NEC Corporation and its Romanian Branch office announced the provision of a facial recognition system for admission control at the EU Summit held in Sibiu, Romania on May 9, 2019.

From January to June 2019, Romania held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) for the first time, during which time the country was dedicated to strengthening security measures at important domestic events.

Leading up to the informal European Union summit held on May 9, 2019 in the city of Sibiu, Romania, NEC was selected by the Romanian Protection and Guard Service to provide NeoFace, NEC’s facial recognition engine with the world’s No.1 certification accuracy(1), after intensive testing of various security solutions available on the market.

The Protection and Guard Service is a government agency responsible for providing protection for Romanian dignitaries and international representatives during their stay in Romania.

During the summit, NEC’s facial recognition system was used to check a pre-registered list of facial images of senior officials against live streams from cameras installed at four gates in the venue. All participants in the program provided informed consent for the use of their images. This was part of a two-step authentication that consisted of facial recognition and the use of QR codes printed on guest invitations, resulting in high speed access to the meeting location, without long lines or burdensome security.

This was the first time that biometric certification was used as a security measure at an EU Summit, and participating high-level officials were authorized with high accuracy and speed, thereby contributing to a safe, secure and smooth conference.

NEC has been developing biometric technologies for more than 40 years and has installed over 1,000 systems in more than 70 countries worldwide using Bio-IDiom(2) biometrics. In NEC’s Mid-term Management Plan 2020, which covers the three-year period up to fiscal 2020, NEC has positioned the safety business as a growth engine for its global business.

The provision of this system will accelerate and strengthen the development of solutions and services aimed at realizing “NEC Safer Cities”(3) and will contribute to the creation of safe and secure communities in Europe and other parts of the world.

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. The NEC Group globally provides “Solutions for Society” that promote the safety, security efficiency and fairness of society.