3M urges travellers to use Stansted face system

3M is urging business travellers and holidaymakers to make use of Stansted Airport’s new facial recognition security gates.

Passengers with new biometric passports travelling to the UK via Stansted can travel through the airport by using Autogates being trialled in the arrivals area, which can scan their face and check their passport photo in seconds.

The Autogates installed at the airport use 3M’s RTE8000 Full Page Scanner to validate British or European ePassports with an electronic chip and are helping the UK Border Agency process passengers more efficiently.

A live image of the passenger standing at the gate is captured and biometric technology then compares this with the image stored on the chip embedded within the ePassport by measuring specific facial points – regardless of changes due to weight gain or loss. If there is a match and they clear security, the automatic gates allow the traveller across the border.

“If you hold one of the new biometric passports, we are asking everyone to take advantage of these gates and help reduce the time they spend at passport control,” says a spokesperson for UK Border Agency. “There is no need to register and all that is required is a biometric passport.”

As one of the UK’s busiest aviation hubs, Stansted Airport - which handles around 23 million passengers annually – uses the gates throughout the busy holiday season. The trial at Stansted is being run in partnership between the UK Border Agency and airport operator, BAA.

Following the trial, the UK Border Agency is expecting to rollout Autogate systems to 10 additional UK airport terminals as part of the new £1.2 billion e-Borders system helping the UK Border Agency target terrorist suspects, known criminals and would-be illegal immigrants.

 “Since the beginning of the trial, more than 160,000 passengers have been able to pass quickly through the airport using the ePassport gates at Stansted,” says Chris Scorey, General Manager for 3M Security Systems. “ The RTE8000 scanner at the heart of the Autogate system is equipped with Active Video technology, so even if passengers fail to correctly orient their documents in the scanning window, an accurate read can still take place.”

The RTE8000 scanner combines OCR read technology with a full-page, lay-on scanner that is used by border and law enforcement agencies.

The RTE8000 scanner can scan a range of document types and support formats such as OCR, UV, Visible Image, barcode and RF chip, making it suitable for passports and other travel documents including identity cards, visas, driver’s licenses and virtually any document up to passport size.