Should You Buy Facial Recognition Security Cameras Now? Here's All to Know

With the introduction of facial recognition security cameras, verifying the identity of an individual is not futurist anymore.

When familiar faces are captured, these CCTV cameras will realize they are your family members or friends and won't trigger alarms.

Otherwise, they will send you instant alerts so that you know someone may intrude into your property.

Sound like a fascinating security option?

But that is not the end of the story.

Dive in and get to learn more about security cameras with facial recognition before adding one to your cart.

Content:

• How Facial Recognition Security Cameras Work
• Benefits of Facial Recognition IP Cameras
• Drawbacks of Facial Recognition Security Cameras
• Alternatives for Facial Recognition CCTV Cameras

How Do Facial Recognition Security Cameras Detect Faces

With facial recognition security cameras, you are able to safeguard your home and business easily while receiving less false alarms.

So how can facial recognition IP cameras recognize humans' and even pets' faces?

Here is the explicit process:

#1. Build Up Your Own Database of Familiar Faces

To make your facial recognition security cameras "learn" the faces, first off, you need to set up a database of your familiar faces. Practical methods include asking your family members and friends to stand in front of the cameras or showing their photos towards the cameras.

Generally speaking, average facial recognition security cameras are capable of remembering 16 to 32 faces, which is adequate for home and small business usage.

#2. Security Cameras with Facial Recognition Will Detect and Match Faces

Facial recognition CCTV cameras use multiple methods and technologies to detect faces, including 3D modeling, comparing faces in images or videos, analyzing the entire faces or partial features and so on.

After acquiring the faces shown within their monitoring range, security cameras with facial recognition will compare those faces with that in the database via advanced software.

#3. Instant Alerts Will Be Sent Once Unknown Faces Are Detected

When facial recognition security cameras match faces in your database successfully, they will know there are familiar faces and won't alert you.

On the contrary, if there are any unknown faces, facial recognition home security cameras will send you instant alerts or even call the police automatically.

Bonus: You may watch this video to learn how facial recognition technology works.

Benefits of Facial Recognition Security Cameras

Aside from face identification, security cameras with facial recognition also come with other unique benefits that make them stand out among their counterparts. Here we have listed several of them:

Benefit 1. Facial Recognition Security Cameras Deliver More Accurate Recognition Performance

With strong algorithms supported, facial recognition security cameras are able to greatly alleviate false alarms, including those triggered by changing light, tree movement and even wind.

This has also been approved by a piece of MIT research, which studied the 2018's facial recognition systems developed by Microsoft, IBM and the China-based Face++ and indicated that their accuracy in distinguishing genders has hit 90% for light-colored skin males and 70% for females with darker skin.

It is also expected that security cameras with facial recognition will make it possible to recognize angled faces, faces covered with sunglasses or a mask, or even aged faces, which is almost impossible for conventional security cameras.

Benefit 2. Facial Recognition CCTV Cameras Also Detect Pets, Animals & Other Objects

Some top security camera brands have been pushing the boundaries of what facial recognition IP cameras can do, from recognizing human faces to detecting pets and other common objects in your daily life.

Such feature has become real thanks to the advanced facial recognition systems with AI technology and machine learning designed by tech firms like Google and Intel.

Meanwhile, these AI-powered security cameras with facial recognition also prove themselves in an annual image recognition competition: they can do better than humans at classifying different corgi breeds.

Benefit 3. Security Cameras with Facial Recognition Improve Security Level

As mentioned above, facial recognition IP cameras offer accurate results when identifying people and detecting animals and objects.

Such CCTV cameras installed in your home or business can act as powerful "guards", which will send you instant alerts when they captured unknown faces or unwelcomed visitors in your house or stores.

In addition to home and business usage, facial recognition IP cameras also find its ways into more areas: airports, train stations and other places with heavy foot traffic. With these security cameras, police officers can identify criminals and terrorists once they are under the surveillance cameras.

Benefit 4. Facial Recognition IP Cameras Provide Multiple Advanced Features

Aside from facial recognition, cutting-edge CCTV cameras with facial recognition are able to automatically track and record unknown people and cars with unfamiliar license plates around your house.

Moreover, some facial recognition security cameras also come with heat map recording mode and analyses as well, which contributes to more comprehensive protection for your home and business.

Further Reading: You may check here to see if 1080p IP security cameras can identify license plates and people.

Security Cameras with Facial Recognition in Actual Use: Concerns You May Face

Get fascinated by the powerful facial recognition security cameras and would like to have a try?

Before dipping your toes in the water, you may take a closer look at the concerns that you may have when using security cameras with facial recognition first.

Concern 1. The Facial Recognition CCTV Camera Price Is Relatively High

Just like the price of cell phones back in the 1970s, the facial recognition security camera price is relatively high now, ranging from $150 to over $300 for a single camera. This makes them less affordable than average face detection security cameras.

Besides, some facial recognition for security cameras or facial recognition security camera software may charge for additional subscription fees starting from $10 per month, which is quite a cost in the long run.

Editor's Tips: To avoid any hidden costs, you may consult the sellers about the specific items and services included and also not included in the price tag of the facial recognition IP cameras before purchasing.

Concern 2. Facial Recognition Security Cameras May Intrude on Privacy

Currently, some people are conservative about the widespread use of facial recognition security camera systems due to privacy concerns.

Such concerns do not come out of thin air – Citizens may feel like being watched every second in the public areas and their personal information can be leaked away even without their conscious.

Facing the privacy concerns and the social challenges brought by the usage of facial recognition IP cameras, some institutions have announced strict regulations to protect citizen's rights.

For example, in Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) states that citizens enjoy their rights to privacy and any invasion of privacy shall face severe penalties. Meanwhile, the State of Washington become the third US state that introduces a new law in 2017 to formally protect biometric data.

Editor's Tips: To prevent invasion of privacy, when applying facial recognition security cameras in your home or business, you may face the security cameras within your own property or put on a surveillance sign as a notice.

Concern 3. Facial Recognition IP Cameras Deliver Undesirable Results

Though more and more security camera brands race to develop and sell facial recognition security camera, the performance of these CCTV cameras for sale now is not 100% accurate and largely depends on such factors as the CCTV camera angle, lighting and changing outfits.

According to professional media reviews and customers' feedback, some of the unqualified facial recognition security camera systems may take a while to learn faces or not pick up on faces at all.

There are also irresponsible sellers who deliberately advertise their products as facial recognition security cameras to mislead the consumers. But in fact, these security cameras don't come with any advanced technology to recognize human faces.

Editor's Tips: When you are planning to buy security cameras with facial recognition, it is best to choose from reputable and reliable security camera brands so as to avoid purchasing fake ones.

Alternatives for Facial Recognition Security Cameras

Should you buy facial recognition security cameras for your home or business now? Are they worthy of your investment?

At present, facial recognition for security cameras is still a new technology and it has not fully developed yet, which also explain the imperfections in face identification.

Meanwhile, the facial recognition IP camera market is not mature enough so there are limited options available nowadays. And that is also part of the reasons why the facial recognition security camera price is relatively higher.

So it may not be a wise choice to invest much in facial recognition security cameras now. However, there is another cost-effective security option for you: the face detection security camera, which is capable of protecting your home and business with accurate motion-triggered alerts.

As the sibling product of facial recognition security cameras, face detection IP cameras with sensitive PIR motion sensors, like Reolink Argus 2, can analyze heat changes to determine whether there is an actual intrusion or not, thus greatly reducing unwanted false alarms.

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Below is a video sample of Reolink Argus 2, which shows the happy moment between the dog owner and his lovely dogs.

It's your turn now! What do you think of facial recognition security cameras? Would you make a purchase now or wait until the facial recognition technology become mature? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comment below.