Biometric security checkpoints are being trialed as a replacement for manned stations at Manchester Airport’s Terminal 1 in an attempt to ease pedestrian traffic through the checkpoints while also improving security, according to an Info 4 Security article. The biometric stations are being provided by Fujitsu Services, a developer of biometric products, in partnership with Vision-Box SA, a developer of video-based management and security technology.

The new system works by having passengers with electronic passports pass through a smart gate that uses facial recognition technology to identify them and compare them to their scanned passport. Officials from both the companies involved as well as the United Kingdom Border Agency are hoping for success in the trial in both improving passenger experience at the airport and improving security.

The UK Border Agency is undertaking a trial of an automated border control system at Manchester International airport.

The system, provided by Fujitsu Services, in partnership with Vision-Box SA, allows passengers holding electronic passports and arriving through Terminal 1 at Manchester airport to fast-track through immigration with no prior registration.

By using advanced facial recognition algorithms and intelligent sensor technology, the system guides passengers through the ‘smart gates’ - aiming to alleviate pressure on queue times and improving the overall passenger arrival experience.

The automated system combines the operation of reading and checking electronic passports with an innovative feature for assessing the biometric data required to open the gates. Both of these checks are integrated into the UK’s existing border control systems to ensure integrity of the border is maintained.

Groundbreaking trial

Eithne Wallis CB, managing director, government business, Fujitsu Services, said: “Trials of this nature are a hugely exciting prospect for UK ports of entry. Border control is an issue close to everyone’s heart and the ability to combine speed and throughput of passengers with the highest integrity of border control will change the travel experience as we know it. This really is a groundbreaking trial.”

Miguel Leitmann, senior vice president of Vision-Box SA, said: “Identity matters and increased electronic integration within automated control systems, like the simple use of an electronic passport checked at an automated clearance gate, depends highly on the speed of interaction with the passenger, while providing an efficient tool to cope with the increasing throughput of travellers, maintaining the existing high security levels at the border.”