The surge in biometric technology, particularly facial recognition, within the aviation sector is poised to redefine the passenger experience at airports across the world. In this round up, we take a look at a range of automated border control initiatives from across the globe.

Optic ID, an iris authentication system developed by Apple, is a key feature integrated into Apple’s new Vision Pro headset. This technology enables users to securely unlock their device, authorise transactions, access personal data, and sign-in to various applications using iris recognition.

Whether it’s airport security checks or facial recognition on smartphones, biometric identification solutions are an integral part of our everyday lives, and the next generation is ready and waiting. DNA-based processes not only enable the accurate identification of citizens, but also raise data protection to a new level.

The increasing demand for business and leisure travel emerging from the pandemic has changed air travel practices in the last few years and promised passengers a quick, secure and seamless experience.

IDEMIA, the identity technologies and biometric solutions provider, has been selected by the airport operator, GMR Group, to implement Digi Yatra’s facial recognition technology-powered boarding system at India’s Delhi, Hyderabad, and Goa airports.

According to a recent article in Extreme Tech, the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has ramped up its biometric identity verification pilot by installing facial recognition systems in more airports.

Multinational technology company, Vision-Box, has deployed its Seamless Journey Platform in the new terminal at Ezeiza, Argentina’s largest international airport by passenger numbers.

While the tech giant, Apple, is essentially a consumer electronics firm that produces stylish smartphones, laptops, desktops and TVs, it is also a big user of biometrics to verify the identity of the user. Even more than that, it has never shied away from following other research areas that involve identity as a service.

A small article in the news section of March’s ID & Secure Document News noted that at the same time as European Union lawmakers are on track to ban the use of remote biometric surveillance for general law enforcement purposes, France had approved the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor public spaces for suspicious behaviour during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Definitive proof that fingerprints are a unique biometric at birth has been published by a team of academic researchers in the journal Cell. But while the paper seems to confirm that they are unique – are fingerprints immutable and reliable?