OREANDA-NEWS. NEC Corporation and NEC Colombia today announced the provision of face recognition technology at Atanasio Girardot Stadium, in Medellin, Colombia, the country's second largest city, in order to contribute to the safety, security and enjoyment of audiences for leading sports events.

In recent years, the city of Medellin has made dramatic improvements in the area of public safety. As part of making further contributions to the city's quality of life, the mayor of Medellin, Federico Gutierrez, has overseen the establishment of the "Safer Stadium Project" at the Atanasio Girardot Stadium, which seats more than 40,000 spectators and is home to two professional football clubs, Atletico Nacional and Independiente Medellin.

In December 2015, NEC completed delivery of this system to the Secretaria de Seguridad en Medelli, the operator of Atanasio Girardot Stadium. The system includes NEC's world leading* face recognition technology, NeoFace Watch, and was implemented in cooperation with local system integrator Robotec.

This system features 170 high-resolution cameras spread across 40 sites throughout the stadium, including entrances, passageways and seating areas. The system references images from a database of individuals who have caused issues at events in the past in order to limit their access to the stadium if necessary. Moreover, the system is able to automatically detect unusual or suspect behavior in real-time, and to quickly send notifications to stadium staff in order to help resolve any potential issues.

"We are proud to be working with NEC in order to help ensure the safety and security of audiences at Atanasio Girardot Stadium," said Mr. Anibal Gaviria Correa, former mayor of Medellin. "This new system enables fans to better concentrate on sharing quality time with family and friends while enjoying the excitement of the game."

NEC has an accomplished history of providing safety solutions with face recognition capabilities throughout Latin America, including 14 international airports in Brazil and a city surveillance system in Tigre City, Argentina. Going forward, NEC aims to leverage the know-how and experience from this stadium project in Colombia in order to contribute to greater safety and security in Latin America and communities across the world.