|
Safety Technologies:
Biometric recognition on the way
MICROCHIP AIDS PASSPORT INDENTIFICATION
The information page in the Finnish passport, which is made
of polycarbonate, is one of the most secure in the world.
Soon this will not be enough, and the Finnish company Setec
is preparing for biometric identification.
The United States in particular wants greater assurance that
a person using a passport really is its genuine owner. If
legislation goes according to plan, in October 2004 it will
be possible to enter the United States without a visa only
if the passport has biometric identifiers. This will mean
that equipment which can read the new passports will have
been installed at airports and seaports by then.
“We’ve wanted, however, to be sure that development
isn’t dependent on travel documents,” says Tommi
Nordberg, the senior vice president of Setec’s government
and corporate business unit, showing in his hand a passport
to which biometric identifiers can be attached.
Setec has been focusing on high-security smart cards and
visual ID products. The Group has operations in Sweden, Denmark,
Poland, Singapore and Thailand. Almost 90 per cent of the
Group’s turnover, which is well over 50 million euros,
is generated in Europe.
Microchip in information page
In Setec’s passport of the future the information page
will be made of polycarbonate, as it already is. But now there
will be one noticeable difference: it will be thicker, because
inside it will be a remote-readable microchip.
“It’s essential to be able to combine security
and convenience at passport control,” Nordberg says.
A remote-readable microchip fulfils both these requirements.
The first thing to be checked about the chip is that it is
right. This makes demands on the chip and also on the part
of the passport where the chip will be installed so that it
cannot be changed. “As a result, we ended up using a
processor chip that has enough memory,” Nordberg explains.
More options - eyes and fingers
It is not yet known what information the chip will give about
its owner. It may be that different countries will end up
with slightly different identifiers. One identifier will be
face recognition: a few points on a person’s face will
be the basis for calculating a certain value using image-processing
algorithms. This will then be compared with a picture taken
of the passport holder on the spot at the airport.
“This value isn’t even the same with identical
twins,” Nordberg says. “In addition the chip will
probably hold information about the iris and fingerprints.
These, too, will be checked from the passport holder at the
airport.
Attempts will be made to make the change as convenient and
inconspicuous as possible for the normal user. There are surveillance
cameras at an airport, so a camera taking pictures at passport
control need not even be noticed. Separate photographing of
an iris and fingerprint recognition will be noticed more by
the traveller.
The biggest change for the passenger will be in applying
for a passport. Two photographs will not be enough; at the
same time it will be necessary to give fingerprints or have
the iris photographed.
Photo: The main security characteristic in Setec’s
passport is the polycarbonate information page, which cannot
be falsified. A processor that will make it possible to use
bioidentifiers will be placed inside the information page.
Published 2002
|
.
Finnfacts is part of