Iris Scans Take Off At Airports: Officials Report No Protests
About Eye ID
Source: Computerworld
Published: July 17, 2000 Author: Michael Meehan
In one of the first public applications of eye-scanning
technology, two airports this week will begin scanning
passengers' irises as part of an effort to streamline boarding
and security processes.
Using video cameras to scan the iris - the colored ring that
surrounds the pupil in the human eye - EyeTicket Corp. in McLean,
Va., will begin registering passengers at Charlotte/ Douglas
International Airport in North Carolina and Flughafen Frankfurt
Airport in Germany today. EyeTicket has been scanning
Charlotte/Douglas airport employees and U.S. Airways Group Inc.
flight staffs since May.
The airport rollouts are among the first major business
applications involving iris-scan technology. Until now, Bank
United Corp. in Houston had been engaged in the most notable
business application of iris scans, observers said.
In May last year, the bank converted three supermarket automated
teller machines, at a cost of $5,000 each, to use the technology
to identify customers before they conducted transactions. Bank
United remains the lone player in its industry to go live with
the technology, said Judy Wong, an analyst at Newton, Mass.-based
Meridien Research Inc.
The technology got its start in law enforcement. In 1996,
Lancaster County Prison in Pennsylvania became the first
correctional facility to use iris scanning. Warden Vincent A.
Guarini said the facility sometimes needs to release prisoners on
short notice and can't wait for fingerprint tests.
Charlotte/Douglas aviation director Jerry Orr said his facility
agreed to test the iris scans, which translate the 266
independent characteristics of the iris into a 512-byte digital
code, for security purposes. Orr said reports from airport
workers and flight crews have been positive. A 30 frame/ sec.,
black-and-white video camera is used to take a picture of the eye
from 6 to 36 inches away. EyeTicket Chairman and CEO Stewart Mann
said iris scans aren't invasive like retina scans, which use a
laser to probe the eye. He also said retinas change during a
person's life, whereas irises don't.
Once U.S. Airways passengers enroll, their codes will be stored
for future use. Mann said he hopes airline passengers will be
able to step in front of a terminal kiosk, get scanned in one
second and then be issued a boarding pass - a process he expects
to bring online within a year.
Supporters of the scans say the technology provides a way to
identify people through a unique feature, since no two irises are
the same.
Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, which
lobbies airlines and others on issues that affect business
travelers, sees iris scans as a convenience, not an intrusion.
"If you don't feel violated in an airport today by all the
questions and the searches, this isn't going to make you feel
more violated," he said.
He said he thinks passengers will be willing to test the programs
for additional frequent-flier miles or other perks.
Orr said the iris scans have other advantages. "Obviously, your
eye's pretty secure," he said. "You always have it with you. You
don't have to worry if you left it somewhere or if someone else
is using it when they shouldn't."
Wong said she believes that biometric technologies will be
adopted slowly. "It's a lot of work to convert all those
machines," she said.
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