Aviation securityFace-recognition e-Gate at Amsterdam airport moving passengers at rapid pace

E-Gate, the automated border control system developed by Accenture and Vision-Box for the Netherlands Ministry of Internal Affairs, is on target to process its one-millionth passenger at Schiphol Airport  in December, according to an announcement at the Biometrics 2012 conference in London.

Vision-Box, an specialist in automated border control systems based in Portugal, made the physical gates for the e-Gate system.

The Herald online reports that the system has reduced times for passengers going through the airport and, at the same time, has kept border security at a high quality by efficiently confirming the identities and documents of passengers.

E-Gate uses facial recognition technology and processes passenger information before allowing them to cross the border. In the event a person is on a watch list of national border and security agencies, border officers are alerted at the gate.

Passengers must have a biometric passport to use the system. The passport contains a contactless chip, which is issued by a member state of the European Union or European Economic Region.  Passengers enter an e-Gate and place their passport on an automated device that authenticates their identity.

The passengers identity is confirmed through a biometric face match and background check by the Dutch government.

Accenture says that the system is one of the fastest in the world, taking an average of just eight seconds to process a passenger through the border, and 97 percent of passengers wait less than four minutes during peak hours.

Mark Crego, who leads Accenture’s Border and Identity Management business, considers the system a resounding success and plans on expanding the e-Gate system in the future.

“With continuing growth in international travel volumes and increasingly complex documentation and visa requirements, there is a greater need than ever to verify passengers’ identities using new technologies that are supported by efficient human processes,” Crego told Heraldonline.com. “Accenture is working with border management agencies around the world to deliver solutions that facilitate the efficient movement of people and goods while, at the same time, increase border security and protect travelers.”