(TNS) — The at Portland International Airport in August also marked the debut of revamped security checkpoints where the Transportation Security Administration has rolled out facial recognition technology. The new technology installed by the TSA captures a traveler’s photo and compares it to the image on a piece of physical ID presented to a TSA agent. Use of the face-matching technology is optional and the photographs are not saved, TSA officials said.
The system compares relatively immutable characteristics in both photos, such as the distance between facial features. “We’re supplementing the TSA officers’ actions with technology,” said Lorie Dankers, a TSA spokesperson. “Can we do it the old way? Absolutely.
But when you introduce the technology, it streamlines the process for the officer.” She said the system is generally unfazed by seemingly dramatic changes in appearance, such as weight gain or loss, wearing glasses or facial hair. The agency says its recent screening upgrades also in many cases eliminate the need to hand over a boarding pass.
The system automatically pulls up a traveler‘s flight information based on the passenger’s name and birth date, pulled from the physical ID card. The facial matching systems have been deployed at dozens of airports across the U.S.
, including many of its largest. It was tested last year at airports in Baltimore, Atlanta, Phoenix and Los Angeles. Participating in the face-matching process is optional, TSA officia.