The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) is seeking information on research efforts and datasets that may be useful in planning a program focused on advancing the state-of-the-art of biometric recognition and identification at altitude and range. This request for information (RFI) is issued solely for planning purposes and does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals. The following sections of this announcement contain details of the scope of technical efforts of interest, along with instructions for the submission of responses.

Background & Scope
Over the past five years, there have been notable advances in computer vision and biometric approaches to facilitate unconstrained face recognition in which the pose, illumination, and expression of the subjects is not controlled or limited. The IARPA Janus Program (https://www.iarpa.gov/index.php/research-programs/janus) and its resulting research is an example of such recent advances. However, there remains challenges in diverse face detection, verification, and identification when dealing with low-resolution or noisy imagery (e.g., motion blur, atmospheric turbulence). In addition, limited research has been performed on face recognition using imagery captured at high camera pitch angles, such as those collected from security cameras on building tops or from airborne platforms, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This is primarily due to a lack of authorized and sharable research data that represents this type of imagery. Imagery captured at long-range or altitude may also require that additional biometric signatures be fused with face recognition to provide the necessary accuracy or confidence to be usable for person identification. Examples may include (but not limited to) whole-body identification, gait recognition, and/or anthropomorphic classification (e.g., height, gender). The fusion of multiple biometric signatures to address these limitations remains underserved by the research community. Further research in the area of biometric recognition and identification at altitude and range may support protection of critical infrastructure and transportation facilities, military force protection, and border security.