The Digital Path to Seamless Everyday Experiences

Look into the camera – that’s how people access and pay for goods at a unique 7-Eleven in Minato-ku, Tokyo.^[1] Powered by a combination of face recognition and digital payments, the store provides a seamless shopping experience, a path to boost productivity and, above all, a glimpse into the future.^[2]

Launched in 2018, the labor-saving 7-Eleven store on the 20^th floor of Mita Kokusai Building was one of the most advanced attempts in Japan to increase store productivity. It reflected the social trend of using digital technology to provide more personalized services at a time when the shortage of staff in stores was becoming a social problem. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic continues to accelerate that trend.

“Digital transformation touches nearly every aspect of our lives,” says Toshifumi Yoshizaki, Executive Vice President, Digital Business Platform Unit, NEC. “From video calls and cashless payments to security and digital identity, digitalization creates new possibilities for seamless experiences. As digital technologies mature, the next stage of innovation will bring countless personalized experiences together, powered by a single digital identity.”

A Glimpse Into The Future

NEC I:Delight, identity management platform, leads the pack. Using biometric authentication including face and iris recognition, it creates seamless experiences across commuting, shopping, travel and more using a single Digital ID. At the heart of NEC I:Delight lies the world’s most advanced face recognition technology. Awarded for accuracy and designed to protect and provide users with control over their personal data, NEC I:Delight promises to deliver the next wave of personalized digital services.

Airlines and airports are already reaping the benefits. Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance, uses NEC I:Delight to power its growing biometric passenger process, enhancing the travel experience. Delta Air Lines uses the NEC face recognition platform in Atlanta to fast-track passengers and plans to expand this streamlined process to other U.S. airport hubs. And aviation technology provider SITA, which provides communication infrastructure to 80% of the world’s airports, uses the technology to facilitate low-touch and automated passenger processing.

While NEC I:Delight is fast changing travel, the technology will soon benefit a wide range of everyday experiences.

The New Face of Experience

The ‘Only Here’ experience in the coastal resort town of Nanki Shirahama puts the power of NEC I:Delight into practice, providing seamless experiences for visitors and residents alike. Let’s see how the platform digitizes the Yamada family’s summer vacation and the benefits it brings.

Before departing for Nanki Shirahama, the Yamadas opt-in to create their profile using their face and payment details. In the future, they will have the option to include travel information such as flight numbers or hotel confirmation, which can be saved on the platform and quickly accessed by scanning a QR code with their smartphones. The one-time registration uploaded their data to an IoT Hospitality Cloud Service, unlocking a range of touch-free and personalized services throughout the town.

The Yamadas received a warm welcome at the airport upon arrival as face recognition prompted greetings on digital displays. At baggage claim, the Yamadas received status updates via digital signage that let them know when their bags would arrive. The signs also shared recommendations for tourist destinations in Nanki Shirahama. In the future, the Yamadas will be able to skip baggage claim, assured that their luggage would be taken directly to their hotel.

With their bags in hand, the Yamadas hailed a taxi, dropped their luggage off at the hotel and went straight to a theme park. In the future, they will be able to access their list of desired destinations in the taxi and pay using face recognition.

Upon arriving at the theme park, the Yamadas skipped the queue with VIP face recognition and hands-free payment. After a fun-filled afternoon, they retreated to their hotel, where they were delighted to discover that they could access their room using their Digital ID. During their last trip, the Yamadas misplaced their room key and had to pay for a replacement. Keyless entry in Nanki Shirahama was a welcome convenience that provided stress relief.

At the beach the following day, the Yamadas swam in the ocean with peace of mind. They didn’t need to bring their wallets or phones and leave them on the beach towels unattended as the restaurant they booked for lunch accepted hands-free payment. In turn, they focused on enjoying family time together.

As the day wore on, the Yamadas noticed something: While NEC I:Delight provided novel experiences for tourists, the residents of Nanki Shirahama had already integrated the service into their daily lives. They made hands-free payments at a golf club, a beer hall, a restaurant and even on the bus. In some way, it seemed like the residents were already living in the future.

“The ‘Only Here’ experience in Nanki Shirahama shows the potential for seamless and touchless everyday experiences,” Toshifumi Yoshizaki says. “What seems like novelty at first will soon become a necessity. NEC I:Delight will continue to change the way we live, work and play, providing convenient and personalized experiences that are rooted in safety and security.”

Evolving to Meet New Needs

While NEC I:Delight was designed to facilitate seamless experiences, the technology found new use cases amid Covid-19 as the demand for contact-free, touchless solutions increased. Nowhere has that been more important than in medical facilities, where the risk of contact with the highly transmissible virus is greatest.

In August 2021, NEC Thailand modernized Siriraj Piyamaharajkarun Hospital—Thailand’s largest hospital—with contactless, face recognition-based registrations. Rolled out across various touchpoints in the hospital, the face recognition platform enabled a faster and more accurate registration process. In turn, response times became faster and staff members were available for other duties.

“Siriraj Hospital hosts high profile visitors, including members of the royal family and many other public figures,” Ichiro Kurihara, President, NEC Thailand, said in a press release. “NEC’s solutions play a key role in supporting the safety and security of the hospital’s staff and patients. By enabling contactless patient registrations, NEC aims to support safer and more secure environments by reducing in-person exposure, especially in environments such as hospitals where the risks of infection from Covid-19 and other diseases are higher.”

Beyond the hospital, NEC I:Delight is simplifying health checks in parts of Japan. Using a digitalized certification system, it enables people who opt-in to confirm their health records such as PCR test results by scanning their faces at the entrance to certain tourist sites and venues. Using their Digital ID eliminates the need for smartphone apps or paper documents, alleviating congestion and reducing labor costs. And given that NEC’s face recognition technology is 99.9% accurate even when users are wearing a mask,^[3] it could reduce the risk of spreading airborne particles, yielding convenience and safety in the post-pandemic era.

“Not only do digital identity technologies make our experiences more convenient, they can also help keep us safe,” says Mr. Yoshizaki. “Covid-19 has fundamentally changed the way we live, work and play. In turn, digital technologies play a greater role in creating seamless experiences that touch every part of our lives. As we expand the range of applications for NEC I:Delight, we remain committed to building a society that keeps everyone safe, meeting new needs and delivering personalized adventures unified by trust."

[1] This service was available from December 2018 to December 2021 and has since ended.
[2] Nikkei Asia 
[3] NEC