Paravision lays out blueprint for contactless biometric travel corridor

Paravision, the San Francisco-based computer vision and biometrics provider, says the realization of a contactless biometric corridor is now a possibility, and no longer relegated to the realm of “pipe dreams” and mock-ups.

Joey Pritikin, chief product officer of Paravision, says the development of a corridor where passengers can be biometrically sensed to expedite the travel process is now truly viable. “This concept isn’t a new one. What’s new is that it can finally be realized. Grounded in very real technology, ethics, and design thinking,” narrates Pritikin in a video by Paravision.

Pritikin notes that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showcased a mock-up in 2011, and a more fully realized, but still visionary concept was demonstrated in Dubai in 2017. Pritikin says five major developments make this a possibility today: opt-in and informed consent; mobile-first registration; the latest advances in computer vision; a human-centric approach to technology; and great design.

With opt-in and informed consent, Pritikin says clear articulation of the use of data and the data retention policy, transparent opt-in and opt-out options, and alignment with the EU’s GDPR or similar policies comprise this value.

Paravision, partnered with IoT integrator Bsquare, envisions a passenger journey where the traveler will register on a mobile device from home. The passenger will be informed about the opt-in process and take a selfie as a biometric registration image. An app would guide the passenger around the airport and show the contactless biometric travel gate for users who opted-in. Customer service representatives and agents would advise passengers and be equipped with tablet computers that would alert to users who are not registered with the biometric systems. Security would take appropriate measures for people who are unregistered.

Saying that computer vision and facial recognition have “fundamentally shifted in recent years,” Pritikin remarks that, “What was recently a dream, is now a reality,” because of deep learning and AI. He claims that the advancements ensure that the technology is better adjusted to lighting and pose, are more accurate across age, gender, and race, and process biometric matches much faster. A diagram of the contactless biometric corridor shows a notably more open-spaced passage compared to densely-packed lines for the traditional boarding method.

Concluding the video, Pritikin closes by saying, “With the right combination of technology, process, design, and integration of people at every step, the biometric contactless corridor can now finally be realized.”

In 2021, Paravision’s CEO Doug Aley spoke about the contactless travel process, and the importance of respecting opt-out choices, at PhocusWire Pulse: Decoding Travel Security event. The company published a white paper about the impact of facial recognition systems powered by AI, deep learning, and convolutional neural networks can have on future air travel experiences.

Article Topics

AI  |  airport biometrics  |  biometric matching  |  biometrics  |  computer vision  |  contactless biometrics  |  contactless corridor  |  digital identity  |  facial recognition  |  mobile biometrics  |  Paravision  |  passenger processing