A new combination of lip reading and speech recognition capabilities offers law enforcers new ways of securing valuable evidence about a suspect’s identity from CCTV – faster and more accurately than has ever been possible before, according to those involved in the new work.
The project, being carried out jointly by face recognition experts OmniPerception and international defence and security company BAE Systems, is set to transform the development of biometric recognition technology worldwide.
This research will also aims to advance face finding and tracking technology for use with CCTV footage; and improved automatic detection and understanding of behaviour and events, for multi-camera systems.
Investment in Innovation
The GB pound 1.5m project is being funded by BAE Systems through its Investment in Innovation programme. The Investment In Innovation programme was set up in 2008 to encourage and support innovative small and medium sized enterprises in the development and delivery of new technology to improve security, in the UK and world-wide.
The face recognition and behavioural biometric work with OmniPerception is one of the programme’s first projects.
This work builds on OmniPerception’s existing capability to develop and deliver cutting edge technology for the security market. BAE Systems’ presence not only supports the development of state-of-the-art technology but also ensures that the core biometric technology is bringing real benefit to the operators of UK law enforcement and security systems.
Full potential
David McIntosh, CEO of OmniPerception said: “The full potential of CCTV as a defensive security measure and as an investigative tool has yet to be realised. One of the keys to it is better automation – faster and more accurate.
“At a time when many agencies need improved confidence in these areas, our work with BAE Systems is designed to deliver new high tech solutions that make a real difference.”
David Mullin of BAE Systems said: “Our investment in this working partnership with OmniPerception underlines our confidence in the vital part this innovative company already plays in improving security through biometric and image processing technology; and its ability to take present day security capabilities to new even higher levels.”
The 18 month-long project will see BAE Systems provide financial, project management and engineering support to the team of experts from OmniPerception conducting the main Research & Development programme.