The Lisbon International Airport is going to be the first to pilot a European Commission program to test advanced biometric border control. The Smart Borders program is meant to improve the migration process for Third Country Nationals in the Shengen Area.
The first trial is using Vision-Box technology in Automated Border Control (ABC) eGates to screen passengers. First implemented in mid-March, the system has apparently won largely positive feedback from the travelers who have used it, providing them with a means to skip long queues and get through airport security screening quickly. Lisbon International Airport is also testing out two different means of passenger screening, the first being an iris scanning system, and the second being a pre-registration system for travelers via the Vision-Box Automated Immigration Control Kiosk.
All of this is pretty much experimental, a means for Portugal to help the European Commission find the best technologies and methods of passenger screening. The long-term goal is to determine the best system for standard deployment across the European Union, allowing for border security via both a unified Entry/Exit System (EES) and a Registered Traveler Program (RTP).
European nations have been keen to foster cooperation among themselves in helping to advance this kind of technology and its attendant standards – efforts that can only help the biometrics industry in the region by making business simpler and more straightforward. Vision-Box, for its part, has a wealth of experience in providing this kind of technology, both in Europe and other parts of the world. It should prove a strong partner as Portugal moves ahead with its pilot testing.
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May 28, 2015 – by Alex Perala
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