From long queues to taking off your shoes, no one enjoys going through airport security, even as new technologies promise to speed up the process.
But could it ever be as simple as stepping onto an escalator and being whisked through in under a minute, bags checked, body scanned and identity confirmed?
Industrial designers Ashish Thulkar and Charles Bombardier shared the idea, complete with various renderings, on the website of nonprofit organisation Imaginactive.
The ‘Aerochk’ would see passengers step onto a conveyor on the way to their gate and place their passport on one side and their luggage on the other. Facial recognition technology would be used to match their identity with their passport and confirm the passenger has a valid ticket. The machine could also ask questions to passengers and record their answers, the authors write.
Meanwhile the luggage conveyor would scan for prohibited items, with each bag photographed, weighed and linked to its owner. Where problems are detected, the bag would be routed to a different exit for inspection by an airport agent.
Different designs could also be created to accommodate people with disabilities or children, such as an elevator-like machine.
“The optimal way to organise this new process is open for debate, but it is clear that we could all benefit from a faster and easier boarding process,” Thulkar and Bombardier write.
“The Aerochk also reduces the likelihood of human error which is prevalent in areas where large volumes of people are passing though. It is very easy for workers in airport security to miss contraband in luggage simply due to the excessive volumes that they have to process every hour.”
At the moment it’s just an idea, but with facial recognition technology increasingly used at various stages of the airport journey, it’s one that seems more feasible than ever.
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