Infrared Imagery and Border Control Systems

The growing need for passenger authorization at international border crossing points (BCPs) is prompted research into more effective methods. Automated border control (ABC) is gaining attention in its ability to improve traveller ease, BCP throughput, and national security. Individuals are automatically recognized using a feature vector generated from their behavioural and/or physiological characteristics in biometric recognition. Biometric identification systems have been able to offer reliable personal recognition methods useful to validate or identify an individual. Visible spectrum images have some porosity and the effort to deal with it resulted in the introduction of Infrared imaging. This article is looked at verification and identification as the major components of a biometric system and the need for a multimodal system over a unimodal system of identification. It explained how infrared imaging support identification and verification and addresses some shortcomings of the visible spectrum with a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of both media. Some limitations of Infrared imaging were also identified with multi-modal combining algorithms by comparative thermal and optical images identified as a remedy for the shortcoming. The ethical issue to be observed in biometric identification are also discussed and the whole work concluded.