Helsinki Airport trials facial recognition tech

(23 May 2017) LEADIN:
A high-tech experiment is taking place at Helsinki Airport.
Finnish airline Finnair is trialing facial recognition technology, allowing passengers to collect their boarding card just with a quick photo of their face.
But experts warn there are privacy and data protection issues to consider should the technology become more widespread.
STORYLINE:
For some visitors to Helsinki Airport, there's no need to go rummaging through bags, looking for papers or confirmation codes. Now all that's needed is their face.
Finland's largest airline, Finnair, is trialing facial recognition technology with some priority customers.
It means all checked-in fliers need do is approach this desk and collect their printed boarding card straight away.
The idea is to make the departure process smoother for passengers.
"There definitely is the potential of making the customer journey at the airport faster and smoother, that's the benefit of course," says Sari Nevanlinna, head of ground experience and ancillary at Finnair.
"And then there's the raising the bar moment of course, so from the process orientation, we can actually can put a lot more effort into serving customers when the gate service agent doesn't have to use that much time on inspecting the papers."
Vantaa-based Finnair teamed up with Finland airport operator Finavia to launch the trial. It runs 2-23 May.
A group of 1,000 frequent flyers were invited to take part.
Using Finnair's smartphone app, participants uploaded three "selfie" photographs to an online cloud system, from that a unique biometric ID was formulated.
This enables a camera to "recognise" registered passengers almost instantly.
"Customers just simply arrive to the airport, they proceed for the check-in, and then there's the invisible red carpet moment, so the check-in agent knows immediately what's the name of the customers and where she's traveling to," explains Nevanlinna.
Sounds exciting, but experts warn the growth of facial recognition technology raises privacy and data protection issues.
Facial recognition tech might be used to identify people without their consent. Other groups may access the data generated without the user's consent.
"On the one hand, of course, every technology is exciting as such," says Jens Kremer, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Helsinki.
"On the other hand, of course, every technology has a certain risk and every technology has a certain problem that it comes with and facial recognition is, of course, one of these problematic technologies from a privacy and a data protection perspective."
Nevanlinna maintains Finnair take passengers' privacy seriously and only those wanting to take part in the trial will do so.
Last year, Finavia tested facial recognition technology at an employee security control.
The ultimate goal for Finavia is so-called "hands in pockets" traveling, where fliers don't require any travel documentation at all.
But the current technology isn't perfect. Sometimes it struggles with people wearing glasses or groups of people that get caught in the same shot.
It's hoped the lessons learnt here will aid the development of facial recognition technology as a whole.
Finnair may next test the technology at the launch entrance, where passengers often queue to board the plane.
"No other airline is doing what we are doing so far," says Nevanlinna.
According to Finavia, over 47,000 passengers fly via Helsinki Airport every day.
The airport's passenger volume exceeded 17 million people for the first time last year. Over half the passengers were from outside Finland.
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