ROC Tech Ranks #1 in NIST Age Estimation Study
Biometric company ROC has secured the top ranking for age estimation accuracy in a new evaluation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The company's algorithm was ranked #1 globally for its performance in child online safety and mugshot datasets.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) evaluation, known as the Face Analysis Technology Evaluation (FATE), is the first major federal benchmark for this technology in a decade, setting a new global standard for performance. The evaluation tested algorithms from developers worldwide on their ability to determine a person's age from a photograph. ROC's algorithm achieved a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 2.3 years on mugshot data for individuals aged 18-24, the lowest error rate of any vendor in that critical segment. In the Child Online Safety category for ages 13-16, ROC also secured the top global ranking for accuracy. The FATE evaluation is extensive, using a database of over 11 million photos from various real-world sources, including mugshots, border-crossing images, and immigration application headshots of people from more than 100 countries. Performance is measured by Mean Absolute Error, which calculates the average difference between the algorithm's age estimate and the person's actual age. The demand for accurate age estimation is driven by a wave of new legislation aimed at protecting minors online. At least 18 U.S. states have passed laws requiring age verification for access to certain online content and services. This technology is often positioned as a privacy-preserving solution for age verification. Unlike methods that require users to upload sensitive documents, biometric age estimation can verify age from a selfie without needing to collect personal data like a date of birth. ROC, a U.S.-based company, is a key player in the broader field of multimodal biometrics, providing face, fingerprint, and iris recognition technologies. Its clients include military, law enforcement, and financial technology partners who require verified performance. While ROC leads in these specific categories, the NIST FATE evaluation is an ongoing and competitive benchmark. Other top-performing vendors in various age estimation categories include companies like Yoti, Idemia, and Regula.
