New Technology Will Make Travel Document Scanning More Efficient
Getting through airports is about to get faster and easier.
Online, October 19, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Getting through airports is about to get faster and easier. The Transportation Security Administration may have found a way to keep those long security and check-in lines moving. Early next year, airports will start testing machines that will be able to verify two different travel documents. One of these machines will be able to authenticate the traveler's boarding pass and ID. The machines will be used by regular document checkers, who currently only use magnifying loupes and ultraviolet flashlights, and will help them to verify each piece by using technology much stronger than the human eye.
Three separate manufacturers have been given contracts to create and produce these travel document-testing machines. They are Trans Digital Technologies, LLC; BAE Systems Information Solutions; and NCR Government Systems. Ten machines from each company will be tested at various airports across the nation. Earlier versions of these scanning machines were tested in the United States in 2009.
This type of technology is being created to fight phony boarding passes after a doctoral student created a website to demonstrate how simple it is to make fake boarding passes and get them through airport checkpoints. This new technology is crucial in fighting known terrorists and people who are on No Fly lists. It will be able to authenticate government issued-IDs and match IDs to boarding passes. Not only will this keep fake boarding passes from being created, it will allow for faster check-ins and make the entire process more efficient. This new system will allow screeners to be notified when a passenger's ID is not valid.
As the need for travel and airport security continues to grow, the Transportation Security Administration will look towards technology to find more solutions for providing travelers with the utmost in safety.