The prime driver behind the use of biometric technology in aviation security used to be to speed up passenger processing at immigration and check-in.
Then on 11 September the ease with which armed hijackers boarded aircraft highlighted the need for a more sophisticated, non-human- based airport security system.
ICAO is among the organisations that favours more emphasis being placed on preventing suspects boarding in the first place.
Biometric identification systems have emerged as the most likely option, using computers to identify individuals through physical or behavioural characteristics.
Three main biometric processes - face, fingerprint and iris recognition - are already under development for use by airports, with the first of these expected to be ICAO system of choice. Other processes include hand geometry, palm print, signature and voice recognition.
In all cases, the technology can be used simply and quickly to ensure that the passenger boarding the aircraft is the one who checked in. The identification data can also be held in smart cards to provide an effective access control system for airside workers providing a secure replacement for traditional "magna-strike" cards that are easy to forge.
In more sophisticated forms they can be linked to criminal databases to ensure quick and reliable identification of suspected terrorists. Privacy laws prevent the cards from containing certain personal information, such as criminal records - but some observers believe this might change after the events of 11 September. Whatever the law says, people would have to volunteer to register.
IATA advocates a one-stop system, with iris and handprint scans linked to criminal databases. It envisages a system in which smart card passports are presented at a check-in machine similar to existing e-ticket stations.
Significantly, Australia will include biometric data on new intelligent passports to be issued next year. Face recognition uses smart cameras that are able to register facial features and break them up into mathematical codes. This data can be stored and compared with databases or photos scanned from official travel documents. Tighter security, particularly to control access to the airbridge and aircraft, would be provided by biometric identification.
US company Honeywell is pursuing fingerprint, hand geometry, and face, iris or voice recognition as a possible means of positive identification. An individual's template would be stored on the smart card or in a central database.
Also developing face recognition technology are BioDentity Systems of Canada, Germany's government document printing company Bundesdrückerei and New Jersey-based Visionics. In the meantime, PlaneStation, an embryonic network of regional European airports owned by Wiggins Group, aims to offer face recognition access at its six airports.
Fingerprint recognition technology is also being developed by other companies, such as Germany's Dermalog; Sarasota and Florida-based Accimetrix, which is developing a fingerprint-based locking system for flightdeck doors; and leading supplier Identix, which has just been contracted by a major US mid-west airport to provide biometric security solutions to perform background checks on prospective airport employees.
Commercial considerations, rather than pure security, are driving iris recognition trials, which are being undertaken to reduce airport processing time for frequent fliers. Amsterdam Schiphol airport will be the first in Europe to pilot iris scanning for immigration clearance. The airport authority has launched a voluntary scheme this month in collaboration with the Dutch border police, and the immigration service.
Citizens of the European Economic Area, which comprises the European Union countries plus several other western European nations, may enrol for Gg99 ($89), and then use their iris as identification when entering the Netherlands. The UK airport management firm BAA is also testing a similar scheme at London Heathrow for streamlined check-in on long-haul British Airways and Virgin flights.
Honeywell unveiled in early October a corporate-wide initiative to increase aviation security on the ground and in the air, which provides a glimpse of how airport and aircraft operations may change. Rather than leaving the myriad aspects of the security problem to its individual units, the multi-industry giant has formed a cross-business task force to bring solutions to market as quickly as possible.
Honeywell sees the need for layers of protection, beginning off-airport, to make it increasingly difficult for terrorists to achieve their goals as they move through the system.
"The heart of the task is mission denial, but early intervention is the key," says Frank Daly, president of Honeywell's Air Transport business and head of the new company-wide security initiative. Because of the requirement's urgency, the company is focused on tailoring existing technologies, he says.
To tackle the problem of improving airport security, Honeywell is tapping its Automation & Control Solutions business, which has expertise in access control systems.
The task begins with increasing awareness of what is happening within the airport. Short-term technologies being pursued include continuous digital video monitoring of key access points.
A wireless asset locator system would enable real-time tracking of tagged personnel, trucks, bags and other assets, groundside or airside, and provide real-time duress alarms. Radio-frequency tagging would allow the system to trigger an alarm if a passenger strayed too far from his bags, says Daly.
Although most of Honeywell's airborne solutions revolve around denying access to the cockpit, the company is also looking at aircraft-based video monitoring of the ramp area and cargo hold, particularly at airports which may not provide adequate security. "We expect to see more demand for this," Daly adds.
Source: Flight International
