Airports across the
globe are increasingly leveraging facial recognition technology to
verify and authenticate passengers. But some privacy advocates have raised
concerns, especially in India, where several airports are ramping up facial
recognition programs.
See Also: The Future of AI-Powered Autonomous
Response
The technology has
been introduced in recent years at some airports in the U.S., U.K., Japan,
Dubai and elsewhere. In India, several airports - including those in Bangalore,
Delhi and Hyderabad - are now rolling out the technology for use by passengers
on a voluntary basis.
Some privacy experts
in India express strong concerns that the nation lacks privacy regulations that would impose penalties for the misuse of
the biometric data by the government or private industry.
Given the potential
impact of artificial intelligence, including facial recognition, on society,
Alan Woodward, a computer science professor at the University of Surrey, says
the time for robust public debate is now.
Indian Airport Activity
Certain airports in
India, including those in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi, have begun the
process of authenticating passengers voluntarily through facial recognition,
which is part of their digital transformation journey. Airports in Pune,
Kolkata and Cochin are the next in line for this technology.
The initiative of
implementing facial recognition at India's airports, known as the Digi Yatra
Policy, is overseen by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which says its goal is
to offer air passengers a "seamless, hassle-free and paperless journey
experience."
Nandita Mathur, chief
strategy officer and head of engineering, at Q3 Technologies, a biometric
facial recognition solutions provider, says the technology has undergone vast
improvements.
"We first capture
full-attention images of persons whom we are going to recognize through facial
recognition system," she explains. "A database is then created with
face encodings of the images [128 landmark points are used for face
encodings]."
With real-time video
stream, frames are captured and are ingested in a machine learning algorithm,
Mathur says. "In every frame, the algorithm recognizes faces and extracts
individual face images for further analysis," she says.
The Global Scenario
In the United States,
Delta Airlines launched an end-to-end to biometric terminal leveraging facial
recognition for international departures at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson
Airline in November 2018, the airline says.
Facial recognition
projects are in various stages at airports in San Jose, California; Orlando,
Florida; Miami, Los Angeles and New York among others, according to Business
Traveller.
Tokyo Narita Airport
aims to introduce facial recognition in spring of 2020, according to a report
in Japan Times. Facial scans will be captured at a self-service kiosk.
In Qatar, Hamad
International Airport is introducing an end-to-end biometric system, while
Dubai International has been working with Emirates on a "smart
tunnel," Business Traveller reports.
"Our approach to
identity management is unique and holistic, in that we foresee widescale
deployment of biometric capability across both mandated and voluntary
passenger touch points while addressing customer data privacy concerns in line
with relevant local and international regulations," Badr Mohamed al-Meer,
COO at Hamad International Airport, told the news media last month.
The International Air
Transport Association says some 71 percent of airlines and 77 percent of
airports worldwide are investing in a biometrics program.
"Biometric
recognition using the One ID concept modernizes the airport experience for
passengers and improves the efficiency and security of identification
processes," IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac tells
Business Traveller. "Using global standards for digital identity and data
exchange will move us a big step closer to a hassle-free airport experience for
passengers."
source of information: https://www.databreachtoday.com/facial-recognition-balancing-security-vs-privacy-a-13145
About Q3Tech
In it’s almost two
decade journey from its early start up days in Boston, Q3 has come a long way
as a technology service provider to some of the largest and most
recognized companies in the world. Along the way, we have perfected our
processes, mastered our development and delivery methodologies, innovated on
new and cutting edge technologies, and created a unique approach to solving our
customer’s needs. All without ever compromising on our founding principles of
“Customer Success”, “Integrity and Honesty” and “Striving for Excellence” in
what we do. At Q3, we go beyond providing just solutions, and instead become
partners to clients in their growth story
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