Acuity Predicts Next Wave of Biometric Border Processing

“The global footprint for biometric-based border automation is expanding as ABC eGates and APC Kiosks have become mainstream and air, land, and sea ports look to increase reliance on these highly successful traveler facilitation solutions.” – Maxine Most, Principal, Acuity Market Intelligence

Acuity Market Intelligence is tracking the ascent of automated border control (ABC) and automated passport control (APC) technologies around the world, predicting considerable imminent growth.

The trend is already well underway. Acuity reports that there are now 4800 ABC and APC kiosks deployed across 73 countries. Two hundred and twenty-three of these are biometric kiosks, as can be seen in programs like the Customs and Border Protection agency’s expanding face-scanning initiative at airports in the US; though according to Acuity’s analysis, it’s actually Asia that’s leading the way, with the region home to 38 percent of all eGates, followed by Europe with 37 percent.

In any case, the prominence of this technology is only going to grow. In a brief report, Acuity Principal Analyst Maxine Most asserted that “[t]he global footprint for biometric-based border automation is expanding as ABC eGates and APC Kiosks have become mainstream and air, land, and sea ports look to increase reliance on these highly successful traveler facilitation solutions.”

Remarkably, between 2015 and 2017, the number of APC kiosks in operation almost doubled, rising from 1243 to 2300; and Most says this base will double again by the year 2020. ABC eGates will grow less quickly, with a 10 percent CAGR anticipated for the next five years, and perhaps ten percent more for kiosk upgrades; but there is a next wave of biometric border automation that is “currently in its infancy” that will extend biometrics to check-in, luggage deposit, and boarding. Acuity says it will deliver a forecast for this next phase in its upcoming Global Automated Border Control Industry Report, scheduled for release this spring.

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February 26, 2018 – by Alex Perala