New badge for airport freight drivers

In an effort to cut down on potential security vulnerabilities at airports, Unisys Corporation has selected Fidelica Microsystems and Abeo Corporation to deliver a biometric-based RFID badge to positively identify cargo drivers, as part of a pilot scheme being conducted at Washington Dulles International Airport.

A unique aspect of the badge is that the biometric fingerprint sensor will be embedded within the body of the credit card-sized credential – something which has historically been very difficult to acheive.

The technology will be used as part of Unisys’ Wireless Personal Identification Credential (WPIC) project, which is part of the Transportation Security Administration’s sponsored Airport Access Control Pilot Program (AACPP).

The project is designed to evaluate the feasibility of using a wireless credential to verify the identities of truck drivers bringing loose cargo to an air cargo warehouse. According to Robert Allen, vice president of Business Development of Fidelica Microsystems, the company delivering the embedded fingerprint sensor technology: "Conclusive identification of registered shippers is critical to transportation security."

Unisys has worked with TSA for more than two years as the systems integrator for this pilot program, testing biometric technologies at 20 of the nation’s 429 commercial airports. AACPP is overseen by TSA’s Office of the Chief Information Officer. The WPIC project is in the final stages of its development and is scheduled to be demonstrated in the Autumn fall of 2006.