National ICT Australia (NICTA) has been recognised for its facial recognition technology, winning the ICT research and development (R&D) award at the Asia-Pacific ICT Alliance Awards (APICTA) in Thailand.
NICTA’s face search engine project improves the quality of face recognition in grainy footage and has the potential to save time in police investigations thanks to its automatic watchlist notifications.
NICTA’s chief operating officer, Dr Phil Robertson, said the project shows how important the R&D sector is to the future of technology developments.
“ICT R&D is absolutely fundamental to solving economic and social challenges in Australia and is central to the transformation of industry sectors,” Robertson said.
“This award is consistent with the international recognition NICTA regularly receives.”
The Australian Information Industry Association’s (AIIA) CEO, Suzanne Campbell, said the win shows that innovative projects are being implemented in the Australian ICT sector.
“What we are seeing is real innovation backed by strong implementation being taken directly into commercial markets,” Campbell said.
“That is how Australia will capitalise on the opportunities on offer in the new global economy and it is truly exciting to see these companies in action.”
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