Digital Footprint

According to IATA’s 20-year forecast, passenger numbers will nearly double by 2036 to reach an annual 7.2 billion. Knowing that many airports, especially in Europe, already operate at full or close-to-full capacity, it is difficult to imagine how to cope with these challenges. In addition, with security requirements on the increase and security regulations getting more complicated, the performance of an airport may decline. Balancing convenient passenger facilitation and protection requires close cooperation between all involved stakeholders.

From a commercial point of view, this challenge involves great opportunities. Relaxed passengers are likely to spend more money during their stay at the airport. Idle time may suddenly turn into a pleasant shopping tour. The potential will increase accordingly and just needs to be capitalized.

In attempts to streamline passenger flow, some airports have implemented recurring biometric identification at automated  border control (ABC) gates. However, these gates require additional space, with increased installation and maintenance costs.

Solution approach

Mühlbauer and other European stakeholders from transport, industry and science have applied for funding for a research project dealing with hassle-free travel and smart security using a single ID token. The aim of the project, which is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2018, is to streamline the passengers’ progress to the plane as much as possible while keeping or even increasing the level of security.

The proposed approach is to generate an easier and more convenient way to identify and assist passengers, mainly by using or slightly extending existing technology such as wi-fi networks, surveillance cameras and other infrastructure. Various challenges must be tackled, especially the organizational one of bringing the primary stakeholders – government, airport and airlines – together.

Therefore political and organizational barriers have to be torn down. In addition, some media breaks have to be bridged to interconnect flight reservations, e-tickets, paper boarding passes, baggage tags, e-passports, paper visa, entry stamps, ESTA and other traveler programs.

From a technical point of view, the approach requires thorough considerations about privacy regulations, environmental conditions and concrete airport facilities.

Key idea

We aim to detect and identify passengers on their way to their flights and to guide them throughout this time. By doing so, the system can assist passengers to find the shortest way to the gate and to spend time saved in shops and malls. On the other hand, the system can point security staff to suspicious activities and subjects so that they can focus on them earlier and in a more organized manner.

The key idea is to use our competence as a solution provider to combine existing technology and enhance it by using a breakthrough technology to drive a new passenger experience.

When you enter the airport, a Mühlbauer FastTrack Identification Unit verifies your identity and flight reservation as usual. However, under the surface, a unique digital footprint (MB IDEFA) is generated that can be handled much more easily than a biometric face image. MB IDEFA is a Mühlbauer solution for Identification with Extended Feature Aggregation.

Extension

Provided with further Mühlbauer high-tech components, including a monitoring solution and the MB Steel Reader mobile app, security personnel can dedicate themselves to security-relevant subjects within seconds.

The MB Steel Reader is a solution for accessing and verifying digital information in electronic documents. It enables security personnel to perform an unobtrusive verification of electronic documents and certificates without queuing and disturbing other passengers. This leads to less security-related queuing and keeps passengers flowing through the airport.

The extra time enables passengers to visit shops and look for special offers and activities with a more relaxed attitude. Also, in combination with an app on the passenger’s smartphone, MB IDEFA can offer real-time information about travel time to the gates or directly guide the passenger around the terminal or to points of interest. The potential of this solution can be broadened step by step, as required.

Stakeholders

With the MB IDEFA approach, Mühlbauer enables aviation stakeholders to intensify and streamline their processes toward a new level of passenger satisfaction. MB IDEFA also increases airport security by tracking and supervising the passenger flow with unprecedented precision.

However, the major challenge of achieving political consent between the stakeholders, government, airport and airline has to be addressed. Despite the technical challenges of MB IDEFA, the company deems it worth the investment of time and money. It will open the field for various extensions, additional applications and business use cases by not requiring complete new infrastructure or major investments.

Furthermore, mobile applications and devices from Mühlbauer will support security personnel in carrying out their tasks less expensively but with greater efficiency.

Press Contact:

Lara Schmaus

Phone: +49 9461 952 – 1579

Email: Lara.Schmaus@muehlbauer.de