The Tokyo 2020 Summer Games will feature facial recognition kiosks during both Olympic and Paralympic events to verify the identity of athletes, officials, media, and other staff.
The system, the first of its kind to be used at the Games, will be powered by biometric security giant and Tokyo 2020 “gold partner” NEC. Images of every accredited person’s face will be collected beforehand and stored in a database that will be used to verify identities at checkpoints.
“This latest technology will enable strict identification of accredited people compared with relying solely on the eyes of security staff, and also enables swift entry to venues which will be necessary in the intense heat of summer,” said Tsuyoshi Iwashita, Tokyo 2020’s executive director of security.
In a statement, Tokyo’s organizing committee said the enhanced security reflects its commitment to “deliver the most innovative Games in history.” The technology will reduce both forgery and the use of lost or stolen accreditations to access unauthorized areas at the venues, while still maintaining a speedy check-in process by automating the verification process.
Japan-based NEC makes a number of security technologies based on a variety of biometrics, including iris scans, fingerprints, palm prints, as well as voice and ear acoustics. For Tokyo 2020, chipped ID cards will help verify the identities of more than 300,000 athletes and staff across 40 venues.
NEC tested the system during the Rio 2016. The technology is accurate 99.7 percent of the time, according to Engadget.
SportTechie Takeaway
The Olympics, like many major global sporting events, tend to be a hotbed for technological innovation. A number of “firsts” took place at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games this year, including a wide-scale virtual reality broadcast from Intel, high-tech uniforms and enhanced security features involving an army of drones and X-ray vehicles. The increased use of biometrics at the Tokyo Games will be another first for security, but don’t expect that type of identification to be applied to the general public for at least another two to four years.