WHAT WORKS

Nov 1, 2002 12:00 PM, Compiled by JENNIFER PERO

A Hands-On Approach

LOCATION: Boise, Idaho

USER: Boise Airport

TECHNOLOGY: Biometric hand reader

Boise Airport is using a hand reader from Recognition Systems Inc., Campbell, Calif., to add an additional layer of security to its airport operations center, which houses the airport's head-end security system and technical information. The reader was installed by local integrator AIC Solutions of Boise and is part of an ongoing pilot program to determine how such technology might help incorporate biometrics into its broader access control systems. The RSI Handkey analyzes more than 90 unique measurements of the size and shape of a person's hand, and then compares it to a central database that tracks and monitors employee movements and access to sensitive areas. The reader evaluates the measurements of the hand and gives it a value of 1 to 100, with 1 being a perfect match, and 100 being barely a match.

“Before installing the hand reader, we strictly had card access in place,” says Don Larson, aviation IT manager for Boise Airport. “We're always looking for new technology, and we selected the hand reader to add an additional layer of security.” The hand reader can be fully-integrated into a variety of access control systems and provides further security when combined with card access.

“What we're trying to do is ensure we have the right person, and not the wrong person with the right card,” says Bill Spence, director of marketing for Recognition Systems. “Hand geometry is easy to use, unobtrusive and very accurate — and it works.”

Larson says he wanted to install the hand reader in a high-profile location where it would be accessible to many airport employees. Airport environments can be unforgiving when it comes to testing security technology, says Spence. “Airports have literally tens of thousands of transactions per day and you have to be able to deal with that sort of volume,” he says. “The hand readers were designed for high-volume access control, and our technology has been refined for these types of applications.”

After nearly 2½ months of testing, Boise Airport has plans to incorporate the system into its new facility, a terminal building expansion, which will open in May 2003. Future implementation plans also include installing the hand readers at outside vehicle gate access locations that lead to the air field.

RECOGNITION SYSTEMS INC.
Campbell, Calif.
Circle No. 50 on Card

Identity Authentication For Logan Applicants

LOCATION: Boston

USER: Logan Airport

TECHNOLOGY: Document
Authentication
Scanners

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) at Boston's Logan Airport is relying on document authentication scanners from Imaging Automation, Bedford, N.H., to help verify the identity of potential new employees. The iA-thenticate platform, which can validate non-pre-enrollment identification such as passports, visas and driver's licenses, is helping to ensure applicants are presenting valid and current forms of government identification.

The iA-thenticate system is a platform application that can read a non-pre-enrolled document's readable zones, magnetic stripe or two-dimensional barcode and perform tests to examine ink, seal, pattern, text and/or biometric tampering. “The iA-thenticate system can extract text and pictures and compare the information to security databases, such as FBI watchlists,” says Bill Thalheimer, president of Imaging Automation. “We're giving Logan a fully-automated way to authenticate documents in under four seconds.”

The deployment came after a five-month pilot program which tested the platform at Logan's International terminal and ticket counters. During the testing phase, several expired licenses and passports were identified.

“The product helps us verify that potential new employees are presenting valid and current forms of government identification,” says Jose Juves, director of media relations for Massport. “While the Massachusetts Port Authority has gone above and beyond federal regulations by doing background checks on those applying for security badges, this new technology adds an additional layer of scrutiny and tightens the process,” he says.

With the platform installed, anyone applying to work at Logan will need to present two valid forms of identification to be authenticated by the system. “By verifying an applicant's ID,” says Juves, “we ensure that people are who they say they are, and it rules out the option of circumventing the background check process.” Since its installation at Logan, Juves adds that no one has tried to use false documents to gain a security access badge at the airport.

Currently, the iA-thenticate platform is being used in the Logan administrative and badging office; however, Massport is currently awaiting funding from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to further implement the technology at the airport's security checkpoints.

IMAGING AUTOMATION
Bedford, N.H.
Circle No. 51 on Card

Screening System Is Non-Intrusive

LOCATION: Lewiston, Idaho

USER: Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport

TECHNOLOGY: Screening Unit

The People Portal 2 is a pass-through screening unit that can identify any object or substance, such as metal, ceramics, plastics, powders or liquids that are not part of a person's biological make-up. It was developed by Tex Yukl of Spatial Security Systems, Clarkston, Wash.

The technology uses low power and extremely safe microwaves to find potentially threatening objects. A prototype unit was tested in the Lewiston-Nez Perce County airport, located in Lewiston, Idaho. Airport manager Robin Turner endorses the technology for being passenger friendly and non-intrusive while detecting potential threats.

“When you pass through the device it is not gender-specific, and only displays a wire diagram of a human being on the operators screen” says Turner. The screening process takes about 2.5 seconds (20 people per minute), thus helping to eliminate long lines and waiting at checkpoints. It also eliminates the need for people to go through extensive pre-screening processes such as being patted down, the use of a “wand” or the removal of their shoes.

The technology has been developed over the past five years under Federal Aviation Administration sponsorship and $2 million in grants.

SPATIAL GUARDIAN INC.
Seattle
Circle No. 52 on Card

Doors Feature Electronic Eyes

LOCATION: Jacksonville, Fla.

USER: Jacksonville International Airport

TECHNOLOGY: Digital door automation system

StanVision automatic doors from Stanley Access Technologies, Farmington, Conn., have been installed in the baggage claim area of Jacksonville International Airport (JIA). The installation is a result of JIA's efforts to better meet the safety and service needs of its travelers. “The goal of our new terminal expansion was to make our customers' traveling experience as enjoyable and as hassle-free as possible,” says John D. Clark, executive director of the Jacksonville Airport Authority. StanVision digital technology offers travelers at the Jacksonville airport freedom without jeopardizing security. The door sensing system uses digital video camera technology to perform the functions of both a door sensor and security camera. The digital video technology delivers a more accurate sense of motion than infrared- or microwave-operated doors by using technology that evaluates pixel changes in the video image to detect motion. The system is designed to fit any automatic door and can be tied into existing CCTV systems, security systems or local monitors.

To provide surveillance and operate the door, a StanVision camera is placed above the inside and outside of the door, transmitting exactly what happens on each door cycle at all times. As a result, the security perimeter at each door is extended by 10 feet, thus eliminating the need for additional security cameras at the entrance and exit.

“The system allows the user to see people in motion and provides an opportunity to record what is at the door back to a central video monitoring station,” says Jay Viatkus, marketing and e-business product manager for Stanley. “The camera can be considered covert and therefore comes across as less intimidating to travelers walking in and out the doors,” he says. “It can also prove liability for slip-and-fall accidents.”

It's also cost-effective. Security personnel can monitor people passing through the doors without the additional cost of surveillance cameras. Should the need arise, security can activate the doors remotely to open or close the doors within the airport to contain suspect passengers or control traffic flow in case of an emergency.

JIA relies on the automatic door system because its busy environment is demanding on automatic access doors. Because carts, baggage and high traffic all add up to abuse on automatic door systems, the digital technology can be programmed for specific airport environments; allowing the doors to open an appropriate distance for a person or wider if a cart is sensed. The door sensing technology can also be set to recognize certain shaped objects, such as people or vehicles, and to ignore traffic and smaller objects such as trees or debris.

JIA currently has StanVision automatic doors and sensors installed in 12 door systems in its baggage claim area. Although Clark says he initially chose the system based on its automatic door performance, he says the inherent possibilities of integrating the video into JIA's security system is “a very attractive feature that could be used to enhance our security down the road.”

STANLEY ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES
Farmington, Conn.
Circle No. 53 on Card

SHARE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

How have you put technology to work to improve airport security at your company? TRANSPORTATION SECURITY is seeking technology success stories to share with readers. We'll pay $100 to any end-user who suggests a story we use.

CONTACT Editor Larry Anderson at 770-618-0118 or e-mail landerson@primediabusiness.com

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

This month in Access Control

• Opening Up About Door Closers
• An Enterprise Approach
• The Framework For Open Systems
• On A Higher Plane
• More from April's issue