LONDON, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research, the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to cause a significant pushback on biometric device shipments, creating a major revenue drop of US$2 billion over the course of 2020. At the same time, the pandemic has given rise to new identification and surveillance needs, spurring further investments in biometric Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm design, which will give a boost to the face recognition technologies market going forward.
"Contact biometric technologies like fingerprint and vein have been dealt a substantial blow due to new governmental regulations targeting contact and close-proximity interactions. Fingerprint biometrics vendors are struggling to uphold the new stringent hygiene and infectious control protocols. These regulations have been correctly introduced for the safety of users and personnel, but they have also affected sales in certain verticals," explains Dimitrios Pavlakis, Digital Security Analyst at ABI Research.
"On-premises physical access control, user registration, identification, and workforce management systems have been greatly affected in the enterprise and commercial space, but these applications also spread into healthcare, law enforcement, border control, government, civil, and welfare," Pavlakis adds. While contact-only companies will have additional hurdles to overcome in most markets, innovative companies like Gemalto and IDEMIA have already adapted their solutions offering contact-less fingerprint sensing technologies. Additionally, fingerprint sensor vendors operating in consumer markets like FPC and Goodix will be mostly affected by smartphone sales, rather than hygiene concerns, due to the personal nature of user authentication.
The total biometric device market is expected to reach US$28.2 billion in 2020, with the government and security market taking a significant hit of US$1.1 billion. Fingerprint device sales are also expected to decrease in 2020 by US$1.2 billion. Not all is bleak, however. "AI biometric firms are adapting to the biological threat. Biometric technologies are currently undergoing a forced evolution rather than an organic one, with artificial intelligence biometric firms spearheading the charge," says Pavlakis. "New IoT and smart city-focused applications will enable new data streams and analytics, monitoring infection rates in real-time, forcing new data-sharing initiatives, and even applying behavioral AI models to predict future outbreaks."
Face and iris recognition have been brought into the spotlight as key technologies allowing authentication, identification and surveillance operations for users and citizens wearing protective head gear, face masks, or, with partially covered faces. These elements that were the bane of face recognition algorithms in the past have now been integrated into algorithm developers' value proposition followed by further investment boost targeted at surveillance, video analytics and smart city applications. Temperature and fever detection technologies making use of infrared technologies have also been retrofitted in access and border control while biometric telemedicine applications are providing healthcare support to consumers and patients remotely. AI investments have been primarily instigated by leading Chinese firms like SenseTime, Megvii, Alibaba, and Baidu.
These findings are from ABI Research's Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on the Biometrics Market application analysis report. This report is part of the company's Digital Security research service, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights. Based on extensive primary interviews, Application Analysis reports present in-depth analysis on key market trends and factors for a specific application, which could focus on an individual market or geography.
About ABI Research
ABI Research provides strategic guidance to visionaries, delivering actionable intelligence on the transformative technologies that are dramatically reshaping industries, economies, and workforces across the world. ABI Research's global team of analysts publish groundbreaking studies often years ahead of other technology advisory firms, empowering our clients to stay ahead of their markets and their competitors.
ABI Research提供开创性的研究和战略指导,帮助客户了解日新月异的技术。 自1990年以来,我们已与全球数百个领先的技术品牌,尖端公司,具有远见的政府机构以及创新的贸易团体建立了合作关系。 我们帮助客户创造真实的业务成果。
For more information about ABI Research's services, contact us at +1.516.624.2500 in the Americas, +44.203.326.0140 in Europe, +65.6592.0290 in Asia-Pacific or visit www.abiresearch.com.
Contact Info:
Global
Deborah Petrara
Tel: +1.516.624.2558
[email protected]
SOURCE ABI Research
![](https://rt.prnewswire.com/rt.gif?NewsItemId=NY98481&Transmission_Id=202005060400PR_NEWS_USPR_____NY98481&DateId=20200506)
Share this article