Reliable identity verification is an unwavering requirement at mission-critical checkpoints such as border crossings. Oftentimes, however, this involves slow manual processes that create a ripple effect of inefficiency and security risks. Passengers endure long wait times leading to frustration, fatigue and dissatisfaction.
Indonesia Immigration recognised this strain on travellers moving through its destinations — specifically in one of the region’s busiest locations: the international seaport at Batam Centre. Batam Centre is one of the most-trafficked border spots between Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. Approximately 500,000 people move across Batam’s five seaports each year.
Extremely long wait queues for international departures and arrivals were a severe pain point for the port. The root cause was the outdated manual process of handling identity verification for the tremendous number of passengers moving through the centre. People had to present their documentation papers and wait to be reviewed and verified before crossing the border.
Officials sought an intuitive, contactless solution to automate border control, process passengers faster and improve the traveller experience. They also required a system with strong security measures and high performance in challenging lighting to accommodate varying traffic control and conditions.
Facial recognition is becoming an increasingly important tool for border security. It is fast, seamless and secure, and offers a contactless approach for identity verification.
Working through Indonesia Immigration’s local system integration partner, the HID U.ARE.U™ Camera Identification System was selected as the facial recognition component for the automated border crossing (ABC) gate — or Autogate per Indonesia Immigration — installed throughout the Batam ports. Combining a self-service gate system, document reader and facial recognition camera immediately transforms border control and boosts the passenger experience.
This intuitive passenger verification begins when an individual approaches the Autogate and places their passport on the HID ATOM™ document reader to scan the data. Once confirmed, the first gate opens, and the traveller steps forward in front of the HID U.ARE.U camera to scan their face. Once the system confirms a match between the passport photo and the passenger’s face, a second gate opens and the visitor is on their way — all within seconds.
The HID U.ARE.U camera stands out as an edge-computing device, delivering unsurpassed face detection, matching, identification and verification directly at the edge. The camera was selected based on its engineering excellence that met the project’s many requirements, including:
• Combined HID-patented multispectral imaging (MSI) technology with artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver impeccable performance even in challenging lighting conditions
• On-device biometric processing — face detection, capture, image quality checks and liveness detection for the highest level of performance and maximum data protection
• Industry-leading presentation attack detection (PAD) with passive liveness detection to prevent fraud attempts in unattended use cases (ISO 30107-3 PAD Level 1 compliance, Level 2 pending)
• Top NIST ranking in matching speed and accuracy
• Ethically trained and built AI to reduce matching bias
“People moving through borders really appreciate the efficiency provided by this Autogate system with facial recognition,” said Silmy Karim, Director General of Immigration in Indonesia. “Wait queues are now drastically decreased and passengers are empowered by the fast and convenient self-service process that has them on their way in a matter of seconds.”
Today, people passing through the Batam Centre ports engage with top-notch facial recognition technology to quickly, seamlessly and securely authenticate themselves. The Autogate system helps increase efficiency, shorten passenger wait times and enhance the traveller experience. The entire identity verification process is now accomplished in seconds, greatly improving passenger throughput and operational efficiencies.
