Facial Recognition Kiosks: A Modern Innovation in the Food Industry?

Background of Technological Advancement

Technology is regarded as a new way of thinking or doing normal things in a different, better, and much faster way with less hassle and at an economical price. Can you imagine how life before electricity, automobiles, airplanes, telephone, computers, and even mobile phones would have been? It was much less complex but at the same time, very tough to get many things done with just the twelve hours of visible light we have each day.

Currently, we can see how IT has completely changed the way we think, act, and react. From our homes to offices, hospitals to airports, we see everything embedded with technology one way or another. Most of the processes that were done manually are now automated. A recent example is that of identity verification of customers by businesses. The customer verification process was done manually, which involved a number of steps and took a lot of time to complete. Since it was majorly a requirement for banks and financial institutions, they had to practice it by all means. Customers were, however, not in favor of the long process of getting their identities authenticated. Identity verification companies, after carefully analyzing the demand, developed digital identity verification solutions to address the issue. 

Biometrics and their need in Identity Verification

In this rapidly changing environment, criminals and fraudsters have also modified their ways of causing harm to the world and its inhabitants. They regularly think of ways to by-pass the barriers set by organizations to fight crime. In order to prevent their attacks, law enforcement agencies advised the use of proper identity verification techniques. These techniques only allow the appropriate people to gain access to the systems, obstructing hackers, and fraudsters from onboarding themselves on the restricted platforms. These systems usually verify identities using biometrics, since they are the most accurate and efficient means of authentication.  Biometrics is the most secure method of verification and cannot be manipulated or compromised since no two people around the globe have the same biometric features. Anywhere a secure transaction is required, biometrics could be used to simplify the process without compromising on security. Some of the digital biometric techniques used nowadays include facial recognition, fingerprint scan, iris scan, DNA testing, etc.

Read more: Biometrics identity verification system – a masterstroke in verification market

Digital Facial Recognition and its Importance

It is expected that the facial recognition market will grow to $7.7 billion by 2022 because the technology has all kinds of commercial applications.

Facial recognition systems compare the captured information with a database to find the exact match.  It authenticates someone’s identity and is a widely used security measure across the globe. It is expected that the facial recognition market will grow to $7.7 billion by 2022 because the technology has all kinds of commercial applications. From airport security to healthcare and customer authentication, face recognition is now globally adopted. Recently, the food industry has also integrated facial recognition kiosks in restaurants to facilitate their operations.

Read more: 4 Reasons why Facial Recognition is Better at Biometric Verification than Fingerprint Scans

The Food Industry adopting Facial Recognition Kiosks

You’ve probably heard about fast-food restaurants integrating touch-screen kiosks and the way bill-payment kiosks can resolve common issues. But the pace of technology is becoming faster day-by-day, and now there’s another thing to be excited about. It is none other than facial recognition kiosks. It was reported by Mashable that the fast-food chain in the US, CaliBurger, has now introduced a latest point-of-sale system that enables consumers to order their food through facial recognition technology. According to a study, it is estimated that Self-service kiosks generated annual revenues of $218 million in 2016.

This is how it basically works. When customers wish to order their food, they approach the kiosk and are asked to attach a picture of their face to their account. Their face is recorded in the system, so the next time they visit, they directly place an order simply by getting their faces scanned.

Initially, customers had to use a credit card to make the purchase, but now they can easily pay with their faces. These systems were tested in California in the first place, but the company has plans to expand them further; maybe even internationally. Eventually, when the AI-powered facial recognition software is successful, CaliBurger wants to eliminate the use of the security code, making the process even quicker. The main plan of the company is to expand this technology across the globe. CaliBurger is not the only restaurant using facial recognition technology: there are other food chains in other countries using similar technology as well. KFC in China is one of them, which is enabling consumers to pay for their orders by scanning their faces. According to a report, the rise in consumer spending while ordering through self-service kiosks is 30 percent.

What the Future Holds for Facial Recognition Kiosks?

Biometrics is not new but has been getting much hype lately because its everyday uses are becoming more and more relevant. There was a time when fingerprint sensors were only seen in the movies. Currently, many of us have them embedded on our phones or computers and use them on an everyday basis.

Therefore, seeing biometrics being used on a daily basis is not surprising for us anymore. In the UK, especially, you may pay through a kiosk at a supermarket or fast-food restaurant a number of times a week. Once people get more used to it, facial recognition kiosks may well become a normal part of our lives in the near future. There is no uncertainty as to what the future holds for biometrics but with technological advancements regularly taking place, it is easy to notice how we could soon be paying for goods in stores by simply scanning our faces.

Read more: Facial recognition technology grooving into cruise ships for ID verification

Conclusion

The way things are headed, it seems as if the world we live in right now might be a lot different after the Coronavirus pandemic ends. People might avoid interaction, maintain social distancing protocols and businesses might have to shift to touchless services and verification protocols. Who knows? But we can be certain that touchless kiosks will be preferred and incorporated by places of public interaction. In such instances, digital identity verification systems would be the most effective technique to verify individuals and establish secure working mechanisms.