New Travel Application for Biometrics

Diehl Aerosystems is working on biometric recognition technology to monitor passenger movements onboard aircraft (Flightglobal)

Cameras installed in the aircraft's entry area will be able to distinguish between passengers and staff, thus providing an accurate number for who is on the aircraft when the doors close. Conventional technology such as an infrared light ray and photo cell would be unable to differentiate the movement of a person from, for example, a service trolley.

Kammer says it would be possible to use the recognition technology for additional purposes such as directing passengers to their allocated seats. This would require, however, combining the software with a database holding the respective passenger records, for example, from check-in or previous flights.

This application could also be really helpful for making sure people don't sleep through their flight connections. International flights, especially ones transecting the Pacific Ocean can be really tricky. If you sleep through your connection, you could find yourself on a twelve hour flight to somewhere you don't have a visa to visit. I've seen it happen.