The pilot used the current infrastructure of the PSV stadium (security cameras, lighting, police and security personnel) and had the approval of the judicial authorities and supervision of the Eindhoven police. Stadium security cameras sent images to a face-recognition application linked to a database containing photographs of visitors. The application compared these photographs and the images forwarded by the security cameras on the basis of a number of biometric characteristics.

Roland van der Poel, LogicaCMG managing director industry, distribution and transport at LogicaCMG is convinced of the potential of this technology. "This pilot proves that the implementation of biometrics offers immense benefits for the security and user-friendliness of public spaces. It also enabled LogicaCMG to deploy its experience in the field of system integration and biometrics successfully."

Frank Wijnveld, PSV security manager, argues that automatic face recognition offers both the stadium and the visitor great advantages. "We make every effort to optimise security within and around the stadium. The deployment of biometric techniques increases the chance of identifying people with a stadium ban, while the well-meaning soccer fan does not notice anything and can watch the match in peace. Service is our motto and security measures must be executed correctly in the background."

PSV and LogicaCMG will engage in further discussion as to how and whether face recognition might in practice be deployed as a supplementary tool for control and identification.

Biometrics: Safe and secure

Biometrics uses physical or behavioural characteristics of people to identify or verify the identity of individuals. The PSV pilot used face recognition. This method uses characteristics such as the form of the face, the length and shape of the brows, the distance between the eyes, and the position of the nose and mouth. The main advantage of biometrics is that one cannot lose his characteristics and that it is difficult to perpetrate fraud. LogicaCMG expects dramatic growth in the market for biometric applications. Multiple small-scale pilots are currently being conducted throughout the world in preparation of the introduction of biometrics in, for instance, passports.