Hockey footage aids in biometric system choice

The Department of Homeland Security will use video footage collected at a recent Western Hockey League game in Washington state to compare various facial recognition technologies. It's part of an effort to help other federal agencies decide what kind of recognition system they might need.

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) gathered the video at the request of DHS Science & Technology Directorate's Resilient Systems Division.

DHS Science & Technology Directorate spokesman John Verrico told FCW that the video footage collected by PNNL would be used to compare the capabilities of various current state-of-the-art and commonly available, off-the-shelf facial recognition systems in changeable, realistic conditions.

The video was taken with standard video cameras, not specialized equipment, he said. Standard-grade cameras are more commonly used at government agencies than cameras capable of capturing extreme detail. Using the standard cameras would present a more typical foundation to measure the effectiveness of facial recognition systems, Verrico said.

The results of the comparisons, he said, could be used by federal agencies "to figure out what their needs are and what kind of capabilities" might fill them.

PNNL collected generic background video of the crowd gathered at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash., on Sept. 21 to watch the Tri-City Americans' season opener. In the crowd, however, were 20 PNNL volunteers who had agreed to be identified by DHS in its comparison work as they walked the arena's concourse and stood in concession lines. Hockey fans were notified in advance of the activity and given capabilities to avoid cameras and opt out of being recorded.

The video was taken from several set locations in the arena's concourse before and during the game, according to PNNL. The Toyota Center has been used as a test bed for data collection since 2008.