Changi Airport T4 Testing Out Iris & Facial Recognition Instead Of Passport Checks Until May 2020

This iris and facial recognition technology is one that scares me.

No… and it’s not because of the ‘Big Daddy is watching you’ kind of fears…

It’s because for some reason, those people checking passports, no matter what country I go to, always seem to not recognise me from my passport.

I’ll be at the checkpoint expecting a swift chop and go for my clean record, but instead, this is what I usually get:

Changi T4 Six Month Trial Using Iris And Facial Recognition

Good news: you no longer need to produce your passport. This will be similar to the one at Tuas checkpoint. All you need to do is just look at a scanner that will use your iris and facial recognition for identity verification.

Here’s a video by The Straits Times of the tech in action:

This method is apparently faster than the passport and thumbprint system, which sometimes faces problems from fingerprint verification because of factors like ageing, dryness, or scarring.

According to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), which runs the trial, says that you need to remove sunglasses, caps or other headgear that could obstruct your eye or face when passing through.

Hold on a sec, so you mean I can’t put on my Sharingan eye-contacts and do my crossplay to look fabulous with this in place?

Editor: …You do that? ISN’T THIS THE REASON WHY YOU DON’T GET IDENTIFIED THEN.

…May…be?

Trial Has Already Begun On 25 Nov 2019

It is open only to Singaporean citizens aged six and above holding passport numbers beginning with the letter “K”, and whose passports were issued after 1 January 2018.

And because it is a trial, they are testing two clearance methods.

If you’re lazy to read: in both methods, if everything works well, all you do is look at a machine for a few seconds and you’re done at the checkpoint.

The first method is similar to the current system. You scan your iris and facial first, then the flapper opens for you to continue walking, where they continue scanning you while you’re moving.

A person behind you can start scanning meanwhile. And if everything works smoothly, the second flapper will open before you even reach it.

The second method scans only one time, and the verification is done at the second flapper.

Trial Ends May 2020

If everything works well, they’ll be implementing the technology on a larger scale. Duh.

Eventually, the automated border control system (ABCS) using this tech will be opened to foreign visitors too.

ICA also said that a new Integrated Services Centre will be built next to the existing ICA building at Kallang Road, which will be ready by 2023. This is to cope with the increasing demand for registration and identification.

I guess, no more looking fabulous at the airport until robots gain the ability to see through my soul.