NTT Data deployed AI and facial recognition technologies from Taiwanese firm Cyberlink at an unstaffed concept shop at the Tokyu Hands department store in the Shibuya district of Tokyo.
 
Using CyberLink’s FaceMe facial recognition engine, the concept store was a smart retail pilot project being tested for real-world applications. It combined remote serving services, digital information monitors and the use of anonymised AI data analytics to drive a stronger self-service customer experience.
 
FaceMe supported the pilot programme by identifying the age, gender and facial emotion data of customers inside the retail environment to assist in measuring the effectiveness of the project, paving the way for cashier-less retail.
 
NTT Data is a Japanese IT services provider and information systems integration firm. Due to the growing decline of Japan’s labour force and the increased health risk posed by Covid-19 from physical interactions, Japan’s retail sector, like most, has suffered from retail expansion difficulties. NTT Data’s concept in the Tokyu Hands store at Scramble Square, Shibuya, collected live customer data to demonstrate how retail locations that are both employee-less and touchless could thrive.
 
This provided shippers with guest guidance using interactive monitors and displays to facilitate touchless transactions. Sales consultants at the Shinjuku office used virtual avatars to offer brand instructions and product recommendations.
 
In this way, retailers can optimise the resource of sales consultants who are specialised in product knowledge, and flexibly serve different store locations regardless of geographic limitations.
 
In-store cameras used FaceMe to identify age, gender and emotional data, combining with NTT Data’s voice-to-text technology. The collected data can be used in the future to improve customer service quality and product development, and estimate the return of investment of promotional events.
 
The pilot project provided a proof-of-concept on the FaceMe AI facial recognition engine’s ease of integration and capabilities. Its edge-based architecture is said to offer fast and efficient processing with higher accuracy and speed than other cloud-based options.
 
FaceMe supports more than ten operating systems, comprising Windows, Android, iOS and Linux distributions Ubuntu x86, Ubuntu Arm, RedHat, CentOS, Yocto, Debian and JetPack.
 
FaceMe can run on low-power CPUs to enable facial recognition on cost-effective IoT and AIoT devices and has the ability to integrate with high-end servers, workstations and personal computers equipped with a GPU.
 
Founded in 1996, CyberLink specialises in multimedia software and AI facial recognition technology. It has shipped several hundred million copies of its multimedia software and apps, including the PowerDirector, PhotoDirector and PowerDVD.
 
With years of research in the fields of artificial intelligence and facial recognition, CyberLink developed the FaceMe facial recognition engine. Powered by deep learning algorithms, FaceMe delivers real-time facial recognition for AIoT applications such as in smart retail, smart security, surveillance, smart city and smart home.