Airport Freight Drivers Get Biometric Badges
Unisys Corporation has selected Fidelica Microsystems, Inc. and Abeo Corporation to deliver a biometric RFID badge to positively identify cargo drivers for their Wireless Personal Identification Credential (WPIC) project. The WPIC project, part of the Transportation Security Administration’s sponsored Airport Access Control Pilot Program (AACPP), will be conducted at the Washington Dulles International Airport. The contract is for the evaluation of technologies that could mitigate security vulnerabilities at airports. The AACPP will allow Unisys to identify the operational benefits achievable through increased use of biometrics, surveillance and other security measures.”We’re looking forward to working on this initiative to help strengthen security at United States airports,” said Tom Conaway, Unisys managing partner for homeland security. “As a long-time integrator and early entrant into the biometrics market, we’re ready to meet this security challenge with our partners and help TSA continue to employ leading technologies to protect the traveling public.”
This project will evaluate and demonstrate a wireless credential that would be used to verify the identities of truck drivers bringing loose cargo to an air cargo warehouse. “Conclusive identification of registered shippers is critical to transportation security,” said Robert Allen, Vice President of Business Development of Fidelica Microsystems Inc., a leading developer of ultra-sensitive fingerprint sensor technology. “Our fingerprint imaging technology was designed to enable biometric authentication in credentials as thin as a credit card.”
“Fidelica is the first vendor we’ve encountered who has successfully embedded a flexible fingerprint sensor into a badge format,” said Michael Borcherding, President of Abeo Corporation. “Beyond its technical merits, our badge was selected for its unique ability to authenticate users while protecting their identity and privacy.”
Unisys has worked with TSA for more than two years as the systems integrator for this pilot program, testing biometric technologies at 20 of the nation’s 429 commercial airports. AACPP is overseen by TSA’s Office of the Chief Information Officer. The WPIC project is in the final stages of its development and is scheduled to be demonstrated in the fall of 2006.
About Biometric Authentication
As airports work to satisfy the security expectations of its customers, employers and policy makers, biometrics is rapidly becoming the most practical and ubiquitous authentication method for conclusive identity verification. Technology advancements in imaging products, image processing, display, battery and RF hardware has allowed security vendors to embed these components in popular formats such as key FOBs, ID and access cards. Microprocessor advancements can now perform the entire biometric process in the user’s possession eliminating the need to share biometric information and, thereby, protecting individual’s identity.