Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT) Ongoing

FRVT 1:1        [Latest Report]   [Agreement]   [API]   [Validation]  [Encryption]   [FAQs]
FRVT 1:N       [Homepage]   [API]

FRVT Status

The latest report adds results for algorithms submitted by 39 developers during August and September 2018.  Updates to this report will be produced as remaining results for the recently submitted algorithms become available.  We retired older algorithms from many developers, because we only report results for at most two per developer.  FRVT Ongoing is currently closed while FRVT 2018 (1:N search algorithms) continues in Phase 3.  FRVT Ongoing will resume in 2019 - algorithms should be submitted during January 28 - February 1, 2019.  The next full report is scheduled for March 1, 2019.  There are planned updates to the API document, header file, and validation package.  Developers must download and adhere to the most current version of these files, which will be published ahead of the test reopening in January 2019. 

Separately, we have completed Phase 2 of the FRVT 2018 evaluation of 1:N algorithms and will publish a public report soon.  FRVT 1:N Phase 2 evaluated 65 algorithms from 38 developers.

To receive update notifications, subscribe by email via subscribe.

FRVT Leaderboard

The leaderboard shows the top performing algorithms measured on false non-match rate (FNMR) across several different datasets. FNMR is the proportion of mated comparisons below a threshold set to achieve the false match rate (FMR) specified. FMR is the proportion of impostor comparisons at or above that threshold.

Additional algorithms not listed in the leaderboard can be found in Table 2 of our latest FRVT report. The report includes results for fifty four algorithms applied to six datasets. It is a draft made available for comments. It will be updated on a monthly basis as algorithms and computations complete, as datasets are added, and as new analyses are developed.

Prior editions of the report: 2018-06-21 | 2018-06-18 | 2018-04-03 | 2018-02-15 | 2018-01-25 | 2017-12-14 | 2017-11-16 | 2017-10-03 | 2017-08-25 | 2017-08-07 | 2017-07-31 | 2017-05-15 | 2017-05-01 | 2017-04-12 | 2017-04-03 | 2017-03-23.

Developers may submit their algorithms at any time by following instructions below. Results will be posted as soon as algorithms successfully complete the tests.

Overview

NIST started a new evaluation of face recognition technologies in February 2017. Unlike previous evaluations, the activity is conducted on an ongoing basis in that the evaluation remains open indefinitely such that developers may submit their algorithms to NIST whenever they are ready, but no more frequently than three calendar months. The algorithms will be evaluated rapidly on a first-come-first-served basis, following our MINEX III evaluation of fingerprint recognition implementations. Performance results will be posted to the NIST website as soon as they are ready. This approach more closely aligns evaluation with development schedules; this improves over the two to four year interval between past FRVT tests.

Goals

The FRVT is aimed at measurement of the performance of automated face recognition technologies applied to a wide range of civil, law enforcement and homeland security applications including verification of visa images, de-duplication of passports, recognition across photojournalism images, and identification of child exploitation victims. In all cases the input image will contain one face only. Our performance reports will include measurements of accuracy, speed, storage and memory consumption, and resilience. NIST will report the dependence of performance on the properties of the images and the subjects. In its initial form, FRVT has one assessment track, for face verification.

1:1 Verification Track

• Participation Agreement [last update: 2017-02-10]:  FRVT is conducted by NIST, an agency of the United States Government. Participation is free of charge. FRVT is open to a global audience of face recognition developers.  All organizations who seek to participate in FRVT must sign and submit all pages of this Participation Agreement.
• API Document [last update: 2018-04-03]: An updated version of the 1:1 Verification API document has been published.   Developers must ensure that their submission conforms to the document's specifications.
• Validation [last update: 2018-04-03]:  An updated validation package has been published to reflect the API changes. All participants must run their software through the updated validation package prior to submission. The purpose of validation is to ensure consistent algorithm output between your execution and NIST's execution.
• Encryption Instructions[last update: 2017-09-11]:  All submissions must be properly encrypted and signed before transmission to NIST. This must be done according to these instructions using the FRVT Ongoing public key linked from this page. Participants must email their public key to NIST. The participant's public key must correspond to the participant's public-key fingerprint provided on the signed Participation Application.
• Submission Instructions[last update: 2017-11-09]: Encrypted files below 20MB can be emailed to NIST at frvt@nist.gov. Encrypted files above 20MB can be provided as a download link from a generic http webserver (e.g., Google Drive). We cannot accept Dropbox links. NIST will not register, or establish any kind of membership, on the provided website. Participants can submit their algorithm(s) as soon as the signed participation agreement is sent to NIST. There is no need to wait for NIST confirmation of the received agreement.

• FAQs [last update: 2017-01-30]: Ongoing responses to a number of questions regarding the evaluation are addressed in our FAQs document.

• Important Dates [last update: 2018-11-16]: NIST will resume accepting submissions between January 28 - February 1, 2019.  The next full report is scheduled for March 1, 2019.

Contact Information

Inquiries and comments may be submitted to frvt@nist.gov.
Subscribe to the FRVT mailing list to receive emails when announcements or updates are made.