NIST launches investigation of face masks’ effect on face recognition software
A preliminary study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) evaluates the performance of facial recognition algorithms on faces partially covered by protective masks. According to the report, even the best of the 89 commercial facial recognition algorithms tested had error rates between 5 percent and 50 percent in matching digitally applied face masks with photos of the same person without a mask.
The results were published as a NIST Interagency Report (NISTIR 8311), the first in a planned series from NIST’s Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT) program on the performance of face recognition algorithms on faces partially covered by protective masks.