Facial recognition in school canteens
08 November 2021
Facial recognition systems for students to use at the canteen to make lunch payments are in place in nine schools in North Ayrshire, Scotland and twenty-five schools are in England.
Parents are able to add money to their child’s account online and pupils can then use the facial recognition system to pay for their lunch at school.
The system, launched in June 2021 was intended to provide a contactless alternative to fingerprint identification in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The facial recognition technology detects eight to twelve points on the pupil’s face, and the distance between them, and these details are linked to a student number and individual account for each pupil.
Unlike live facial recognition systems, which are used to scan through crowds and identify faces, the system only scans a pupil’s face when the operator activates it.
Ease of use is one the main benefits of facial recognition technology. North Ayrshire council said, “Pupils often forget their PINs and unfortunately some have also been the victim of PIN fraud, so they are supportive of the planned developments and appreciate the benefits to them”.
Managing director, David Swanston of CRB Cunninghams, the business behind this technology, said, “It’s the fastest way of recognising someone at the till — it’s faster than card, it’s faster than fingerprint.
“In a secondary school you have around about a 25-minute period to serve potentially 1,000 pupils. So, we need fast throughput at the point of sale”.
Installation of the system costs up to £12,000, plus an additional fee of up to £3,000 per year depending on the size of the school.
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