Lisbon, May 2007 – The Portuguese border control authorities SEF presented, at the international airport of Faro, the proof of concept for the world’s first fully automated electronic border control gate integrated with an innovative live biometric verification unit. The system developed by Vision-Box automatically checks the authenticity of electronic passports and performs a live match-to-chip verification of facial biometrics, therefore providing travellers a quick and simple way to achieve a border clearance while increasing reliability and efficiency of the border control process.

Vision-Box, who manufactured and deployed several hundred of live biometric enrollment kiosks in operation all around the world since 2006 for the Portuguese Electronic Passport, has been engaged in extending its technological leadership for the development and manufacturing of this self-contained electronic border control gate with an extremely small implementation footprint. SEF, who authors the concept, selected Vision-Box to provide the solution, in a competition that included the major players in the electronic identity international market. “We have been specially focused in designing a solution, which provides the traveller a positive user experience, while keeping the verification process accurate, fast, very simple and intuitive. For this to happen, it is the gate itself that automatically optimizes the capturing conditions to dynamically accommodate different users.” says Miguel Leitmann, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Vision-Box.

In parallel with the biometric passport control process, SEF performs online cross checks related to immigration, Shengen regulatory issues and advanced passenger information systems. The complete verification process will take less than 20 seconds, which will help us to dramatically increase the passenger flow at border check points.

Vision-Box will deliver 10 electronic border control gates to Faro airport until the 21st of May, in a pilot project that will led to a deployment of 140 units for all international airports and maritime ports in Portugal during the current year. An evaluation process of the pilot phase will be conducted by the University of Algarve to guarantee an officially approved start-up production by the 1st of July 2007.