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Sydney Airport Launches Face Scan Check-In Trials (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the paper-free dept.

The plan to replace passport check-ins with more face scans is being trialed by Quantas on passengers for select flights into the Sydney Airport starting this week. The move is an attempt to replace the "inconvenience" of relying on more traditional paper passports. TechCrunch reports: It's still very early stages in a process that isn't exactly being rolled out overnight. After all, implementing such technology for Sydney's 43 million annual passengers is pretty large undertaking, even without myriad security and privacy concerns to contend with. To start with, the technology will be utilized for select international flights, to help automate check-in, boarding, lounge access and bag drop. Moving forward, the airport also hopes to implement it for mobile check-in and customs processing. "We've worked with Qantas from the outset and are delighted to be partnering with them as we trial this technology," Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said in a statement provided to the press. "In the future, there will be no more juggling passports and bags at check-in and digging through pockets or smartphones to show your boarding pass," he added. "Your face will be your passport and your boarding pass at every step of the process."

46 comments

  1. add-on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We can give out Steam achievements instead of cool little stamps from different countries to show off.

    meh

    1. Re:add-on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So instead of hot chicks sitting on the copying machine and making copies of their hot hoo hoos, instead, I put my face in place of the platen.
       
      Surprise, surprise, m'ladies!

  2. Kim Dotcom by jfdavis668 · · Score: 2

    So they can determine when Kim Dotcom arrives asking for political asylum.

    1. Re:Kim Dotcom by ole_timer · · Score: 1

      except it's on outgoing passengers...

      --
      nothing to see here - move along
    2. Re:Kim Dotcom by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

      Good, that will keep him from getting away.

    3. Re:Kim Dotcom by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      So they can determine when Kim Dotcom arrives asking for political asylum.

      If Kim Dotcom arrives asking for political asylum, I don't think they're going to need facial recognition software to "catch" him. He's going to stand in front of an immigration agent and say "I'm Kim Dotcom and I am seeking political asylum."

  3. Juggling documents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Juggling documents isn't the worst thing about traveling. Time is. Let me know when they've come up with a way to sedate me for the entire journey and wake me up when I get there.

    1. Re: Juggling documents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thereâ(TM)s this new invention you appearantly have never heard of. Itâ(TM)s called booze!

    2. Re:Juggling documents by renegadesx · · Score: 1

      Airbus are introducing beds on newer aircrafts. For things like a 4 hour flight its silly but for 12+ hour flights I wouldn't travel any other way.

      --
      Make SELinux enforcing again!
  4. Quantas? by renegadesx · · Score: 4, Informative

    Can someone fix the spelling for Qantas?
    And before anyone says "u" always comes after "q", it's because it was actually an acronym: Queensland And Northern Territory Ariel Services

    --
    Make SELinux enforcing again!
    1. Re:Quantas? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Can someone fix the spelling for Qantas?

      And before anyone says "u" always comes after "q", it's because it was actually an acronym: Queensland And Northern Territory Ariel Services

      Aerial ( not Ariel ) is the correct spelling.

      If you're going to be pedantic you need to get your details right.

    2. Re:Quantas? by chrism238 · · Score: 2

      Can someone fix the spelling for Ariel? It's Aerial.

    3. Re:Quantas? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I much prefer CUNTAS, because they're a pack of cunts.

    4. Re:Quantas? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And hurry up, Disney are already lawyering up about "Ariel"...

    5. Re:Quantas? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do I need to pay for an Ariel service, or is she free?

    6. Re:Quantas? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Can someone fix the spelling for Ariel?
      It's Aerial.

      No it was spelt rite the first time. The QANTAS logo may look like a kangaroo to the untrained eye, but really it's more of a mermaid.

    7. Re:Quantas? by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      The QANTAS logo may look like a kangaroo to the untrained eye, but really it's more of a mermaid.

      When you've been in the outback too long . . . kangaroos start to look like mermaids.

      ". . . where the men are men, and the kangaroos scared . . . "

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    8. Re:Quantas? by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      When you've been in the outback too long . . . kangaroos start to look like mermaids.

      ". . . where the men are men, and the kangaroos scared . . . "

      No way. Kangaroos are nasty fuckers when they want to be. muscly as fuck territorial, cranky and fast. They will hurt you.

      --
      My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    9. Re:Quantas? by MrKaos · · Score: 1

      Can someone fix the spelling for Qantas?

      QWANTASS

      --
      My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    10. Re:Quantas? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      That's not the worst of it - they mainly attack with the legs, which are even longer, even stronger and have even bigger claws on them. They can rip your giblets out.

      This is probably the reason they also have retractable bollocks.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    11. Re:Quantas? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      QUANTAS

  5. Idiots want a better police state. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    There was no problem with how passports worked. So the idiots in charge want to get rid of a system which worked well and replace it with a system which WILL be fraught with problems.

    This will be a mess. It will have problems with false positives and there will be issues which never happened when the old system of using passports was in place.

    I guess Australians like the taste of fascist boot soles.

    1. Re:Idiots want a better police state. by AHuxley · · Score: 1, Insightful

      AC re "There was no problem with how passports worked."
      Some nations had no working passport system. Anyone could "get" paperwork and become an illegal migrant later getting paper work in some other nation.
      Random people with a criminal past would buy a fake passport. Documents to create a new passports got shared. People would create a new life in another nation and create an entire new set of paperwork.
      An intelligent service of another nation is using a real passport stolen in a nation to do their own missions around the work. Real passport was issued, wrong face going on a holiday.
      A new system will scan a face. Has that person been on the web supporting banned groups? Fund raising for banned groups online but presenting a different passport? Does the face match the documents presented to support getting the passport?
      Did the person over stay their visa?
      Did the person enter and over stay under a different passport?
      Use the wrong visa application and then work for years?
      Is an illegal migrant who then created a passport now wanting an international holiday?
      A person using another persons documents. The face presented in 2018 does not match the locations of that other persons life story used to create an ID and then apply for a new passport.
      Later applications can get more people who are trying to get around laws.
      A person on government support who wants to go on an international tax payer funded holiday.
      A person accepted as a real refugee in need of protection from their nation wants to go back to their own nation for a long holiday again.
      A face with no funds, a bank account without the funds to support their travel suddenly has the funds to afford international travel. The face does not match their own banking, work and tax history.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    2. Re:Idiots want a better police state. by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      An intelligent service of another nation is using a real passport stolen in a nation to do their own missions around the work.

      What would a stupid service do, then?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    3. Re:Idiots want a better police state. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's not about idiots wanting a police state, it's about business interests trying to grab tax dollars and using political corruption to do it (usually).

      I am an Aussie who left the country back in the 90's. Last time I went back I couldn't believe how Police State it had become. The security at Sydney airport had turned it from a pleasant experience to more like Heathrow, and out and about I kept seeing Police hassling people on the street. Video Camera Surveillance etc. National internet blacklist etc etc.

      I've started considering Australia a testing ground for the Police State Model - western society small enough to rapidly deploy and test the latest in surveillance technologies.

    4. Re:Idiots want a better police state. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So does the majority of the US.

      There's a few states now pushing for digital drivers licenses so that if you're picked up on a simple traffic violation you have to hand your phone over to the officer that stops you to show your license. And the majority of people seem to like the idea because it's "so convenient" and they never have to worry about forgetting their wallet when they go for a drive. Nobody's leaving home without their phone.

      People are flat out fucking idiots when it comes to privacy, and most of them would dance naked in the street if they thought it would allow them some minor convenience. I truly hate the direction the world is heading, but it seems like we just keep moving faster and faster towards oblivion.

    5. Re:Idiots want a better police state. by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      The correct accent that fits the domestic details given to get the passport when the government calls back on the phone is a good start.
      Be ready to confirm a needed identity at any time on the provided phone number.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    6. Re:Idiots want a better police state. by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      There was no problem with how passports worked.

      Never had a passport, or used one to travel, I see.

      Having to juggle documents when traveling is a problem. People forget which pocket their boarding pass is in. They stand in line watching everyone else show a boarding pass to get on, and then start searching for theirs when they get to the front of the line.

      I carry mine in my pocket when I'm abroad, just so I always have ID with me. Problem: they absorb water when you sweat, start to become unreadable. Before I started solving the problem by carrying it in a plastic bag, I was on one trip where I was concerned that it wouldn't be readable enough to get back into the US. That would be a problem, no? Not for you, of course.

      It will have problems with false positives and there will be issues which never happened when the old system of using passports was in place.

      Of course. Every system has problems. Different systems have different problems. Your comment is "do'h", Captain Obvious.

      The question is, will there be fewer problems or a reduction of existing problems with the new system? If this system results in faster processing and less paperwork for 95% of the passenger traffic, and requires a fallback to the old passport system for only 5%, then it is a win for the entire system. Those 5% who still need to show a passport or boarding pass will get through the process FASTER than before, because the other 95% will be processed much faster and won't hold up the lines.

      I guess Australians like the taste of fascist boot soles.

      What an asinine comment. Facial recognition software at an airport is hardly a violation of privacy or fascism or anything of the kind. An airport is already one of the most video-active places on the planet. It is also one of the most IDd places. For example, explain to me the difference between getting to the ID check at security and smiling into a camera to be identified, versus showing my passport and boarding pass. Both cases put an identifiable ME at that point at that time. Ditto for the check-in at the ticket counter. Ditto for the boarding gate.

  6. Facial Recognition is Unreliable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seems like terrorists will exploit this technology to check in explosives at the airport. Qantas has rocks in its head.

  7. Stiletto Heels by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So they can determine when Kim Dotcom arrives asking for political asylum.

    I don't know about you, sir, but as for me: I just love it when my Mistress STEPS ON MY BALLS until I PASS OUT!!!

    1. Re:Stiletto Heels by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here's a YouTube link to confirm that what you speak of in fact is a big, big thing. So big that GROUPS of guys line up for it.

  8. What inconvenience? by Bobrick · · Score: 2

    "In the future, there will be no more juggling passports and bags at check-in and digging through pockets or smartphones to show your boarding pass"

    This seems like the sort of inconvenience they show you in poorly acted infomercials...
    Tired of tipping the bowl of chips over on the couch every time you reach for the remote?
    Tired of dropping the bottle on the floor every time you try to pour yourself a drink?
    IS THIS YOU?

    We have the solution!

    1. Re:What inconvenience? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Having a body and a mind gets you down?

      At the introduction sales price of 50% off, our world class lobotomy engineers are here to help you!

    2. Re: What inconvenience? by UnConeD · · Score: 1

      You hang around airports long enough, you see all sorts of things. Some people just don't seem to have the urge or self awareness to optimize in such a setting. They'll stand in line with ample time to get their papers ready, clearly watching the entire process go down repeatedly, but instead wait until they're at the counter to start digging through their purse.

    3. Re:What inconvenience? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They tried this in Heathrow Terminal 5 (exclusively BA's terminal). It was an abject disaster, partly because of so many other things going wrong at the same time. I believe it was finally beaten down by privacy groups who argued that the intended reason for introducing it was flawed, the procedures and retention time were all wrong and that it presented undue privacy issues as a result.

      One of the original reasons given for wanting it was to stop people swapping boarding passes at the gates. It turned out that this sounds great, yet there was no evidence of it actually happening, so there was no need to have face ID. The procedures they had around it were also all wrong. I can't remember the specifics, but the retention period was too long, the security wasn't up to scratch and so on.

      All that said, had it been the only problem at the terminal, they might have fought harder and kept it on. As it is, they dropped it. Good luck achieving the same thing.

  9. Not for convenience by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Welcome to the Gestapo state. We hope you enjoy your stay while under surveillance..

  10. Typo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Obligatory pedantic correction: There's no 'u' in the airline's name. It's QANTAS.

  11. Not quite by quonset · · Score: 3, Funny

    Your face will be your passport and your boarding pass at every step of the process.

    Hi, my name is Werner Brandes. My voice is my passport. Verify Me.

    1. Re:Not quite by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      Hi, my name is Werner Brandes. My voice is my passport. Verify Me.

      You might actually have a brilliant idea there . . .

      . . . let Google Duplex AI Voice check in for you!

      No more waiting in line.

      Quick! Patent it, before Google does!

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  12. Just facial recognition? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Next will be the two-factor mode. A full scope DNA scan from having your finger pricked and a quick (23 and me, ancestry.com, the hunger games) verification of your eligibility to travel and potential for immediate and terribly punitive repercussions... error free of course!

    All they do is prick your finger just to take a little bit of blood....

    Wearing a simple Groucho-Marx glasses and mustache will not get you past your robotic overlords.

    1. Re:Just facial recognition? by AHuxley · · Score: 2

      Re "Next will be the two-factor mode." AC
      Something like and advanced 100 point check https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... will be needed to create a passport.
      Simple work for another nations security services using a real passport to do missions internationally.
      Easy for a criminal and illegal migrant to "create" a life history.
      The problem with real time CCTV and a face is the other database lookups in real time.
      Its not going to be easy to "create" a new fake person in 2018 to get a new clean passport with no 20 to 60 years of gov, educational, work, health care use, banking interaction, dental visits, car ownership, rail and bus CCTV transport use.
      Hard work for an illegal migrant to pay to fill in 10 years of a digital past.
      Police images of a person interviewed? Police surveillance photo from the last international holiday under another name in another nation?
      Police CCTV was kept at the time? Can a criminal who wants an international holiday under another clean name really know if their face will not alert?
      International police cooperation of everyone entering another nation for a holiday going back decades.
      Name and face get used too much under very different passport names globally in the 1970? 1980's? 1990's?

      An entire back history gets created by a criminal in 2018 as a life story going back decades?
      Did they buy their way into every needed database to add in their life of a person going back 20-60 years?
      Even pattern matching can find fake created data. A doctor visit once a year on the same date for 20 years? 1 dentist visit? Car ownership copied over from another person that does not fit new random dates created to present as decades of car use?
      Education paid for? Open to payments? No payments ever made? The job that had to pay back for that university? Pay tax every year but the locations don't match the medical and later educational payments?
      Why stop at the person, start to look at others 2 hops around that created passport?
      Same locations? Same tax? Same history? Do they exist other than names and the needed data for that created passport?

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    2. Re:Just facial recognition? by someoneOtherThanMe · · Score: 1

      The history will, of course, be in blockchain.

  13. and if you broke your glasses... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder if this means that if you went through checkin wearing your glasses, but broke them in a coffee lounge, that you'd be denied boarding?

    Or if you slept in one of the pods during the 2 hour wait to board, and woke up with a crease on your face that looked like a scar?

  14. If air travel ain't screwy enough by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    "Welcome to Creepy Airlines, formally known as Crying Baby Airlines."

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  15. Correction [Re:If air travel ain't screwy enough by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Correction, "formerly known as"

    --
    Table-ized A.I.