user-friendly face recognition

Camera-based biometric recognition provider BioID GmbH and airport passenger handling solutions provider MATERNA GmbH today announced a cooperation to develop convenient automated airport passenger service solutions with face recognition such as self-service check-in and baggage drop-off, as well as boarding.

MATERNA communication solutions vice-president, Lieselotte Neste said: "Airports today are faced with growing security regulations and an increased demand to verify passenger identity, yet at the same time need to manage costs and streamline the in-airport experience for huge volumes of passengers.

"BioID’s face recognition enables convenient, fraud-proof identity verification from when a passenger arrives at the airport, checks in at the self-service kiosk and drops off his baggage, and at all airport touchpoints, enabling faster, more cost-effective automated passenger handling and ensuring that only the designated passenger is able to board the plane."

The concept can be extended for airline frequent travelers, including initially verifying the member’s face against a photo ID (such as a passport) or providing a seamless passenger experience with the same automated identity checks at security, immigration, airport lounge, and other airport touchpoints.

To demonstrate the concept, the companies have developed a showcase for the Passenger Terminal Expo 2014.

BioID’s face recognition, used for many years to secure enterprise, banking and government environments, quickly and accurately verifies people in a natural way: by the way they look.

BioID CEO of Ho Chang said: "Anyone who flies knows that there’s room for improvement when it comes to moving through the airport, and self-service options like those from MATERNA have the potential to accelerate and ease the process. We are pleased to help MATERNA simplify the passenger handling process while making flying a safer experience for everyone."

To see the showcase in action, please visit MATERNA in stand 1426 at the Passenger Terminal Expo, 25 to 27 March in Barcelona, Spain.