Net One Partners and RealNetworks Sign Strategic Distribution Partnership Agreement to Provide SAFR™ AI Facial Recognition Solutions to the Japanese Market for the First Time

SEATTLE, Nov. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- RealNetworks, Inc. (headquarters: Seattle, Washington, USA; Chairman and CEO: Robert Glaser) and Net One Partners Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Takuya Tanaka) signed a strategic partnership agreement enabling Net One Partners to develop, market, and commercially distribute AI-based SAFR platform solutions that extend RealNetworks' best-in-class facial recognition technology to new market verticals in Japan for the first time.

SAFR, developed by RealNetworks, is a highly accurate facial recognition platform optimized for real-world faces that readily integrates with ICT infrastructure, such as IP cameras and servers. SAFR adapts to and extends the utility of numerous applications. Operating with high performance, even in bandwidth constrained environments, SAFR readily scales to support thousands of cameras and millions of faces.

Net One Partners will provide SAFR to leading ICT infrastructure providers who develop applications for specific industries. The extensive network of companies supported by Net One Partners will amplify and add further value to SAFR's facial recognition capabilities.

Diverse Usage Scenarios
SAFR's highly accurate facial recognition technology can be applied to a wide variety of usage scenarios, such as substituting a face for a badge to grant automatic door access. SAFR supports multifactor entry and exit management, combining facial recognition with other methods of authentication. These may include smiling, or an AprilTag sent to a mobile device and identified by SAFR to secure commercial infrastructure, such as hotels and retail space. SAFR improves secure access with the simultaneous convenience and efficiency of identifying individuals, from VIP customers and guests to unknown people. SAFR also supports demographic analytics—estimating gender, age, and sentiment—to enable real-time promotional marketing informed by purchasing behaviors.

Machine Learning World-Class Accuracy
SAFR has a 99.8% accuracy rating based on the University of Massachusetts' Labeled Faces in the Wild (LFW) test.* In June of 2018 United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) ranked RealNetworks' SAFR algorithm as the most accurate for "Faces in the Wild" of any US company.** NIST test results demonstrated that the SAFR platform excels at identifying faces at various scale; in live video; in challenging real-world conditions—such as faces occluded, with makeup, or under dim lighting; and in motion with yaw, tilt, and rotation. 

Readily Adapts to Off-The-Shelf Hardware and IP Cameras
SAFR is broadly compatible with multi-vendor products, IP cameras, and ICT technologies. It also supports smart devices and PC cameras. The SAFR client is designed to run on Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, and Linux and massively scales from local, on-premises deployments to cloud operations. The SAFR SDK and rich set of APIs provide extensive interoperability.

Privacy Consideration
All facial images and facial signatures are protected through encryption. Facial information is stored in either the cloud or locally, on premises. Local storage can ensure that no facial information is ever transmitted over the internet, providing an additional level of security.

For details, please visit https://safr.com/.

Features of Net One Partners' Physical Security Solution
Net One Partners provides a consistent physical security solution by combining IP cameras, surveillance cameras, video management software (VMS), servers, storage, network, and virtualization software with multiple vendors. Net One Partners has also constructed a large-scale system using hundreds of IP cameras. By incorporating highly accurate face authentication through SAFR from RealNetworks, Net One Partners will greatly expand the range of applications and market solutions, strengthening the competitiveness of partner companies who have teamed with Net One Partners.

For details, please visit https://www.netone-pa.co.jp/solution/iot/physicalsecurity_outline.php.

Comments from Both Companies
Noriaki Takamura, Vice President Asia Pacific, RealNetworks, Inc.
"The futuristic technology of biometric authentication through facial recognition will soon find applicability in a wide variety of environments and locales. Personal authentication using facial recognition enables a new class of applications that replace key cards, badges, and fobs, allowing physical or digital entry through facial identity. I believe that the applications for facial recognition are unlimited, and can contribute to the improvement of social productivity and the creation of a safe society. I am very pleased that RealNetworks has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Net One Partners, who has renowned familiarity with the Japanese IT market."

Takuya Tanaka, President and Representative Director, Net One Partners Co., Ltd.
"The face authentication function of RealNetworks' SAFR is highly accurate and open, it has a very high affinity with our multi-vendor solution and can create great added value. The face authentication market in Japan is nascent. We will contribute to the expansion of SAFR by application and vertical market with partner companies to drive social acceptance and demand for face authentication, which is expected to increase exponentially."

About RealNetworks, Inc.
RealNetworks invented the streaming media category and changed the way audio and video content was consumed across devices and around the world. Building on a legacy of digital media expertise and innovation, RealNetworks has created a new generation of products that employ best-in-class artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance and secure our daily lives. Find RealNetworks' corporate information at www.realnetworks.com.

About Net One Partners Co., Ltd.
Net One Partners Co., Ltd. is a group company of Net One Systems Co., Ltd., established in November 2008. Collaborating with partner companies We are specializing in business, including all product groups (including services) that Net One Systems can sell, and Net One Partners original solutions and products, including sales support, installation, maintenance and operation services. We will sell it together with added value for partner companies. For details, please visit https://www.netone-pa.co.jp/.

RealNetworks®, SAFR™, and the company's respective logos are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of RealNetworks, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Additional Information
*For more information on the University of Massachusetts' LFW test, see: http://vis-www.cs.umass.edu/lfw/.
**For more information on FRVT, see: https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018/06/21/frvt_report_2018_06_21.pdf

SOURCE RealNetworks, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.realnetworks.com