Improving Airport Security and the Role of Advanced Facial Identification Technology

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Tom Cropper

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EVERYYEAR it seems as if passing through airport security becomes more complex and time consuming. Passengers have come to view delays and inconvenience as part of the flying experience, but there are signs that this trend could soon be thrown into reverse. A new generation of ideas and technologies promises to automate procedures, reduce waiting times and lighten the load on passengers – all the while improving the accuracy of screening processes.

Our opening article comes from one of the leading names in this new generation. 3M produce advanced video facial recognition systems. This technology has been used since the 90s, but it’s only now that it’s becoming reliable and sophisticated enough to be used with confidence. They talk about what their technology can do and why they think it can revolutionize the airport security market.

Elsewhere in this Report Jo Roth will look at the rapid development of video facial recognition technology as well as other biometric systems. Supporters of this

technology suggest that it could soon be the default option in airport security, saving huge amounts of time, money and man hours.

We’ll also look at why airport security needs to transform itself. Rising passenger numbers and the continued threat of terrorism means the pressure is on to achieve the seemingly impossible. To become safer while taking up less time.

That will require new thinking. As we move into the future, airport operators will have to move from a reactive model in which new security measures arise as the result of a new threat, to something more proactive. This will require the complete integration of multiple technologies, some of which will be reviewed by James Butler. Integrating these technological innovations into a single system will determine whether they manage to truly have a positive impact.

Tom Cropper Editor

Tom Cropper has produced articles and reports on various aspects of global business over the past 15 years. He has also worked as a copywriter for some of the largest corporations in the world, including ING, KPMG and the World Wildlife Fund.

3M™ Live Face Identification System (LFIS)

Mallory Ironside, Global Software Marketer, 3M Cogent

Today’s advanced technology allows easy integration of facial biometrics into enrollment, verification and surveillance systems, taking security solutions from reactive to proactive. 3M’s new Live Face Identification System, designed for integrators and system installers, brings high-accuracy facial biometrics to the masses.

IN TODAY’S world, the need to identify wanted individuals in public areas before a crime is committed and authenticating and verifying individuals and their corresponding travel documentation is an ever-increasing security requirement. Facial recognition technology, having made impressive speed and accuracy improvements in recent years, is becoming more and more feasible for efficient real life applications. 3MTM Live Face Identification System (LFIS) brings this technology to the market by making it massively-scalable, easily configurable and without a dependency on proprietary hardware.

LFIS is a software only back-end system that performs facial recognition, easily integrated into a wide array of applications. LFIS is available in 2 product offerings, LFIS Core and LFIS Check SDK (Software Development Kit), which provide use cases across many civil, criminal and commercial applications. One of the most powerful use cases, however, is ports of entry, specifically airports.

LFIS Core

Real-time face in a crowd applications

LFIS Core provides the ability to perform facial recognition in a crowd in real-time. The software can automatically detect and track more than 10 faces in real-time which allows you to identify several individuals even in constantly changing conditions such as high traffic areas, poorly lit or outdoor environments. Several-to-Many (M:N) comparison allows LFIS to use all qualified images of an individual and compare them to many different reference images in the database. This unique approach greatly increases the accuracy of matches and the likelihood of a successful identification. Several-to-Many matching ensures that the technology isn’t guessing at what or who a person is but rather is relying solely on the images of the individual to build the model. With a properly sized system, LFIS can detect a face, track and identify a person in a video stream within 1 second so action can quickly be taken to potentially prevent a problem before it happens.

LFIS is a software only back-end system that performs facial recognition, easily integrated into a wide array of applications

With all of these features combined, LFIS greatly increases the number of applications that benefit from this type of technology.

Investigative applications

LFIS Core can also be configured to be used as an investigative tool. This allows you to perform facial recognition on post-event situations by importing video surveillance footage or still images into the system. The software is able to detect more than 30 faces from one still image while also performing the same quality checks on the imported footage and searches against the database.

LFIS Check SDK

LFIS Check SDK provides the ability to perform 1:1:1 facial authentication between a live person, a printed image on an identification document, as well as the stored digital image located on the chip of an ePassport or eID document. In an airport environment, there is a growing need to authenticate a traveler’s documentation and verify that individual’s identity in multiple applications. LFIS Check, coupled with 3M Document Readers, provides an easy to use and robust solution. 3M Document readers, paired with document authentication software, authenticates the Passport or nationally issued ID, while LFIS verifies the traveler against the presented document ensuring that the traveler did not substitute their identification photo – a simple but common fraud. LFIS performs this verification not only by comparing the live image of the individual to the document photo, but also by comparing it to any facial biometric that is stored within that document (e.g. ePassport). One of the advantages that LFIS brings to this application is the ability to use non-ICAO images as a source. This allows existing infrastructure, such as selfservice kiosks, to be utilized reducing the cost of

IT and improves facilitation. A demo application is provided with the LFIS Check. However, the SDK allows system integrators easily to build their own applications which build upon their offerings and/ or meet the specific needs of a given customer.

Easier integration, flexible configuration, budget friendly, and highly accurate

Traditionally, large scale biometric systems require highly experienced product specialists to configure the system. LFIS was designed and built with system integrators in mind. This product includes a Developer Microsite which was designed to assist integrators in making use of the powerful and rich set of Core LFIS RESTful web services. These resources are easily accessible via web browser and include, but are not limited to, technical details of various interfaces, API summaries for developers, and several online working examples (including sample code) of LFIS model creation, matching and searching. These helpful tools give system integrators everything they need to integrate this exciting new technology into their solutions. Configuration is also a key component in a complex security system. LFIS provides a built-in user interface where configuration changes can easily be made. The ability to connect an additional camera or server into an existing environment takes just a few clicks.

When discussing large or even small scale security systems, budget is always a top of mind concern for facilities. For that reason, LFIS was designed to be integrated easily into a customer’s existing compatible infrastructure. LFIS supports a wide range of camera specifications, and enables integrators to start small with just a few devices and a single server and expand the system as the customer’s needs change. The LFIS software also capitalizes on GPU technology

The software is able to detect more than 30 faces from one still image while also performing the same quality checks on the imported footage and searches against the database

which has made significant improvements over the years in terms of image processing. Using GPU acceleration technology, LFIS is able to process images up to 30 times faster than if using traditional CPU technology, at significantly lower cost. In addition to all of these budgetconscience features, there are also multiple licensing packages that have been scaled to fit varying needs and budgets.

LFIS also incorporates the latest facial recognition algorithms from 3M Cogent, which has made significant improvements over the last several years. “The level of accuracy in face recognition over the past 5 years is truly staggering,” said Daniel Asraf, 3M Cogent’s R&D Manager. “For example, through the use of advanced image/ video processing techniques and by utilizing the latest machine learning algorithms we have been able to reduce matching error rates by orders of magnitude while improving the processing speed under certain conditions.”

Beyond Airport Security

Increasing security while decreasing fraud is not only a need in airports. So, as LFIS may seem like a natural fit for airport security applications, it also promises to bring a multitude of benefits to other civil, commercial and law enforcement applications.

• Law enforcement agencies wishing to assess post-event video against known suspects but

also desire to use their current surveillance systems to be on the lookout for those same suspects in real-time.

• A car rental company wants to verify the live faces of their customers against the presented driver’s licenses while simultaneously checking those faces against photos of known car thieves

• A bank wants to verify the identity of its customers when opening up new accounts or performing certain transactions.

• A company providing security to casinos wants to leverage the security cameras at entrances and be notified when any individuals approach that are on the casino’s person-of-interest list.

• Countries wanting to increase security at their ports of entry (air, land or sea) by verifying travelers against their presented documentation and also checking them against known watch lists.

LFIS is a very powerful security tool that system integrators, IT administrators, and leading security experts can add to their tool kit. With the increasing need of security, particularly areas which have a high volume of individuals, LFIS is a tool that can help prevent crime or fraud from happening in the first place.

Contact

Mallory Ironside, mironside@mmm.com. 3m.com/LiveFace

©3M. All rights reserved.

LFIS provides a builtin user interface where configuration changes can easily be made. The ability to connect an additional camera or server into an existing environment takes just a few clicks

Airport Security: A Time to Change

Tom Cropper, Editor

IF YOU visit the US, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise. Body pat downs have become much more intense – so much so that it’s coined its own phrase: ‘don’t touch my junk’. Moreover, security processes around the world are becoming much more complicated and intrusive.

It’s a system which can’t continue. Not only is it meeting with increased resistance from passengers, but it’s becoming unworkable in a world in which airports are being stretched beyond capacity. IATA expects air passenger numbers to double over the next 20 years. It believes that the world will have to handle 7.2bn passengers by 20351. Capacity at the world’s major international airports will be stretched to, and beyond, breaking point. Plans to expand meet with fierce opposition. For example, dealing with the issue of capacity at London’s Airports is fraught with problems. Heathrow’s proposed third runway has run into a host problems from local residents, campaigners and the former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. The environment also presents a difficult obstacle. Air pollution levels around Heathrow are already classed as unhealthy. The Government has claimed a third runway would not impact air quality in the area, but an independent report released by the Department of Transport contradicted this claim2. Expansion, then, is difficult, which means major airports such as Heathrow will have to make dramatic improvements to operational efficiency in order to remain viable in the future.

Every aspect will come into play, from checkin processes to security gates, ground crew, maintenance and cleaning. Every second saved in one task can contribute to a significant saving overall. However, it is in security that some of the biggest opportunities for savings lie.

Security Concerns

Since the attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001, security has been front and center of the national consciousness. Procedures have become progressively more onerous and time-

consuming. Passengers will now be forced to abandon liquids, remove electronic devices such as computers, take of their shoes and other pieces of clothing before they can pass through security.

Some passengers have had to endure the indignity of full body scanners, which infamously produced images which left very little to the imagination. The result is that waiting times have grown and passengers have come to dread the process of checking into airports. Such indignities and inconvenience would be acceptable if they worked. Some body scanners have failed crucial tests such as in 2014 when researchers slipped weapons passed the TSA’s new body scanners. They used a number of tricks to get past the technology including using Teflon tape to conceal a weapon against someone’s spine, and placing weapons on the side3. As a US blogger had previously discovered, because the metal in the weapon showed up black it was possible to have the weapon at your side and evade the detector.

If passengers grow frustrated with security, it becomes a major issue. They are becoming increasingly demanding and have more choice. Most have a choice of more than one airport so competition for their custom is on the rise. Streamlining the processing time and enabling passengers to move through airports with the minimum of fuss is a growing priority. As airports focus more on the security experience, it creates a greater variation in processes from airport to airport – which, in turn, produces a point of competitive differentiation. Security ceases to be an issue solely of procedure, which we all have to go through –it becomes a service.

Speed of processing, though, is much more than just a piece of customer service – it is, in itself, a safety measure. Additional security measures do not necessarily make passengers safer, they just move the point of attack. The more demanding measures put in place since 9/11 have created bottlenecks and queues, which in turn creates an easy target for terrorists. The 2016 Brussels

Since the attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001, security has been front and center of the national consciousness

Rising passenger numbers, evolving terrorist threats, the increase in identity theft and passenger demands – just some of the challenges confronting airport security.

bombing occurred at the airport check-in point before security checks came into play, as did the attack in the Istanbul attack in 2016.

To solve the issue, airports could push security even further back to the entrance, but it would serve to only push the bottleneck to another area. A more worthwhile approach is to improve the flow of passengers through the terminal and so reduce the length of time people are waiting. Doing so is not easy and will require the intelligent introduction of technology.

Bringing in New Technologies

Competition to deliver the technology of the future is intense. Developers offer solutions such as big data, advanced baggage screening, biometrics and smarter lane design. Technological development is rapid, which means it’s difficult to keep up with what technology can do. One of the most exciting areas, for example, is in video face recognition.

This is already being used in airports, at the automated gates with more modern e-passports. These take a quick facial recognition scan to give a readout of the passenger’s face and compare it against the passport photo. However, the latest face-recognition technology promises to take this to a new level, offering fast and accurate identification in the middle of crowds. It’s something which could allow the progressive replacement of passport checks, with a quick read-out of passengers’ facial features.

It’s a development that can achieve two important things. Firstly, it can solve the issue of identity. This has been a hot topic in recent years. How can security services be certain that an individual is who he or she says she is, particularly in an age in which identity theft is on the rise? According to CIFAS, the fraud prevention service, the number of complaints about identity theft increased by nearly 60% in 20154. The rise of social media and eCommerce all create potential attack points. The number of passport frauds is also increasing. Reports in 2014 found that the number of fraudulent passports seized by authorities had increased by 70%5. It’s all too easy for any person’s identity to be taken from them – and used –without their knowledge.

Secure Solutions

A biometric passport, including facial recognition, fingerprints, and iris scans is much more difficult to fake. Technologies which can quickly scan and read these unique personal identifiers, do a great deal to verify the identity of each passenger. The security landscape, then, is becoming much more demanding and complicated. The threat is diversifying: the point of attack is moving, identity is becoming harder to establish and attack methods are changing. Moreover, the market demands faster, more convenient security processes. Those airports which can deliver will not only be safer, but they will gain a crucial edge in an increasingly competitive environment.

Competition to deliver the technology of the future is intense. Developers offer solutions such as big data, advanced baggage screening, biometrics and smarter lane design

Technology and Security

James Butler, Staff Writer

IMPROVE DETECTION rates, technologies are being improved while simultaneously becoming more streamlined and automated. Moving into the future, many manual processes may be eliminated in favor of automated screening processes. The hope will be that these achieve the double-tap goal of delivering a faster check-in service with better detection rates. In this article, we will look at some of the key pieces of technology and how they compare against one another.

CT Scanning

Baggage scanning, for hold and hand luggage, is both a major weak-point and a potential bottleneck. False alarms force staff to conduct more intrusive checks in line, which holds up passengers and causes intense frustration. More importantly, traditional scanning technologies have struggled to detect well-hidden suspicious items.

The breakthrough technology comes in high definition 3D CT scans which create a much clearer three-dimensional slice of a bag’s content. Operators can rotate the image to view it from any angle. A clearer, more detailed image, which can accurately detect dangerous materials, not only reduces the chance of those items making their way onto an aircraft, but they also reduce false alarm rates. Their ability to distinguish between safe and dangerous liquids could also remove one of the more frustrating elements of airport security – the need to remove liquids from bags6

Already the systems are being trialed in airports around the world at check-in. Hold baggage has further impetus for change thanks to the shift towards Standard 3 rated systems. This will require all European airports to provide a level of detection only achievable by the more advanced CT systems. It’s something which can improve dramatically the processing of luggage, reduce waiting times and increase the number of aircraft processed each day.

Full Body Scanners

These were first introduced in 2007 and have proved highly controversial. There are two kinds: millimeter wave machines use non-ionizing waves to produce a three-dimensional image while backscatter scanners use X-Rays. However, this technology quickly ran into trouble. Although they had been introduced to reduce queues, they initially had the opposite impact. The machine was quick to detect false alarms resulting in many people being pulled aside for a full body pat down. They were incredibly intrusive producing an image which left nothing to the imagination.

Even so, the new systems were far from foolproof. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego found that knives, guns and faux explosives were just some of many items they could sneak past backscatter scanners. The research was conducted on a surplus unit which had been purchased for $50,000 from eBay7

The early body scanners, then, were not only intrusive, but ineffectual, and by 2013 they were being removed from US airports. To solve the many issues associated with full body scanners, they now come with new privacy safeguarding technology which produce a cartoon-like image which preserves passengers’ dignity while highlighting the location of any suspicious objects. Nevertheless, public perception of full body scanners remains negative and there is little clear evidence that they increase security or cut down waiting times.

Biometrics

One of the most exciting areas of development is biometrics. Technology, such as iris scans, fingerprints and face recognition video are becoming increasingly common. These make it much more difficult to falsify a passport. For example, a person might be able to use a passport from another similar looking individual, which would be enough to pass a visual

Baggage scanning, for hold and hand luggage, is both a major weakpoint and a potential bottleneck. False alarms force staff to conduct more intrusive checks in line, which holds up passengers and causes intense frustration

Airport security has come a long way since the days of a quick pat down before you boarded a plane. Today’s technology is sophisticated, and highly effective.

inspection from an attendant. However, iris scans or the latest video recognition technology, would spot the difference.

Biometrics are being used to reduce repetitive and time consuming security processes. A single biometric passport can allow a passenger to scan his or her face at the first touchpoint in the airport. This image can then be stored and used to check them automatically at every stage in their journey through the terminal. It avoids the need to continuously show passports or boarding passes at every step of the way. This is, then, an attractive solution which simultaneously improves the passenger experience while also addressing a weakpoint in the overall security system.

Return on Investment

Each of these solutions represents a significant capital investment and, as past history shows, they do not always deliver the results expected. Airports are struggling to generate profits and so will want to see a clear return on investment before making a decision.

Assessing that return comes in many ways. Firstly – does it improve waiting times and cut down on queues? Has a new system improved passenger satisfaction and increased detection rates? Some of the other financial and operational benefits are somewhat intangible. One of the main aims of new technologies is to automate processes and eliminate a variety of tasks. This reduces the labor intensity of the security process, which frees staff up for more productive duties elsewhere. Those minutes saved by the elimination of certain processes for staff, can add up to significant overall time and efficiency savings which can lead to further benefits throughout the airport.

The important thing is to understand these technologies and bring them into an integrated system. All too often it seems as if airport security is disjointed and segmented. Passengers show the same information many times, information is shared, and processes are repeated. By taking all these technologies and conjoining them into a smooth overall integrated security system, airports can achieve the true revolution in security they are looking for.

One of the most exciting areas of development is biometrics. Technology, such as iris scans, fingerprints and face recognition video are becoming increasingly common

Are Biometrics the Future of Airport Security?

Jo Roth, Staff Writer

Advances in video facial recognition software, and other biometric technologies, promise to transform the airport security experience.

SOMETHING RADICAL is happening to airport security in Australia. At a time when airport security is becoming more comprehensive, intrusive and at times invasive, they are moving towards a contactless system in which 90% of air travelers could be automated by 20208. They call it the Seamless Traveller initiative and would abolish manned stations in favor of electronic stations and automated triage. Passengers would no longer have to show their passports – instead biometric stations would use video face recognition as well as readings of fingerprints and irises. Australia is not alone. The biometrics market is growing rapidly. According to MarketsandMarkets, the global biometrics market is expected to reach $32.73bn by 20229 – a CAGR of 16.79% between 2016 and 2022. Its popularity is fueled by its ability to do something special – to improve security while also accelerating waiting times, and reducing overcrowding.

Why Biometrics?

Biometric technology, such as iris scans, fingerprints and video recognition potentially holds the key to solve both issues. Every passenger spends an enormous amount of time, during each visit to an airport, verifying their identity. It can be frustrating. You present a passport at the check-in desk. You do the same at security and sometimes at other security checks. If you buy an item from airside shops you may be asked to root out your boarding pass again, before you hand over all your documents one last time in order to board the plane.

Each process may only take a few minutes, but taken across the thousands of passengers passing through an airport each day it’s a major issue. It causes log jams and queues and adds to the burden of airport staff. Furthermore, it’s not 100% secure. The production of fake passports is a large and growing industry. A passenger would only a passport photo which looks roughly like them and they could overcome detection.

Scanning the Person

Biometrics technologies promise to eliminate the danger by scanning the person – not the card. Iris scans represents one way to provide a fast and secure authentication. An image of the passenger’s iris pattern is taken when they arrive at the airport and can be scanned at other points throughout the process.

Iris scanners have been trialed widely in the UK and elsewhere. In 2010, for example, a government backed pilot installed the technology at Manchester Airport10. Passengers who agreed to take part in the scheme had their irises scanned when they first arrived at check-in and had it used to pass them through the terminal from then on. Other UK airports adopted a similar scheme, but in 2012 many decided to turn the systems off as they reviewed the technology.11

The technology may have had potential, but it also came with problems. The iris is extremely small to be read from a distance. Movement can make it difficult to get a clear reading, and the light levels need to be optimal. Although the government had promised the devices could cut scanning times, it often took longer. In some cases, passengers were trapped in scanning booths when they malfunctioned12

Fingerprint scanners also have potential. In 2008 Heathrow became the first airport to employ fingerprinting13. All travelers at its new Terminal 5 would be asked to have their fingerprints taken before they could board a flight. It was a move designed to prevent terrorism but caused widespread controversy. It was scrapped when the airport was warned it may breach data privacy laws. However, other airports around the world are pressing ahead with fingerprint scanning. In the US, authorities plan to introduce fingerprint scanning by 2018 in a bid to increase the amount of biometric information they collect about people.14

Fingerprinting may well enhance security and make it easier to verify a passenger’s identity, but it is controversial and adds an extra layer of

Video has been used since the nineties to recognize the facial features of passengers. Now though, the technology is developing rapidly – so much so that it could have a truly transformative impact

checks to the security process. A much lightertouch alternative, on the other hand, comes with video facial recognition.

Video Technology Comes of Age

Video has been used since the nineties to recognize the facial features of passengers. Now though, the technology is developing rapidly – so much so that it could have a truly transformative impact. Passengers have their faces scanned and checked against their photo. It works by measuring the gap between the features of a face to create a unique personal facial code.

Early devices showed promise but had key weaknesses. They could be fooled if a person tilted his or her head at the wrong angle or wore glasses. However, today the technology among leading providers has advanced so far that they are now superior to human monitoring.

One of the leading systems is 3MTM LFIS which was showcased at the Passenger Terminal Expo 2017. It makes use of low quality video in airports to provide high quality and versatile matching of passenger faces15

It is a major step forward in video technology. 3MTM LFIS comes in two configurations. A Checkin system allows check in attendants to see a live image of a passenger’s face and have it compared against their passport photo. It delivers a fast and accurate result which is more reliable than human judgement.

It can also be used to read faces in crowds, something which can help security services if they are searching for a suspect person in an airport. It’s a fast, effective and passive system which minimizes disruption to passengers. While other systems, such as iris scans or fingerprints, require contact, this is passive and causes a minimal delay.

“Developed through years of thoughtful research, Live Face Identification System increases the accuracy of matches and the likelihood of a successful ID by utilizing a several-to-many comparison,” said Christopher Ede, Global Business Manager for 3M Cogent. “Knowing the challenges that law enforcement and border patrol agents are faced with when providing security for uncontrolled environments, 3M’s new software is truly an effective yet practical solution for proactive security16.”

Most of all, this can significantly decrease installation costs. Many biometric systems require the expensive introduction of specialist equipment in order to perform facial recognition. The 3MTM LFIS Live solution, though, has been configured to function with existing low-quality video – which will already be in place. It enables system integrators to introduce it at a much lower cost and also to use it in a much more flexible manner, which maximizes its benefits.

Hope for the Future

Many hope that video face recognition could soon be the future of airport security, making it quicker and easier for us to verify our identity. The technology has reached a point where it now has real value for modern airports and, what’s more, it has plenty of potential to expand further in the future.

Most of all it can potentially reverse the recent trend in which the airport security experience becomes longer and more demanding. It’s an attractive future of seamless operation and smooth passenger flow. Whether that future comes to fruition depends on how the technology evolves from here and how airports implement it.

Developed through years of thoughtful research, Live Face Identification System increases the accuracy of matches and the likelihood of a successful ID by utilizing a severalto-many comparison

Shaping the Future of Airport Security

Tom Cropper,

Technology has huge potential for airport security, but airports need to take care about how they are implemented.

SINCE 9/11, airport security has been reactive rather than proactive. The result –a system which is inefficient, cumbersome and often doesn’t work. Worse still, terrorists and criminals are always one step ahead. Thinking needs to change. Airports must adopt an integrated, forward-thinking approach which incorporates a range of measures, to ensure airport security is safer, less intrusive for all passengers and suited to the specific goals of the airport.

Smart Security

To that end, IATA launched its Smart Security program in 201217 to demonstrate and refine the operational validation of technological innovation. They use lab testing, computer simulation, operational trials and partnerships with airports and other companies, to identify solutions with high potential and see how they can be implemented practically in major airports. Part of this involves an opportunity assessment. A smart security subject matter expert can spend several days on site at an airport producing a tailored series of recommendations about how best to make use of the innovations promoted by the Smart Security program.

The research has helped the program develop a huge amount of information about the implementation of new advanced technologies, with information about how they have performed in real world situations. For example, the report shows how central image processing can speed up baggage scanning. Current methods require an operator to be present at the location, which takes up space. If the machine is not operating at peak capacity it can lead to sub-optimal throughput and create delays. Instead, the report recommends sending images from all scanning lanes to a central processing station, based either land or air side, where an operator scans each image before deciding to

allow the tray to pass or to send it for further inspection.

It also examines the importance of lane and security configuration. Innovative lane layouts such as parallel divestment stations and additional space to repack bags after passing through security serve to improve passenger flow, reduce turnaround times and improve the overall passenger experience.

Security as a Service

This last point is perhaps key. Until now, security has been seen as an operational function –something which is necessary but unpleasant. Passengers might not like it, but they put up with it in order to feel safe. Now, though, the focus is shifting towards passenger experience – a world in which much more thought is given to passenger feelings rather than just detection rates.

The highest profile example of this comes in Amsterdam’s Schiphol’s Security Experience –where they use the term ‘security as a service’. The security area is one of the most attractive anywhere in the world – wood paneling and greenery create a pleasant and relaxing place to be – something which impacts on passenger stress levels. Smarter lane layouts reduce queuing and improve the movement of passengers through the security process. The use of radio frequency identification tags means bags can easily be marked for further inspection, which takes the bag away to a different belt. Passengers who have been cleared can make their way to a re-composure area where they can put liquids and computers back in their bags and prepare to enter the departure hall in their own time.

It is a revolution – not of technology – but of thinking and process. Schiphol have used a number of different organizations, processes and technologies to create a security procedure which is smoother, more streamlined and less stressful for passengers.

The technology promises much and is developing rapidly.

When implementing a new system, operators will also want to consider where the technology is heading

Editor

High Tech Revolution

Next generation technology will have a crucial role to play. Facial recognition technology continues to evolve and will carry on doing so. The ability to capture images in 3D as well as 2D has gone a long way to eliminating any inaccuracies and uncertainties, to deliver a system which is fast, accurate and effective. It’s becoming much more popular and has the potential to become the default security process in the future. It has the advantages of being convenient, reliable and passive – in that it requires non-contact on the part of the passenger. Processes can be fully automated allowing passengers to be checked through the terminal with minimal disruption to their journey.

The technology promises much and is developing rapidly. When implementing a new system, operators will also want to consider where the technology is heading. Ensuring future innovations can be integrated smoothly into existing infrastructure will help airports stay at the cutting edge of development. Equally, they will have to choose their suppliers with care. In such a fast moving environment, there is a considerable gap between what systems can offer. Those with cutting edge software can deliver a clear edge over the competition in terms of the flexibility of the system and reliability. The aviation industry has seen huge amounts of investment wasted on systems which proved unable to deliver in the real world. Real life has a habit of throwing up challenges and problems designers could not have foretold.

Futuristic Ideas

It’s a choice which could become even more important, the more high-tech the airport security environment becomes. Futuristic ideas such as using augmented reality to allow security personnel to instantly view key information about each passenger sound exciting, but are a long way from being practically applicable in the real world. More advanced scanners, which can effectively ‘sniff’ passengers to detect illegal substances, are in development, but represent a tool for the future.

Others, such as pre-screening passengers for risk, have potential, but are also highly controversial. As IATA’s Director for Security and Travel Facilitation, Ken Dunlap, told the Daily Mail, “We’re looking for a paradigm that is based on looking for bad people, not only bad things.18” Inevitably, such technology raises questions about what data airports are using to develop their screening processes. Will they be looking at ethnicity, religion, nationality? How do they deliver a system which is both fair and effective?

There are numerous questions to answer. New technology brings with it benefits and risk. Although it can speed up waiting times and give passengers a much better experience, it can also create confusion and make matters worse. In the past, some airport operators have latched on to technology with an assumption it will deliver improvements. The result can be something which falls short in real life applications. Operators will have to work closely with manufacturers to deliver something which truly offers an integrated security experience.

Until now, security has been seen as an operational function – something which is necessary but unpleasant. Passengers might not like it, but they put up with it in order to feel safe

References:

1 IATA 20 Year Forecast: http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2016-10-18-02.aspx

2 Government’s Claim Third Runway will Not Affect Air Quality Rubbished by its own Experts: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/air-quality-london-heathrow-airport-third-runway-not-affect-contradict-experts-scientists-a7561926. html

3 Researchers Easily Slipped Weapons Passed TSA Scanners: https://www.wired.com/2014/08/study-shows-how-easily-weapons-can-be-smuggled-past-tsas-x-ray-body-scanners/

4 Identity Fraud Up By 57%: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36701297

5 Calls for Urgent Action as Fake Passports Seized: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/692571/Calls-urgent-action-fake-passports-seized

6 New Scanners Could Mean Liquids and Laptops Can Stay in Your Bag: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/new-technology-air-passengers-can-leave-their-liquids-and-laptop-in-their-luggage/

7 Naked Full Body Scanners Failed to Detect Weapons: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/naked-full-body-scanners-failed-detect-weapons-study-article-1.1910693

8 Facial Recognition Replaces Passports: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jan/22/facial-recognition-to-replace-passports-in-security-overhaul-at-australian-airports

9 Global Biometrics Market: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/biometric-technologies.asp

10 Hi-Tech Eye Scanners Go on Trial: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1329886/Hi-tech-eye-scanners-track-passengers-airport-trial-UK.html

11 Eye Scanners at England Airports Turned Off: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17058448

12 Government Scraps Iris Recognition: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2102489/Iris-recognition-scheme-airports-scrapped-years.html

13 Terminal 5 Fingerprinting Scrapped: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/mar/26/3

14 Homeland Security Plans to Expand Fingerprint and Eye Scanning: http://fortune.com/2016/09/12/border-security-biometrics/

15 3MTM LFIS: https://www.airport-suppliers.com/event-press-release/multi-functional-ultra-high-speed-face-recognition-show%E2%80%8B/

16 http://news.3m.com/press-release/company-english/3m-live-face-identification-system-takes-security-solutions%C2%A0-reactive-

17 IATA Smart Security: http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/security/Pages/smart-security.aspx

18 Scan and Sniff. The Futuristic Airport Screening Smalls Passengers Explosives: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2000207/Scan-sniff-The-futuristic-airport-screening-smells-passengers-explosives.html