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October 1, 2009 – SmartGate Australian’s high-tech express passport system is considered more accurate in most cases than a border protection officer says university professor.

Passengers insert their ePassport and answer declaration questions using a touch screen at the small SmartGate computer kiosks, and the computer examines security features on the passport including visa stamps and immigration details.

SmartGate is currently available only to Australian and New Zealand citizens aged 18 and over with ePassports, but will be eventually available to citizens of other countries. The system uses face-recognition technology to confirm the traveller’s identity using the digitised image of the traveller stored in the ePassport, a process considered in most cases more effective than a Customs or border protection officer by Adelaide University Professor of anatomy Maciej Henneberg.

He said to Syndey Morning Heral that Biometric [facial-recognition systems] are nearly as good as fingerprints. They measure distances between points on the face, usually the eyes, mouth and nose, and the proportion of those measurements is unique for each human. The professor also said there will always be a need for Australian immigration officers to identify travellers whose appearances have changed.

SmartGate began operating in July after a three-year trial at Sydney and Melbourne airports.

Source:
visabureau