Technology and the world of football have been good friends for decades: the emergence of VAR to re-referee controversial plays, Big Data to measure player statistics, gadgets to improve training sessions… But what about the fans?
‘Football belongs to the fans’ is a trite, increasingly ignored slogan. But there is hope. Last April one club, Osasuna, introduced the first biometric facial access to its stadium. It was done by dasGate and was a disruptive and innovative experience revolutionizing how we access football stadiums, as LaLiga explained recently.
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Better user experience at El Sadar
Eight fast-track entrances have been installed at El Sadar, a voluntary option hundreds of Osasuna members have already used in the season’s final stretch. A simpler, more comfortable and safer way of entering the stadium, which allows 20 fans to enter per minute, an unprecedented figure for access to football stadiums.
“These accesses are like the VIA-T on the motorway: a comfortable, safe and totally voluntary system”, recalls Eduardo Azanza, CEO of Veridas and dasGate. And he continues: “It is the first initiative that is done in a football stadium at an international level and we are proud that it is the best stadium in the world that has incorporated our technology”.
Members who have opted for this form of access no longer need to carry their physical or digitized season ticket on their mobile phone. Approaching the facial recognition reader located at the turnstiles is enough to gain access using their face as a credential. This option is activated with a registration process that takes less than a minute: scanning the ID card, the season ticket and a selfie. It couldn’t be simpler.
This innovation at El Sadar has attracted the attention of people and institutions from all over the world. So much so that Osasuna has been nominated for the StadiumBusiness awards in the Technology category. The Stadium Business portal recognizes with these awards the leadership, innovation and achievements in the supply, operation and management of sports facilities worldwide. The award will be presented on 5 July and Osasuna and dasGate will compete with five other high-value technology projects.
Cutting-edge facial recognition technology with Navarrese origins
Like Osasuna, the technology that makes this innovation possible originates in Tajonar, Navarra. dasGate, part of the das-Nano group, is the company that has enabled Osasuna and LaLiga to make history, and operates with biometric facial recognition software from Veridas, a company belonging to the same group.
“We are more than 150 people working to bring passwords to an end, so that we can be recognized as our mother would: by our face and our voice“, says Eduardo Azanza.
Since 2012, das-Nano Group has been developing innovative solutions from Navarra for customers worldwide. And we try to do so to the highest standards. That is why, since 2018, we have submitted our technologies to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) evaluations, where the world’s leading companies are subject to the criteria of independent experts who periodically evaluate the performance of the different biometric solutions presented. Veridas achieves top positions repeatedly and is the only company in the world present in the NIST 1:1 and 1:N evaluations in facial biometrics, and in the NIST voice evaluation (1:1).
dasGate’s commitment to regulation and compliance is equally high. Its systems offer accuracy, security and data protection by ensuring privacy by default and design. They are 100% compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and all other European regulations. In addition, both dasGate and Veridas have joined the AEPD’s Digital Pact.
Enabling technology for any sector
Veridas’ technology has a long history beyond sports. We have already performed more than 60 million identity verifications for more than 150 customers worldwide in various industries such as banking, insurance, telcos, mobility and government.
dasGate access is completely changing how people access venues and facilities. Hundreds of customers are already offering an accessible experience to their users that was unimaginable just a few years ago.
Agrupación Deportiva San Juan, Club Tenis Sabadell, Club Tenis Pamplona or Real Grupo de Cultura Covadonga, as well as companies from other sectors such as Repsol or BBVA, have left behind credentials and passwords to access with their face.
