The Australian government will spend about $94 million to integrate airports with smart cameras. There is no shortage of doubts on the subject
Imagine arriving at an international airport outside of Europe and not having to go through any checks because a camera equipped with biometric sensors will recognize your identity. Now don't imagine it anymore, because that's what's going to happen across Australia by 2020.
Biometric cameras in airports. Goodbye passport. Australia wants to equip all its airports with cameras equipped with biometric sensors that can recognize even remotely arriving passengers. These cameras allow facial recognition and iris analysis. With the possibility of adding fingerprint verification, in case of controls. Australia's goal is to equip 90% of its airports with this screening system by 2019/2020. A pilot program will start in July at Canberra Airport.
Cost of Operation
The Australian government expects to spend about $94 million to complete the operation. John Coyne, head of border security at Australia's Strategic Policy Institute, said the ultimate goal is to develop a self-monitoring process determined by smart cameras in order to expedite traffic arriving in the country.
The problems with biometric cameras
Biometric technology has made great strides in the last decade, and the system envisioned by Australia could be a good project to improve security and the flow of people through airports. However, there are still several doubts. One among all: biometric cameras still have margins of error. In addition, many users could denounce this control system as it can go against the privacy rules. Finally, it should not be forgotten that biometric sensors have already shown to have several limitations in the recognition of African-American people. A problem that has also generated debates about technology and racism.