Auckland International Airport tests SmartGates

The New Zealand Customs Service has started to test SmartGates at the Auckland International Airport.

Reported in Voxy.co.nz, a prototype for the system – SmartGate Plus — has been supplied by Morpho Australasia and uses a “face-on-the-fly” technology which creates a three-dimensional facial image of a user’s face as they approach the gate and then compares it to the image stored in a presented ePassport.

“This is the first single-step prototype using 3D for face recognition to be used in a live operational environment. About 4000 SmartGate Plus eligible passengers each week are expected to use the gate, which has been installed at Air New Zealand’s premier departure,” New Zealand’s Customs Minister Maurice Williamson said in the Voxy report.

The new system will be available for passengers over 16 years old carrying a New Zealand, Asutralian, US or UK ePassport.

As reported previously in BiometricUpdate.com, airports in Australia have successfully implemented a similar biometric gate system, and have recently opened access to U.S. Global Entry members.

Facial recognition is a growing focus in biometric development and travel and border security applications represent a significant chunk of today’s market. Based on a newly published report, the global facial recognition market is estimated to grow from $1.92 billion in 2013 to $6.4 billion in 2018, at a CAGR of 27.7%.

 

Article Topics

border security  |  epassport  |  facial recognition  |  morpho  |  SmartGate