Chinese AI teams win big in global facial recognition competition

Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms developed by Chinese researchers have swept the top five places in a global competition in facial recognition technology, said the organizer.

Two algorithms developed by YITU Technology have taken the top two places in the Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT), held by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is the third consecutive time that the Shanghai-based AI start-up has won the top prize.

Two algorithms developed by Sensetime came third and fourth with another developed by the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences placed fifth.

The contest shows that on a global level, the performance of facial recognition technology has improved 80 percent compared to a year ago, according to NIST.

"It means that the machine is able to recognize every individual almost error-free on a scale of ten million samples," said Wu Shuang, a scientist at YITU Technology, adding that the improved accuracy allows AI applications to deliver a better user experience.

As a widely recognized contest in the AI industry, FRVT has attracted many world-renowned AI developers, including Gemalto, Vocord and Ever AI.

The test measures the performance of facial recognition technologies by using a database from ongoing criminal investigations and other real-life scenarios.