The University and Ingenium Biometrics have secured funding from Innovate UK to collaborate on a 2-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership which will support Ingenium Biometrics’ expansion into the age estimation market.
The KTP will be supported by academics in the Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, with the aim of developing a system and robust methodology for testing the accuracy of facial age estimation software.
The collaboration will support Ingenium to expand into age estimation market where there is growing demand for technology which can accurately estimate the age of customers without the need for ID verification. With applications in a wide range of industries, including gaming and dating, age estimation software has the potential to reduce customer friction whilst improving outcomes for everyone.
The £232k project will be supported by two esteemed biometrics experts based at the University of Kent. Professor Richard Guest is a member of the UK Government’s Biometric and Forensic Ethics Committee and has had significant involvement with biometrics standards development. He will be supporting the project alongside Professor Gareth Howells who has been involved in research relating to security, biometrics and pattern classification techniques for over 25 years.
The academic team will work with a skilled graduate hired especially to deliver the project and embed their knowledge and expertise within the company. In particular, the project will benefit from the academics’ experience in the design and evaluation of biometrics systems, the definition and use of biometric standards and ethical considerations relating to the use of biometric data.
Commenting on the partnership, Professor Richard Guest said, ‘We’re delighted to be working with Ingenium on this KTP. The use of automated age estimation is expected to grow exponentially over the coming years so it’s absolutely vital that the performance of these systems are understood.’
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, funded by Innovate UK, help businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK knowledge base. With over 36 years of experience in delivering KTPs and a 100% application success rate, we are perfectly-positioned to help your business tap into this fantastic opportunity to innovate and grow. Visit our Knowledge Transfer Partnerships at Kent site to find out more.
