International Experts Gather in Martigny to Discuss Advances in AI and Facial Recognition on May 19 - 20, 2025

The Idiap Research Institute is hosting a major series of events from May 19 to 22, 2025, bringing together researchers, industry collaborators, and government agencies to discuss recent developments in biometrics and security.

Since 2014, with support from the Canton of Valais and the City of Martigny, Idiap has established the Swiss Center for Biometrics Research and Testing, a hub dedicated to biometric security. This initiative has strengthened the activities of Idiap’s Biometrics Security and Privacy (BSP) research group. In 2019, the BSP group expanded its international collaboration by joining the U.S.-based Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR), which has enabled the launch of several new research projects since 2020.

A full week dedicated to biometrics!

Building on this international momentum, Idiap will host the European Association for Biometrics (EAB) with the 2025 Martigny Biometrics Workshop on May 19 and 20, with active participation from CITeR members. The week will continue with a meeting of the European research project PopEye and a CITeR workshop on May 21 and 22. Other major European projects such as CarMen and CERTAIN will also be discussed, providing a comprehensive overview of current progress and collaborative efforts in the field.

Open to registered participants, the EAB conference will feature keynote talks, poster sessions, and round-table discussions. Topics will include deepfake and attack detection, biometric template protection, morphing, foundation models, and the AI Act – with a focus on the definition of AI systems, AI literacy obligations, human oversight, and the practical implementation challenges of the new regulatory framework.

Discover the program

Register for the 2025 Martigny Biometrics Workshop

The Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR) and Idiap

CITeR is a U.S.-based distributed research center founded in 2002. To join the center, universities (referred to as Sites) must secure the commitment of Affiliates—companies or organizations that contribute an annual membership fee. These Affiliates face scientific and technological challenges they cannot tackle alone. Researchers at the Sites propose research projects, which the Affiliates collectively choose to fund using their pooled resources.

CITeR currently includes 20 Affiliates (https://citer.clarkson.edu/affiliates/) and supports about 10 research projects per year. Since late 2019, Idiap has become the first non-U.S. Site, marking a significant expansion of CITeR's global reach. The center convenes twice a year (spring and fall), usually in the United States, to review ongoing project outcomes and evaluate new project proposals presented by researchers.