CAMPBELL, Calif. – Biometric hand readers from Recognition Systems Inc. of Campbell, Calif., are currently used in many airports around the world, including those in San Francisco and Tel Aviv, Israel.
At San Francisco International, over 170 hand readers provide access to restricted areas such as ground operations areas, protecting these areas from criminals who may steal or copy employee access cards. The employee’s identity is verified by measuring the size and shape of a person’s hand and comparing it to a template stored in the reader or on a card.
“This recognition equipment can increase security in numerous aspects of air travel,” said Martin Huddart of Recognition Systems. “As a member of the International Air Transport Association Simplifying Passenger Travel Group, we are developing proposals for using this technology to benefit travelers worldwide.”
At Ben Gurion International Airport, RSI hand readers in 21 automatic inspection kiosks monitor who is crossing the country’s borders. The hand readers verify 50,000 passengers per month. Israel plans to extend the use of biometric verification to the Israeli/Palestinian land border.
Additionally, nine North American airports, including JFK International, have been using hand readers for the past seven years to validate the identity of 23,000 frequent passengers a month through the immigration process. In total, more than 60,000 RSI hand readers are currently being used in various applications around the world.
