Amazon Rekognition

Amazon Rekognition is a cloud-based computer vision service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) that allows applications to analyze images and videos using deep learning. Launched in 2016, it enables developers to integrate facial recognition, object detection, and scene analysis into software without requiring specialized AI expertise.

The service detects faces, estimates age ranges, emotions, and other attributes, and supports facial comparison for identity verification and tracking. It also identifies thousands of objects and activities, making it useful for media tagging and digital asset management. Rekognition includes optical character recognition (OCR) to extract text from images and tools to detect explicit or unsafe content, supporting moderation on user-generated platforms. Additionally, it can recognize celebrities and build searchable face collections for applications in retail, law enforcement, and security.

Used across industries including media, retail, and government, Rekognition supports use cases from content moderation and marketing analytics to surveillance and access control. However, its deployment has raised concerns around privacy and algorithmic bias. In response, Amazon placed an indefinite moratorium on police use starting in 2020 and has advocated for clearer regulations around facial recognition.

Keywords: Amazon Rekognition, AWS, facial recognition, computer vision, video analysis, object detection, content moderation, OCR, AI image analysis, identity verification, deep learning, cloud vision API