Biometric border control solution by Vision-Box deployed at Perth Airport in Australia

An automated biometric border control solution by Vision-Box is now being deployed at Perth Airport, Australia’s second international airport to use facial recognition equipped smartgates that will eventually enable paperless flight boarding, ITNews reports.

The Department of Home Affairs signed a $22.5 million deal with Vision-Box in July 2017 for the provision of automated biometric contactless traveler clearance process technology for Australia’s airports. The deal was part of the government’s broader $123.6 million investment in improving the Australia’s border control technology and systems.

The Vision-Box solution uses biometric technology to match individuals against facial images stored in airlines’ advanced passenger processing systems. The new smartgates are already in place at Canberra Airport but they have operated in ‘contact’ only mode since they were deployed and still require travellers to insert their passports to be processed. No date has been given for when the contactless mode will be switched on.

The first Australian trial of the “face on the move” passenger recognition technology by the Department of Home Affairs saw the system correctly identifying 94 percent of travelers.

The Department of Home Affairs intends to deploy the smartgates at Brisbane Airport next and to all international airports by the end of June 2020 with the hope that 90 percent of international travellers will be processed through automated solutions by the end of 2020.

The biometrics-based walkthrough experience developed by Vision-Box at Sydney International Airport was recognized with an International Airport Review Award in December for excellence in Passenger Experience and Seamless Travel.

Article Topics

ABC gates  |  airport biometrics  |  Australia  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  passenger processing