EYES ON YOU: The Cleveland Browns were Wicket Software’s pilot client.
Facial recognition used for surveillance and convenience
An executive at one of the leading providers of facial recognition technology at venues says its software is primarily used in sports as opposed to concerts and other non-sports events and is not marketed as a surveillance tool.
“We have not used it as much for concerts or for other activities at (professional sports) venues,” said Jeff Boehm, chief operating officer at Wicket Software. “In some cases, when artists come in, they bring in all their own equipment and their own security and ticketing and stuff like that. In other cases, they rely on the venues for that sort of setup.”
Facial and other forms of biometric recognition and things like license plate readers have been in use for years and now are entrenched in commercial spaces.
Privacy concerns notwithstanding, is the cat out of the bag?
“Technologies like this and other surveillance are being widely used,” Boehm said. “I’m not comfortable with all the different use cases, but it is out there and it would be good for regulators and overseers to continue to have guard rails on how that technology is used and how that data can be used. Whether it’s Clear or what we’re doing, or what MLB is doing with their Go Ahead solution, we try to be upfront and transparent with people about what they’re signing up for.”
The Cleveland Browns, owned by the Haslam family and which owns a stake in Wicket, were the company’s pilot customer and the NFL is now using the technology for media credentials at all 30 league stadiums.
The Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers are among the teams that have joined the Browns in using Wicket as part of their ticketing operations at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Bank of America Stadium, respectively.
Levy uses Wicket for concessions in Atlanta and Aramark recently tapped into the system for as part of its frictionless Express Access grab-and-go program in Cleveland, in tandem with point-of-sale suppliers Mashin and Tapin2.
Teams pay Wicket an annual licensing fee to use the technology.
“If I’m a Browns season ticket holder, and I say, ‘Okay, do I trust the Browns overall?’ Boehm said. “It’s the Browns who own this data. ‘Do I trust them to be good stewards of my data? Do I want to let them take a picture of my face in exchange for the convenience of getting into the stadium four times faster than everybody else when I’m rushing in from tailgating to getting there for kickoff? We’re not enforcing it and making it mandatory. It gets tricky when people are using it or it’s being used without people’s consent or knowledge. It’s a line that we definitely won’t cross.”
“The people that have been built Wicket had been working together on similar technology for a number of years,” Boehm said. “They were doing more out-of-home advertising, but when Covid hit and business shut down the Browns actually approached the team and said, ‘Hey, could you use your technology to help us get fans back into the stadium safely?’”
Boehm said it’s important to be clear about two very different use cases of biometric technology. One is for surveillance and looking out over a large crowd. There’s soccer teams in Europe that use it to keep tabs on fans who have been unruly. They’re surveilling an entire crowd and looking for people.
That’s not how Wicket markets or uses its technology, Boehm said, pointing out that the reported instance of lawyers involved in suits against Madison Square Garden owner Jim Dolan being recognized and barred from entry is a form of surveillance that’s not in Wicket’s wheelhouse.
“You couldn’t use our technology to do that,” he said. “Our technology is only used 100% opt-in fashion, where people are saying, I want to use this technology, and I want to have my face scanned in order to gain admission, or in order to make a payment, in order to access a restricted area, or whatever it may be.”
The federal Transportation Security Administration is now testing retinal eye scans with the vision for eliminating the need for traditional forms of identification when going through airport security.
“The TSA use case is very similar,” Boehm said. “That’s not our technology. The ultimate goal with the TSA is to not have to show your ID at all. You don’t have to pull out your ticket or find your QR code. You just show your face and it recognizes you and matches you with your tickets and walk in.”
Boehm is admittedly new to the venue facial recognition technology, having been with Wicket for 18 months, but he’s been in tech for 30 years, mostly in data analytics.
“This was my first foray biometrics, but many of the core members of this team have been working on this technology for five to seven years now,” he said. “ Our core computer vision algorithms team, our core technology team, has been together for a number of years, even predating the initial launch of Wicket as a company.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.
