TOKYO -- NEC's facial recognition systems are in place in some 40 countries, mostly for immigration controls at airports. Recently, the Japanese electronics giant introduced one of the systems for the first time in a sports arena, in Colombia.
The soccer stadium in Medellin, the country's second-largest city, has a 45,000 person capacity. The arena has occasionally suffered hooliganism, and thousands of boisterous, sometimes violent, fans have been apprehended by security staff.