Contactless Smart Cards, RFID, Payment, Transit and Security

UK's Stansted Airport deploys biometric e-passport gates

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Stansted Airport has rolled out its new facial recognition security gates, which use document scanning from 3M.

Passengers with new biometric e-passports travelling to the UK via Stansted can use the Autogates being trialled in the arrivals area, which can scan their face and check their passport photo in seconds – helping to save time waiting in line.

The Autogates use the 3M RTE8000 Full Page Scanner to validate British or European e-passports with an electronic chip and are helping the UK Border Agency process passengers more efficiently.


A live image of the passenger standing at the gate is captured and biometric technology then compares this with the image stored on the chip embedded within the document by measuring specific facial points – regardless of changes due to weight gain or loss, for example. If there is a match and they clear security, the automatic gates allow the traveller across the border.

Stansted Airport handles around 23 million passengers annually. The trial at Stansted is being run in partnership between the UK Border Agency and airport operator, BAA.

Following the trial, the UK Border Agency is expecting to roll-out Autogate systems to 10 additional UK airport terminals as part of the new £1.2 billion e-Borders system helping the UK Border Agency target terrorist suspects, known criminals and would-be illegal immigrants. [end] 

After a nearly three-year delay, the Algerian government has finally launched its biometric passport program.

Magharebia reports that the biometric passports, which contain a contactless smart card chip that holds a digitized photo, fingerprints and signature, were supposed to be released in 2009. But the documents were delayed due to complexities with the operation of the project and the need to thoroughly research and analyze other countries’ experiences with biometric passports.

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The E-Gates at Manchester Airport, facial recognition-based biometric gates that enable passengers to bypass lines for automated security checks, were temporarily suspended due to an investigation of a couple swapping passports and then passing through the gates, according to a BBC News article.

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As part of the U.S. Department of State’s initiative to simplify and streamline customer service interactions and processes, the Office of Passport Services has started a 90-day pilot program for online passport card applications.

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In an effort to streamline passenger security, Jakarta, Indonesia’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport has opened the country’s first biometric immigration gate.

Fingerprint biometric identification provider BIO-key International, Inc. and Oakwell Engineering Limited partnered to create the new gate, designed for use by passengers with electronic passports. Passengers submit their e-passports and authenticate with a fingerprint.

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Department of Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano and Transportation Security Administration Administrator John S. Pistole announced the expansion of TSA PreCheck, a passenger pre-screening initiative, to additional airports across the country following the program’s success at seven pilot locations.

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ImageWare Systems announced that the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), an agency that oversees Los Angeles International (LAX) airport, LA/Ontario International airport and Van Nuys airport, has placed an order for a number of biometric identity management and credentialing solutions.

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