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#943375 by mitchja
07 May 2018, 11:09
Link

New automated boarding gates using facial recognition coming to MCO over the summer for all departing International flights.

(apparently BA have been running a trial of this already)

I wonder if this will speed things up or make things worse?

IMHO If it's anything like those hopeless arrival immigration gates at LHR - it will slow things down!!
#943376 by NV43
07 May 2018, 12:25
I'd suggest that facial recognition is less than 90% accurate, even with a frontal image, in a controlled environment, with good consistent illumination and without blur, distortion and other camera effects and the effects of skin tone/race/colour*.

Is the system using the biometric data in the user's Passport, the US immigration point image capture or an image captured elsewhere e.g. check-in / baggage drop and issue of a boarding pass (separate queue for those that checked-in online and printed their boarding passes, only have hand luggage).

If it's the automated booths as used at LHR, a potential nightmare; one will be broken, someone will have trapped themselves in the second, and the old lady with the sun hat has confused the third.

If it's a person looking at an image panel and comparing the person in front with the image on the screen, whilst scanning the boarding pass, it will be akin to the LHR use of photographs in intra-terminal transfers e.g. to Northern Ireland in the old T2.

HKG works perfectly well with a barcode on the Passport, scanned at the booth, and a finger-print scan.

*A recent paper (http://proceedings.mlr.press/v81/buolam ... ini18a.pdf) describes the use of three commercial facial recognition systems identifying gender; the error rates for identifying the gender of white males was less than 1%, for darker skinned female subjects the error rate ran between 20 and 35%, for the darkest-skinned female faces, two of the tested systems had error rates of >40% when trying to identify gender.
#943377 by mitchja
07 May 2018, 12:38
Always make me laugh when those 'helpers' (and I use that term very loosely) at LHR immigration try and tell me 'it's because you are wearing your glasses, take them off'.....er no, how can it be when my passport photo which is used to compare has me wearing the exact same glasses?!?

US immigration always used to ask me to take my glasses off to take the photo as well before I had Global Entry, which I never really understood either? Why take a photo of me not wearing the glasses I wear every single day?

There's also quite a big misconception as well that you are supposed to take your glasses off for a UK passport photo, which is not the case. As long as they don't create any glare from the flash and you can see your eyes properly (i.e. you are not wearing sunglasses or heavily tined lenses), you can actually leave them on for the photo.
#943378 by gumshoe
07 May 2018, 12:44
The e-gates used at immigration at UK airports are not fully automated. They still require an immigration officer to manually compare the image they capture with the one in your passport (one officer for every four e-gates I believe).

That’s why there are frequently several gates closed - not enough staff.
#943382 by enjoyingit
07 May 2018, 16:24
gumshoe wrote:The e-gates used at immigration at UK airports are not fully automated. They still require an immigration officer to manually compare the image they capture with the one in your passport (one officer for every four e-gates I believe).

That’s why there are frequently several gates closed - not enough staff.


Is that true?? i thought they used software to do that. I often fail because i have a squint and the software cant understand the gap between my pupils. i look just like my photo so a human would surely send me through
#943388 by gumshoe
07 May 2018, 17:29
Most failures aren’t anything to do with recognition issues, they’re due to damaged passports, faulty chips or the page not lying completely flat on the scanner. When you insert your passport it’s very common for the page to fold slightly as you push it in, and the machine can’t read it. It’s a design fail - the e-gates in other EU countries seem to perform much better.
#943391 by Kraken
07 May 2018, 18:57
The UK Border e-gates were very hit and miss with my old passport - but since I've had a new passport they recognise me within seconds and I'm on my way. UK Border force staff member overseeing the e-gates at Luton the other week was certainly not comparing images on his computer screen... he was texting / messaging on his mobile phone!

Am surprised that the Americans - with their obsession for security - are trialling this system. I suppose their argument will be that it's only in use once you're airside so have passed through a formal ID check & security screening already. Can't see it speeding things up much at the boarding gate though.
#943397 by honey lamb
07 May 2018, 23:32
Ah yes, the facial recognition gates! How many times Have I been behind someone who has placed their passport in the slot as required and then resumed looking at the absolutely fascinating text messages, Instagram, Snapchat or whatever was so fascinating on their phones while we waited for them to look up to where they're supposed to be looking!
#943399 by Darren Wheeler
08 May 2018, 09:06
I guess there is a certain amount of 'random' fails programmed into the system to ensure manual checks are done. A bit like the random SSSS on check-in.

Given the total mess that MCO arrivals usually is (long queues, passengers held on aircraft etc.), probably better spending the money there instead. My next trip to Florida will be via MIA and then drive up.
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