recognizing faces with 96% effectiveness even if they are wearing a mask.
This was announced by the same department at the end of a test, specifying that the system will be used to prevent people from taking off protection in airports or ports.
The test, explains the department's release, was conducted on 582 representative volunteers from 60 countries, and ten different algorithms and six image acquisition systems are tested.
Without mask, on average, the performance was a 93% identification rate, with the best system reaching 100%.
As for use on people with masks, on average, the success rate was 77%, but the best system reached 96%.
"It is not yet a 100% perfect solution - explains Arun Vemury, director of the Biometric and Identity Technology Center - but it can reduce the risk for many travelers, as well as airport staff, of having to ask people to remove the mask ".
On the subject of facial recognition there is an open debate in the United States with differences between the various states.
For example, in Portland, Oregon, a few weeks ago, the use of facial recognition technologies for public and private purposes was banned.
