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Face masks no friend to facial recognition systems

Photo by istock.com

July 31, 2020

Even the top facial recognition system gets it wrong nearly half of the time when identifying a person wearing a facial mask.

That's the prime finding a U.S. federal study on how computerized facial recognition technology is doing when it comes identifying those wearing facial coverings. The data is timely, given the increasing numbers of U.S. citizens now wearing masks regularly due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The issue of correctly identifying someone wearing a mask via the facial recognition technology is the focus of a National Institute of Standards and Technology investigation, the agency which did the study on how well the technology now works. The investigation also includes the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Department of Homeland Security's science arm, according to a New York Post report.