Season-ticket holders at Belgian football club RWD Molenbeek will soon find it easier to enter the stands at their stadium, thanks to facial recognition technology that is set to be introduced at the turnstiles. Although the project is still in the test phase, fans ordering their season tickets online can already upload an ID photo. This photo will be compared in real time with images taken by two cameras installed in the season-ticket holders’ queue at the stadium entrance, allowing supporters to enter much faster. An automatic gate will be installed in early 2019.
Spectators who have forgotten their paper ticket can still enter the stadium with no problem. Those who haven’t uploaded a photo, or who have borrowed an entry ticket, will still have to pass through the conventional gates and show their ticket at the turnstiles. The system was installed by Zetes using Panasonic facial recognition technology.
The facial recognition software applies only to the access checks, as a further benefit for season-ticket holders.
Supporters’ photos are scanned and stored on an RWDM server, which is not connected to the Internet or to any other system. Only RWDM-authorised personnel have access to the data. Data collected by the entrance gate cameras is not recorded, guaranteeing confidentiality for the supporters.
At this stage, the system is still in the test phase, and the facial recognition facility is not yet fully operational. The installation of the automatic gate at the beginning of 2019 will complete the planned programme. In 2017 April, Panasonic acquired a majority shareholding in Zetes and in 2017 July, it completed the acquisition of 100% shares of Zetes. Zetes was founded in 1984, and employs 1100 employees in 21 countries in EMEA in 2016.
