Automated Border Control (ABC) is now coming into “a new phase of market maturity,” according to an industry expert. Maxine Most, lead analyst at Acuity Market Intelligence, describes an industry experiencing massive growth, with the upward trends reported in Acuity’s most recent publications “ABC eGate Deployment List” and “APC Kiosk Deployment List“.
Most has been touting the growth potential of ABC systems and Automated Passport Control (APC) mechanisms over the past year, and she now brings us some fresh numbers to demonstrate the trends: worldwide, there are now over 1600 eGates, with full-scale deployments in Germany and even the UK, where such technology was previously abandoned. Meanwhile, APC kiosks in North America have tripled, reaching 800, with almost 200 more planned for the spring of 2015.
All of this is, of course, reason for optimism about further growth. The global trend of government interest in biometric security screening is not likely to reverse anytime soon, with governments like India’s going further and even introducing national biometric identity cards allowing access not only at the border, but to government services. Even in the UK, Most notes, biometric automation is expanding to land borders, provide authentication for train passengers on the Eurostar.
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December 18, 2014 – by Alex Perala
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