Facial recognition gates at Stansted

New biometric facial recognition gates have been installed at Stansted airport.
The new machines scan passengers’ faces and then check them against their digital passport photo. They are being trialled in an attempt to improve border security.
The gates can be used by any British or European passenger who has a new e-passport.
Similar technology will be extended to ten UK terminals by August 2009, as pledged by the Home Secretary at the beginning of the year.
Barry McGill, assistant director for the UK Border Agency at Stansted Airport, said: “By using new technology we are helping make our border even more secure, making the UK safer, speeding up travel for passengers and improving our service to the public. Every gate is supervised at all times by a UK Border Agency (UKBA) officer, and this trial gives our officers an extra tool to improve security at the border.”
The trial at Stansted is being run in partnership between the UKBA and airport operator BAA.
Scientists at the Humabio project (Human Monitoring and Authentication using Biodynamic Indicators and Behavioural Analysis) have been looking at the potential for using brain scanning as a way to check identity. The experiments also examined using heart rhythms to authenticate ID and were conducted under an EU-funded inquiry into biometric systems that could be deployed at airports, borders and sensitive locations to screen out terrorist suspects.