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Volpe Center Highlights - January/February 2003

Homeland Security

Director's Notes | Focus | Safety | Mobility and Economic Growth
Human and Natural Environment | Organizational Excellence | Homeland Security
Awards | Papers and Presentations

Lessons Learned from Biometric Deployments

INSPASS kiosks use hand geometry to screen frequent travelers in U.S and Canadian airports.

Biometrics are measurable physical characteristics or traits unique to each individual, such as fingerprints, hand geometry, retinal characteristics, or facial characteristics. The Infrastructure Protection and Operations Division has developed several security systems that incorporate biometrics, a key element of most cutting-edge access control systems. During November 1013, 2002, Mr. William Baron of the Division participated in a Biometrics Conference sponsored by the University of Hawaii and held in Honolulu. He presented the paper "Lessons Learned from Biometric Deployments," which discusses the effectiveness of different biometric technologies for infrequent users. Several Volpe-developed screening systems were discussed, including three for the Immigration and Naturalization Service: INSPASS, SENTRI, and PORTPASS; and AVIDS, developed for the DoD Technical Support Working Group, described in this issue's Focus article.

INSPASS is an airport security system developed to speed the processing of frequent travelers (people who travel internationally at least three times a year). INSPASS kiosks integrate card-reader and hand-geometry technologies to identify registered travelers. The process takes about a minute.

SENTRI screens vehicles and people entering the United States from Mexico. Pre-cleared travelers who pass extensive background checks can use a dedicated traffic lane. SENTRI has reduced some two-hour waits to three minutes. Facial recognition technology was tested for SENTRI, but proved ineffective at certain times of day due to shadows and glare.

PORTPASS, deployed at remote locations along the U.S.Canadian border, recognizes voices of enrolled local residents speaking into a handset. This system enables enrollees to cross the border when the port is unstaffed.

AVIDS uses facial recognition during the enrollment process to guard against double enrollment, and to evaluate enrollees against a select group of persons wanted by law enforcement. AVIDS will incorporate fingerprint verification for pedestrian traffic later in 2003.

Lessons learned from Volpe deployments can be considered when choosing biometric systems.

• Most biometric systems use optics; however, when used outdoors glare and shadows can cause unpredictable effects.
• Disabled persons may not be able to use certain systems such as retinal scanners or hand-geometry readers.
• Template size has no relationship to uniqueness. Individual biometric data is stored in templates; the amount of data used to create a biometric template varies among systems. For example, a hand-geometry template has 9 digits, whereas a fingerprint template has 2000 digits. Since most people's templates will cluster in the middle range, the larger template is not necessarily more effective, particularly in large populations.
• Ease of use varies among systems. Surprisingly, fingerprint readers are more difficult to use than hand-geometry readers. Retinal scanning is difficult for most users, and is not easily accepted in many populations.
• Finally, some biometric systems work well for people who use them every day, but poorly for people who use them infrequently; this is known as the "Blue Moon Effect." Learning curves for biometrics technologies vary. Most users get up to speed fairly quickly with daily use, but infrequent users (from once a week to a few times a year) may not, which can result in high rates of errors and false rejections. Since it is difficult to test a biometric system for ease of habituation among infrequent users in a laboratory environment, it is necessary to rely on the experience of others in the biometrics community to determine which systems are best suited for certain tasks.

Addressing Transportation Issues in Bioterrorism (OET)

RSPA Administrator Ellen G. Engleman delivers the welcome speech at OET's Bioterrorism Workshop. The workshop addressed a spectrum of national concerns regarding bioterrorism in transportation.

In support of RSPA's Office of Emergency Transportation (OET), Volpe Center personnel designed, developed, and facilitated a two-day workshop titled "Transportation Issues in Bioterrorism: Considerations for Evacuation and Quarantine." The workshop was hosted by the RSPA OET Deputy Director Janet Benini and held in Washington, D.C., on November 19 and 20, 2002. Forty officials from various transportation, emergency response, and public health organizations across the country attended. Federal agencies represented include the Office of Homeland Security, Department of Agriculture, Department of State, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Emergency Management Association, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). National organizations represented included the National Emergency Managers Association, Association of American Railroads, National Defense Transportation Association, International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Association of Counties, and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

The workshop began with a DOT welcome panel consisting of Miss Ellen G. Engleman, RSPA Administrator; Mr. Allan Rutter, FRA Administrator; Dr. Jeffrey W. Runge, NHTSA Administrator; and Mr. J. Richard Capka, FHWA Deputy Administrator. The remainder of the workshop focused on developing coordination and communication among key groups at the local, state, regional, and national levels. Several hypothetical scenarios stimulated broad-ranging discussion among the attendees regarding transportation both as a potential means for bioagent transmission and as an effective tool for emergency response.

The Volpe team managed all aspects of workshop development, including working with several academic and government experts to develop the scenarios. Ms. Dawn Lopez Johnson (Volpe project manager), Ms. Ruth Hunter, and Ms. DiAnn White of the Intermodal Logistics Systems Planning and Integration Division organized the workshop. Ms. Johnson and Mr. Walter Gazda, of the Economic and Industry Analysis Division, helped facilitate discussions. The team is preparing a short summary of consensus items generated in the workshop and ideas for future forums.

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