Year: 2022

According to a recent study from Future Market Insights, the facial recognition market is expected to reach US$ 22.5 billion by 2032, up from US$ 5.2 billion in 2022, expanding at a high CAGR of 15.7%. This study explains that increased government investments in emerging technologies of CCTV cameras in most public places to minimize criminal activities and terrorist attacks, and to enhance public safety, is boosting the facial recognition market growth.

Factors such as the rise in demand for face detection systems to enhance safety and security, and increase in applications in physical security and intelligent signage are expected to propel the growth of the global facial recognition market during the forecast period. Further, the report opines that the technological advancements such as 3D recognition systems and cloud-based solutions are anticipated to augment the market growth in the coming years.

The key points suggested by the researchers show that by component, it is the software tools segment that has expanded strongly at a CAGR of 16.8% up to 2021; the law enforcement application was dominant in the facial recognition market with a CAGR of 16.7% to 2021; and in terms of geographical uptake of the technology, the analysts predict that it will be China that accounts for the highest value share of US$ 1.6 Bn of the global market demand for facial recognition market by 2032.

Increasing mobile transactions for banking in countries, such as India and China, coupled with their governments’ initiatives, are expected to be the major drivers for the facial recognition market in the region, suggest the research analysts.

Competitive landscape

Players in the global Facial Recognition market focus on expanding their global reach through various strategies. The players are also making a significant investment in R&D to add innovations to their products which would help them in strengthening their position in the global market. Some of the recent developments among the key players are:

In March 2022, Aware, a biometrics software and services company, partnered with Miracl to expand its cloud-based biometric authentication technology. The partnership is a through a mutual reseller arrangement whereby each company can both sell each other’s products and integrate them within their own product lines.

SALTO’s acquisition of Cognitec Systems is initiating strong partnership of business synergy and innovation. This acquisition is expected to meet market requests for adding face recognition and artificial intelligence technologies to the company’s electronic access control and ticketing solutions.

Key players mentioned and covered within the report include: NEC Corporation, Aware, Idemia, Daon, Innovatrics, Facefirst, Facephi Biometria, Sightcorp, Neurotechnologies, Technobrain, Smilepass, Stereovision Imaging, ID3 Technologies, Herta Security and Animetrics.

Bosch is expanding its expertise in MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) micro speakers and strengthening its market position as leading provider of sensing solutions for consumer electronics with an acquisition. Arioso Systems, based in Dresden, Germany, is to become part of the Bosch Sensortec GmbH. Agreements to this effect were signed by Bosch and Arioso Systems.

Arioso Systems is one of the world’s most innovative providers of MEMS micro speaker technology. The technology is also a beneficial complement to Bosch’s MEMS sensor portfolio for wearables and hearables. The unique and innovative technology concept from Arioso Systems combined with the long-lasting experience from Bosch Sensortec to develop a technology to high-volume consumer electronics market maturity is expected to shape the emerging global MEMS micro speaker market. Manufacturers of TWS (true wireless stereo) earphones and other hearable devices will benefit from a sound generation with significant less power consumption and a smaller form factor, which means an expanded battery run time and easier system integration.

Arioso Systems developed a novel audio transducer technology, where sound is generated through movement of vertically oriented lamellas inside a silicon chip. Unlike conventional membrane, Arioso Systems technology uses the chip volume rather than surface. Therefore, it is possible to build a miniatured MEMS micro-speaker to generate up to 120 dB SPL (sound pressure level) out of 10mm2 active area.

“The whole Arioso Systems team is excited to become part of the most powerful global provider of sensing solutions and to take the next step in expanding our leading-edge technology,” says Hermann Schenk, CEO of Arioso Systems. “Joining our forces means we can leverage the full potential of our MEMS micro speaker technology.”

It has been agreed that any project details such as the purchase price will not be disclosed. The acquisition is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.

According to the latest market research from Berg Insight, the European market for smart home systems is still behind the North American market in terms of market penetration and maturity. However, the market has now grown to become almost as large as the North American market.

Smart home and home automation systems include a wide range of solutions for controlling, monitoring and automating functions in the home. Berg Insight’s definition of a smart home system is one that is accessible from remote and includes a smartphone app or a web portal user interface. Devices that only can be controlled and automated locally, through switches, timers, sensors and remote controls, are thus not included in the scope of this study. Smart home systems can be grouped into seven primary categories: security and access control systems; energy management and climate control systems; audio-visual and entertainment systems; lighting and window control systems; healthcare and independent living systems; home appliances and service robotics.

Most advanced market is US

The North American smart home market recorded strong growth during 2021. The installed base of smart home systems increased by 18.0 percent to reach 223.2 million at the year-end. An estimated 30.0 million of these were multifunction or whole-home systems whereas 193.2 million were point solutions designed for one specific function. As some homes have more than one smart system in use, the installed base totalled an estimated 51.3 million smart homes at the end of the year. This corresponds to 35.8 percent of all households, placing North America as the most advanced smart home market in the world. Between 2021 and 2026, the number of households that adopt smart home systems is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8 percent, resulting in 74.6 million smart homes. Market revenues reached US$ 36.7 billion (€ 31.0 billion) in 2021, an increase of 16.4 percent year-on-year. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.7 percent between 2021 and 2026, reaching US$ 63.7 billion (€ 53.9 billion) in yearly revenues at the end of the forecast period.

Europe lags behind in maturity

The European market for smart home systems is still behind the North American market in terms of market penetration and maturity. However, the market has now grown to become almost as large as the North American market. At the end of 2021, there was a total of 167.7 million smart home systems in use in the EU27+3 countries, up 22.9 percent year-on-year. Around 20.0 million of these systems were multifunction or whole-home systems whereas 147.7 million were point solutions. This corresponds to around 53.7 million smart homes when overlaps are taken into account, meaning that 23.0 percent of all households in Europe were smart at the end of the year. The number of European households to adopt smart home systems is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.7 percent during the next five years, resulting in 99.7 million smart homes by 2026. Market revenues grew by 30.9 percent to € 29.7 billion (US$ 35.1 billion) in 2021. The market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 15.5 percent between 2021 and 2026 to reach € 61.1 billion (US$ 72.2 billion) at the end of the forecast period.

Wide mix of players

A point solution will in many cases constitute the consumer’s first smart home purchase. The most popular point solutions to date, in terms of sold units, include smart thermostats, smart light bulbs, smart plugs, connected security cameras and voice controlled smart speakers. These products are marketed by incumbent OEMs such as Signify, Resideo, Danfoss, Belkin, Chamberlain, Schlage and Assa Abloy and newer entrants such as Ecobee, Sonos, Arlo, Nuki, Mysa, Ikea and Wyze Labs.

In the whole-home system market, traditional home automation vendors such as Crestron Electronics, Control4, Savant Systems, eQ-3 and Loxone are facing new competition as companies from adjacent industries have entered the market. Communications and security service providers such as ADT, Vivint, Comcast and Brinks Home Security (Monitronics) have established themselves among the largest whole-home solution vendors in North America. Major vendors in Europe include Centrica, Somfy, Deutsche Telekom and Verisure.

Advancis has been awarded the “Innovative through Research 2022 / 2023” seal by the German association “Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft”. With this seal, the association honours research-based companies for their special commitment and the responsibility they assume for the state and society through their work. The “Stifterverband” awards the seal to research-based companies that participate in the biennial full survey on research and development of the German economy.

“We are very pleased about having been awarded this seal. Innovation and research are important components of our corporate philosophy. The award is proof of our role as an innovation driver in vendor-neutral security and building management”, states David Teppe, Head of Strategic Alliances at Advancis. With more than 2,000 realised installations worldwide, Advancis Software & Services GmbH headquartered in Langen near Frankfurt/Main is amongst the market leaders in vendor-neutral physical security information management, or PSIM.

In addition to its own research and development work, Advancis is currently participating in the “SPELL” research project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The abbreviation SPELL stands for “Semantic platform for intelligent decision-making and deployment support in control and situation centres”. The aim of this project is to use artificial intelligence to initiate emergency response, emergency aid and supply measures for the population more quickly and in line with the situation in case of crises (e.g. major incidents, pandemics, natural disasters or widespread power failures).

“Within the scope of the SPELL project, we will be developing future-oriented solutions together with our project partners in the coming years. Our focus is on the integration, harmonisation and utilisation of sensor data from security and building management as well as communication and information technology”, explains David Teppe.