Airport test of biometric systems worked, firms say
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2002 3:37 PM
NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - Facial recognition security systems installed at Boston's Logan Airport, where two of the Sept. 11 attacks hijacked flights originated, worked more than 90 percent of the time in a recently concluded test, two companies behind the systems said on Thursday.
While official data has not yet been released, Visionics Corp. (VSNX) and Viisage Technology Inc. (VISG) said their systems were able to identify individuals from a pre-selected group passing through the airport more than 9 out of 10 times.
The companies said the results of the study show that facial recognition technology can play an important role in preventing terror attacks in a variety of settings by identifying known militants and other wanted people.
The positive preliminary results contrast with a report on a similar test at Florida's Palm Beach International Airport.
Results of that study, obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, which asserts that the systems are invasive and ineffective, showed that a Visionics system failed to work 52.5 percent of the time.
Visionics Chief Executive Joseph Atick said a test of its technology at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas, which will not be complete for another 45 days, has been succeeding at a rate of between 85 percent and 93 percent.
On Tuesday, President Bush signed a border security bill that will require visitors to the United States to carry a travel document that contains so-called biometric information such as finger prints or facial recognition data.
A spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority declined to comment on the results of the test at Logan Airport, saying only that facial recognition has the potential to be an important part of an overall security system. |
