facial recognition – Page 2

What is the NIST Facial Recognition Technology Evaluation (FRTE)? And Why Should You Care?

I’m guilty of acronym overuse. I just wrote a post that mentioned something called “FRTE,” and I belatedly realized that many of the people who read the post…and many of the people who need to read the post…have no idea how to spell FRTE, much less WHY it’s important. So let me explain.

But before I explain FRTE, I should explain NIST. It’s the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and it promotes technology standards throughout the country and throughout the world.

Among the many, many, many things that NIST does, it looks at the use of biometrics for identification and classification of individuals, including face. NIST’s face work is split into face recognition and face analysis. While the latter concerns classification of faces (whether the face is real or a presentation attack, the estimated age of the person), the former focuses on individualization.

But I’m not going to talk about FATE today. Let’s focus on FRTE.

Why FRTE?

There are hundreds upon hundreds of algorithms out there that purport to compare a face to another face, or to compare a face to many faces, and indicate the likelihood that the compared faces belong to the same person.

And any algorithm provider can claim that its facial recognition algorithm provides 100.00% accuracy or 99.99% accuracy or whatever.

Or that it can search a trillion record database in 0.1 seconds or whatever.

Perhaps the provider even backs up this claim with published data in which the provider tested its algorithm with 1,000 searches against a 100,000 record database and the algorithm did not make a single error.

Are you impressed?

I’m not.

Anyone can score 100% on a self-test.

But what happens when you are given a test by someone else…closed book…with no answer key?

(And yes, I’m aware of the claims that these independent tests are flawed. So design a better one that more than one algorithm provider supports.)

If you’re looking to buy facial recognition technology, the second best way to evaluate the different facial recognition algorithms is to consult the NIST FRTE tests.

These tests are continuous, with new algorithms usually added monthly.
These tests are complex, measuring umpteen diffferent databases and search types. One or more of these may match your particular use case.
These tests are black box. The algorithm providers send their algorithms to NIST, and they are tested against all the other algorithms on identical setups.

Most importantly, the results of these tests are public, and you can view them yourself. The 1:1 testing is here, and the 1:N testing is here.

Oh, and the tests are listed by the algorithm provider, so if Omnigarde says they’ve been tested by NIST, you can look at the test results and find Omnigarde’s algorithm.

And if Vendor X says its algorithm tested well, but you can’t find Vendor X in the algorithm list, then you need to ask Vendor X which algorithm it’s using.

And if Vendor Y says it’s really accurate, but doesn’t state that the algorithm it uses was NIST tested…ask Vendor Y to prove its accuracy claims.

So that’s FRTE. And if your facial recognition vendor isn’t talking about FRTE…ask why.

Why Biometric Marketing Experience Beats Biometric Marketing Immaturity

I know that the experts say that “too much knowledge is actually bad in tech.” But based upon what I just saw from an (unnamed) identity verification company, I assert that too little knowledge is much worse.

As a biometric product marketing expert and biometric product marketing writer, I pay a lot of attention to how identity verification companies and other biometric and identity companies market themselves. Many companies know how to speak to their prospects…and many don’t.

Take a particular company, which I will not name. Here is the “marketing” from this company.

We have funding!

We have long lists of features!

We offer lower pricing than selected competitors!

We claim high facial recognition accuracy but don’t publish our NIST FRTE results! (While the company claims to author its technology, the company name does not appear in either the NIST FRTE 1:1 or NIST FRTE 1:N results.)

We claim liveness detection (presentation attack detection) but don’t publish any confirmation letters! (Again, I could not find the company name on the confirmation letter lists from BixeLab or iBeta.)

So what is the difference between this company and the other 100+ identity verification companies…many of which explicitly state their benefits, trumpet their NIST FRTE performance, and trumpet their third-party liveness detection confirmation letters?

If you claim great accuracy and great liveness detection but can’t support it via independent third-party verification, your claim is “so what?” worthless. Prove your claims.

Now I’m sure I could help this company. Even if they have none of the certifications or confirmations I mentioned, I could at least get the company to focus on meaningful differentiation and meaningful benefits. But there’s no need to even craft a Bredemarket pitch to the company, since the only marketer on staff is an intern who is indifferent to strategy.

Because while many companies assert that all they need is a salesperson, an engineer, an African data labeler, and someone to run the generative AI for everything else…there are dozens of competitors doing the exact same thing.

But some aren’t. Some identity/biometric companies are paying attention to their long-term viability, and are creating content, proposals, and analyses that support that viability.

Take a look at your company’s marketing. Does it speak to prospects? Does it prove that you will meet your customers’ needs? Or does it sound like every other company that’s saying “We use AI. Trust us“?

And if YOUR company needs experienced help in conveying customer-focused benefits to your prospects…contact Bredemarket. I’ve delivered meaningful biometric materials to two dozen companies over the years. And yes, I have experience. Let me use it for your advantage.

When Everyone Goes Multimodal: Iris ID and Faces

I’ve previously discussed the difference between the terms “multimodal” and “multifactor.”

Multimodal is often (though not exclusively) used to discuss the use of different biometric modalities. For example, when Motorola’s Biometric Business Unit was acquired, we joined an organization (Sagem Morpho) that specialized in three biometric modalities: finger, face, and iris.

From Sandeep Kumar, A. Sony, Rahul Hooda, Yashpal Singh, in Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education | Multidisciplinary Academic Research, “*Multimodal Biometric Authentication System for Automatic Certificate Generation*.”

As you can imagine, the “which biometric is best” wars simply do not apply to the multimodal folks. Unlike someone committed to tongue biometrics because that’s all they do, a multimodal biometric vendor can say “this one’s best here, this other one’s best there.”

So I was a bit surprised to see the recent Biometric Update article, “Iris ID debuts in NIST FRTE 1:1.”

Iris ID is known for…well, irises.
FRTE is a face test.

I had some catching up to do.

After all, I was aware of the history of Iris ID (yet another New Jersey iris company) and its spinoff from LG, and although I don’t think I’ve ever met Mohammad Murad, I’ve certainly heard of him.

But Iris ID has branched off from just irises. Here’s what it exhibited at Identity Week America in September 2025:

“Highlighted in the Iris ID booth are the latest advances in multi-modal biometric technology, where iris and face recognition are combined in fully contactless solutions. These innovations are designed to deliver fast, frictionless throughput while ensuring accuracy and reliability, even in high-throughput environments.”

For what it’s worth, the Iris ID “001” algorithm tested in NIST FRTE 1:1 wasn’t an overwhelming world-beater, not even cracking the top 100 in any of NIST’s many, many categories (the best performance was in BORDER:BORDER).

But everyone has to start somewhere.

Just don’t get eyes and faces confused.

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A biometric product marketing writer can help.

Assume No Mouth

When I first encountered facial recognition companies in the 1990s and early 2000s, the rules were pretty clear.

Their algorithms needed to identify people by their permanent features, not their temporary ones.

Don’t identify someone by a beard or a lipstick shade, but by what is usually always present: eyes, nose, ears…and mouth.

After all, it wasn’t like people were going to lose their mouths or anything.

Until 2020, when everyone started covering up their mouths.

And the algorithms had to adapt.

The Biometric Product Marketing Expert For…Which Biometrics?

My professional experience spans DNA, face, friction ridge, iris, and voice.

But I’ve looked at many other modalities.

Biometric product marketing expert.

See the full list here.

My Biometric Video One-Two Punch

Different moods, but both videos emphasize (not empathize) Bredemarket’s biometric product marketing expertise.

So what?

If your firm wants to speak to biometric prospects and customers, you need someone who speaks the language.

As a customer whose name I won’t mention recently said to me, “You have to know what FRTE [VENDOR NAME REDACTED] [NUMBER REDACTED] means.” (An algorithm submission to the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology Facial Recognition Technology Evaluation (FRTE), either the 1:1 test or the 1:N test.)

But even more important is why a vendor’s algorithmic submission matters…and why it may not matter. Ah, the nuances…

I’ve written about these nuances for almost two dozen firms. Perhaps I can write for your firm. Click below and book a free meeting with Bredemarket.

Stop losing prospects! Use Bredemarket content for tech marketers

If the City Fails, Try the County (Milwaukee and Biometrica)

The facial recognition brouhaha in southeastern Wisconsin has taken an interesting turn.

According to Urban Milwaukee, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office is pursuing an agreement with Biometrica for facial recognition services.

The, um, benefit? No cost to the county.

“However, the contract would not need to be approved by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, because there would be no cost to the county associated with the contract. Biometrica offers its services to law enforcement agencies in exchange for millions of mugshots.”

Sound familiar? Chris Burt thinks so.

“Milwaukee Police Department has also attempted to contract Biometrica’s services, prompting pushback, at least some of which reflected confusion about how the system works….

“The mooted agreement between Biometrica and MPD would have added 2.5 million images to the database.

“In theory, if MCSO signs a contract with Biometrica, it could perform facial recognition searches at the request of MPD.”

See Bredemarket’s previous posts on the city efforts that are now on hold.

And counties also.

No guarantee that the County will approve what the City didn’t. And considering the bad press from the City’s efforts, including using software BEFORE adopting a policy on its use, it’s going to be an uphill struggle.

Responsible Retail Artificial Intelligence

I missed this announcement in December, but it carries an important message.

“Gatekeeper Systems, a pioneer in intelligent theft prevention solutions, today announced a significant enhancement to its FaceFirst® platform with the integration of technology from ROC.”

That’s the firm formerly known as Rank One Computing.

The important message is deeper in the press release.

““Facial recognition in retail must be fast, accurate, and accountable,” said Robert Harling, CEO of Gatekeeper Systems. “By embedding ROC’s NIST-verified algorithm directly into FaceFirst, we’re giving retailers a system that performs in real time and stands up to public, operational, and legal scrutiny. It’s AI you can trust—and accuracy you can prove.””

The “accountable” and “prove” part comes from ROC’s demonstrated results in NIST FRTE testing. As well as the fact that people using Gatekeeper Systems now know whose facial recognition algorithm they’re using.

It still shocks me when a company says that they’re using an algorithm, but don’t say whose algorithm they’re using.

If you want to say the right stuff, Bredemarket can write your biometric company’s product marketing content.