Biometrics ID system debuts at Orlando Airport

Article Published in USA TODAY.COM 2005-06-21

ORLANDO (AP) — Brigitte Goersch placed her hand on a screen that copied her fingerprints, and she then stood in front of an ATM-like machine that captured an image of her eye's iris.
A private company hopes as many as 30,000 other people this year will follow the lead of the security chief at Orlando International Airport by offering up their biometric information for a program guaranteeing travelers an exclusive security line, and the promise of no random secondary pat-downs, in exchange for a background check by the Department of Homeland Security.

The privately run program debuted Tuesday at Orlando, the first and so far only airport that is trying it out.

Those passengers who pay $80 a year to join the traveler pilot program called "Clear" register by computer either at home or at the airport and give their biometric data at an airport kiosk resembling an oversize ATM machine. The information is then submitted to the Transportation Security Administration. If the passengers are approved, they get a baby blue translucent card that holds a computer chip containing their fingerprints and iris image for quick identity verification. They also earn the right to go through a separate, quicker security lane as soon as July, although they still will need to pass shoeless through an airport metal detector.

Full article in USA TODAY

More links about Biometrics & Privacy.

Biomet: The biometric resource center
BiometricWatch
IBIA: International Biometric Industry Association
EPIC: Biometrics Identifiers
IBG Bioprivacy Initiative