Since 2009, New Zealand’s Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch airports have been using SmartGate to give eligible travellers the option of self-processing through passport control. The system uses facial recognition technology to compare facial images of the traveller against the data contained in the e-Passport’s chip. The project has been a great success with the travelling public, with six millions travellers having used SmartGate, and over 70 % of eligible travellers currently using the system.
SmartGate Plus brings additional convenience as it speeds up traveller processing with a one-step process, eliminating the kiosk and ticket part of the current system. It uses e-gates that have a smaller footprint to meet the space constraints of airports whilst also having Morpho’s latest workflow and biometric matching software. In addition to this, is the solution’s ability to add other biometric capabilities such as fingerprint and iris recognition at a future stage.
“The success of SmartGate in New Zealand has been phenomenal with 6 million people having successfully used the technology since it was introduced in 2009, says Geoff Wilson, Customs Manager Passenger Facilitation at New Zealand Customs Service. “The biometric self-processing technology has streamlined passenger processing and provided a secure, efficient way to clear passport control and we are pleased to be involved in testing the next generation SmartGate Plus.”