Accelerated use of high tech at borders
Australia is likely to see accelerated use of high technology such as biometrics which will revolutionise border protection and passenger movements, particularly at airports.
This will become particularly important when international airports move to paperless ticketing over the next few years, including the use of information stored in mobile phones as aircraft check-in and boarding passes.
Customs, immigration, law enforcement and intelligence agencies will rely more on facial and hand recognition technology linked to computer systems which have the ability to alert officials to suspicious people or activities.
Use of the technology will not only improve the effectiveness of border surveillance so authorities have a better idea of who is entering Australia, it will also allow for savings in staff and administration.
The use of biometrics is becoming more widespread in dealing with large volumes of people entering not only airports but at stores, high security special events, sporting fixtures and even at amusement parks.
For example, at Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida, biometric measurements from the fingers of visitors are used to ensure that ticket are used by the same people from day to day.
In the US, the FBI is developing a new security database which will hold biometric information drawn from terrorists, criminals and suspects from around the world.
The proposed database is still in its early concept and design stage but once implemented it will enable countries to quickly search and swap biometric data - such as fingerprints, genetic information, and iris scans - on some of the world’s most wanted criminals.
This sort of information could be made available at airports and other international gateways so that any suspects attempting to enter another country could be identified and dealt with.
It is understood the FBI will be approaching a number of other countries to participate in the new system, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand but it is still too early to say whether they will take up the offer.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) which is pushing for paperless ticketing and boarding to be introduced globally, wants uniform international standards implemented which will allow carriers to send bar codes directly to mobile phones or other handheld devices, which passengers can in turn present at check-in.
“Passengers simply register their mobile number with their airline at the time of booking to receive a text message with a 2D bar code, or instructions to download it,” said IATA director general and CEO, Giovanni Bisignani.
“The bar code becomes the passenger’s boarding pass and it is read directly from the screen of the mobile device, eliminating paper completely from the checkin process.”
IATA says a handful of carriers already have deployed the new check-in procedures, but IATA said various standards which applied in different regions had so far precluded a global solution.
“Passengers want the convenience of self-service options in a paperless environment. This standard is an important step in getting rid of paper that bogs down processes and drives up costs,” Mr Bisignani said.
He emphasised that IATA has been working with member airlines to develop standardised processes and guidelines to facilitate global implementation.
IATA says the new standard supports the industry’s goal of shifting boarding pass formats by 2010 from magnetic strip technology to bar codes—for both digital and paper-based tickets. IATA’s shift aims to save the industry $500 million annually.
A spokesman for Sydney Airports Corporation told ASM that the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology was trialled at the airport’s baggage handling system last year but no decision has been taken on its introduction.
IATA member, Qantas, says the airline is investigating the technology but is not yet able to talk about a timeframe for implementation.
A spokesperson for the British Airports Authority (BAA) said that the organisation was keen to run its terminals more efficiently but it would not set a time limit for the technology. BAA Airports handle about 105 million passengers annually.