It looks like Hyogo Medical University has become the first university in Japan to use facial recognition for attendance.
According to the linked article, a total of 16 tablet devices with authentication functions were installed starting April 5. It seems there are three for students in the lecture rooms, and the tablets are passed around one by one for facial recognition.
It has that feeling of, “The digital future has arrived at school, too!” But the part where they pass the tablets around one by one feels kind of analog, and that contrast is pretty nice.
Apparently, introducing facial recognition can prevent “proxy attendance” by students other than the person themselves, and reduce faculty and staff workload by as much as 425 hours per year. A downside for students? A benefit for faculty and staff, maybe.
Judging from the photo in the linked article, this device does not appear to be an iPad. It looks like a slightly thicker tablet.
Still, it’s great news that this first initiative in Japan is happening at “Hyogo Medical University” in Nishinomiya. Decades from now, it might be featured on TV as the only university that introduced facial recognition during the Heisei era.
