The facial recognition market is expected to grow at a combined annual growth rate of 12.5% for the forecast period 2019 to 2024, according to Mordor Intelligence. The market was valued at $4.51 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach a value of $9.06 billion by 2024, according to a company press release.

Facial recognition has been gaining prominence in recent times, owing to the benefits it offers over other surveillance techniques. Governments have been investing in the technology with the U.S. and China the leading adopters.

Facial recognition is defined as a method of recognizing a human face through hardware like video cameras. The scope of the study is limited to stand-alone facial recognition solutions and services offered by various vendors.. The hardware components involved for facial recognition services like video cameras, sensors, etc. are not considered for arriving at the revenue estimates during the forecast period.

Presently, around 94% of smartphones feature fingerprint sensors, but this is expected to drop to 90% by 2023. 

The development in 3D cameras is expected to bring advancement and new applications for 3D facial recognition technology, especially the healthcare IT solutions, payments and commerce sectors. For instance, in June 2018, SensibleVision, a Florida-based firm launched its 3DWALLET technology, designed to let retailers replace cash and card payments and eliminate the need for checkout lines through a 3D facial recognition platform that identifies customers automatically and charges them for their purchases.

North America is expected to hold the highest market share. The region offers lucrative opportunities for market growth, exhibiting a massive demand for facial recognition technology for homeland security and criminal investigation.

The biggest facial recognition surveillance system in the region is operated by the FBI. The FBI's ID system maintains a facial recognition database with images of more than 117 million Americans. The FBI conducts, on average, 4,055 searches every month to identify individuals with facial recognition systems.

Image courtesy of Mordor Intelligence.