The CSIR has developed face, body and number plate recognition technology for the biometric verification of individuals, recording of activities and reporting of incidences or events.

Overall access control and surveillance to secure facilities has become a necessity for most private companies and state-owned organisations. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic has emphasised the need for contactless identity authentication.

The CSIR-developed system comprises independent recognition systems that can be integrated to collaboratively solve physical security and surveillance problems. It uses camera imaging technology, integrated with CSIR-developed modules for face and human body recognition, according to uniform to address the challenges of access control to secure facilities or any other entrance or exit points where security measures are needed.

In essence, the system fuses technologies that would otherwise be used independently, making it easy to view and track events.

The South African Army headquarters became the first point of deployment of the system in October 2020, where the system is being used to monitor the movement of vehicles and people at one of its access points. To sustain and maintain system continuity and support, the CSIR conducted hands-on training for the personnel operating the system. A biometric identification method will be added to offer bi-factor authentication of individuals to fulfil the security needs of the South African Army.