The future of identification lands at Schiphol
Smart cards, laser scanning of eyeballs: it's all a bit far fetched and it's here now.
It's a bit scary as a concept: sign a form and get the information verified against your passport, go into a booth and let a laser beam scan your eyeball. Then the next time you want to pass through Immigration at Schiphol, you walk up to a scanner that checks your eyeball against the records held for you and, assuming you are indeed you and not wanted for some reason, says "pass friend."
And now there is a similar fast-pass system for arrivals. Working only for Continental Airlines flights.
ICTS International N.V.'s, IP@SS airport security product (Integrated Passenger Security Solutions), has been expanded to include round-trip operations between Newark Liberty International Airport and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on Continental Airlines and has . The system has been tried out between Newark Liberty International Airport and Tel Aviv, Israel since October 2002.
A smart card system is provided by OTI America Inc. IP@SS is a computerised integrated system for the verification and screening of passengers and travel documents, which integrates an automated document scanner, biometric identification and verification systems, database search and analysis systems, and smart card technology. The integration of the smart card enables complete validation of airline passengers throughout the boarding process via biometrics matched to data stored on the passenger's smart card, providing a platform for a "Trusted Traveler" concept. Passenger data is kept exclusively on the smart card, which remains in the passengers' possession.
With the USA's impending rules requiring identification of all passengers to be made available to US immigration in advance of arrival, the voluntary adoption of such systems is probably going to increase
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