Border control is an essential function at airports and borders. It helps to control entry of people, goods, and animals into countries. At airports, people returning from international flights would have spent hours in long queues to clear border controls. This is necessary but inconvenient for travelers. Thanks to biometrics, border control is now more efficient.

Biometrics in border control

Border control envisages verifying identity, which involves checking documents. This being a manual process can cause delays leads to long queues and frustrated travelers. Biometrics makes this easier. Usually face recognition is used for biometrics identification. Other markers like iris or fingerprint can also be used.

Here’s how it works. A passenger walks up to the biometric-enabled counter. The camera/scanner scans the face using advanced technology. The face scan is converted to a pattern and this is checked against a database. If a match is found, the authentication is complete and the passenger can walk through. The entire process just takes seconds saving time and preventing long queues.

Benefits and limitations

The reason biometrics is used in border control is that it makes the process more effective and efficient. There are many benefits offered.

  • Queues are shortened since the time required for authentication is just a few seconds. Technology allows face recognition to be done quickly. This allows for manual checking of identity documents to be done away with. The overall waiting time is thus shortened.
  • It is secure since biometrics relies on the principles that biometric data is unique. There is virtually no chance of fraud and spoofing is not possible.
  • While the work of border control officials is reduced, it also ensures convenience for travelers.
  • Using a system like facial recognition ensures contactless authentication. In times when people are concerned about touching objects and being infected by viruses, biometrics can ensure authentication without physical contact.

While the benefits are many, there are also certain limitations.

  • Implementing a biometric system requires heavy investment. The costs are significant.
  • Privacy is a concern since biometrics of travelers need to be stored.
  • There is always a risk of biometric data being hacked. This calls for enhanced security measures.
  • It is important that algorithms be properly designed to prevent bias. There have been instances of demographic bias based on skin color, etc. This needs to be avoided by using better machine learning techniques.
  • There is a small risk of false accept or false reject. This can lead to delays or even people being passed through without proper authentication.

The article has been published by the editorial board of the Identity Herald. For more information please visit www.identityherald.com.