IECISA demos biometric software for ABC gates at Passenger Terminal Expo

IECISA (Informatica El Corte Ingles) showcased its biometric software for automated border control gates at this week’s Passenger Terminal Expo, as well as its ‘PassFly’ app to allow passengers to record their biometric data before they arrive at the airport, Passenger Terminal Today reports.

The software and app work together to enable passengers to walk through the airport without ever needing to stop to scan passes or be manually identified.

The ABC gates are equipped with smart cameras that can identify a passenger while they are walking through the gate. Rather than matching the pre-recorded facial scan with a static image, the technology compares multiple video frames to get an accurate match. The gates at the airport work together with the PassFly app that is used to scan travelers’ passports and face biometric data to allow them to use just their face as their ID and boarding pass.

“We cross-check the check-in information with an external database and a blacklist that includes information such as stolen passports,” explains IECISA’s engineering and analytics consultant Rafael Álvarez. “All this is performed when the check-in is done at home. An important feature is that the information never stays stored on the mobile device used for the remote check-in. Instead, all the information is streamed to a data center for safety. This information is anonymized and encrypted. The photo is not linked to a name, but to a boarding pass and it is encrypted. That is the only way technology like this can comply with GDPR regulations.

“What we want is that the passenger can keep walking, that they don’t have to stop and look for their boarding pass or stop to get verified. In 80% of the cases, this works. If this does fail, passengers are asked to stop to allow the system more time to match the passenger with the saved data. As a last resort, a physical ID and boarding pass can still be scanned.”

Biometric identification solutions developed by Amadeus, Elenium and Eithad, Collins Aerospace and Panasonic were also featured at Passenger Terminal Expo.

A number of trials of biometric systems launched at several airports around the world this week, as airports and airlines seek to increase automation to speed up identification processes.

Article Topics

ABC gates  |  access management  |  airports  |  biometric software  |  biometrics  |  identity verification