GE Security’s Secure Registered Traveler Kiosk arrives in Europe
08 October, 2007
category: Biometrics, Government
GE Homeland Protection announced its Secure Registered Traveler (SRT) Kiosk has arrived in Europe. The GE SRT Kiosk uses advanced technology to identify and assess travelers for explosives and other threats with little disruption for the traveler. The Kiosk integrates quadrupole resonance and trace (ITMS) explosives detection technologies with biometric identification functionality to create a solution built specifically to support RT programs. The Kiosks are being evaluated by the TSA and have not yet been approved for permanent use in U.S. airports but is being used at seven airports as part of the private Registered Traveler (RT) program through Verified Identity Pass’s Clear® lanes.
GE Security’s Secure Registered Traveler Kiosk Arrives in Europe in Bid to Help Frequent Flyers Pass Through Airport Security More Quickly
MUNICH, GERMANY – GE Homeland Protection Inc., a business of GE Security, Inc. and a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the General Electric Co., announced its advanced-technology Secure Registered Traveler (SRT) Kiosk has arrived in Europe. GE intends to introduce this revolutionary new aviation security product to airport operators and security officials to explore its uses for offering frequent flyers transiting European airports more effective and more convenient security screening.
In the U.S., the SRT Kiosk supports the first private Registered Traveler (RT) program lanes – Verified Identity Pass, Inc.’s Clear® lanes – at a growing number of airports. Currently, more than 30 kiosks are deployed to seven airports across the U.S. with further deployments planned.
“The requirement to remove shoes and jackets at the airport is a top complaint of frequent travelers everywhere, and GE’s SRT Kiosk is the first technology breakthrough to have the potential to eliminate the need for air passengers to endure these inconveniences,” said Dennis Cooke, president, GE Security’s Homeland Protection business. “We’re optimistic that through collaboration with airport and security partners, we can identify European solutions that offer better and more convenient security screening for frequent flyers using airports across Europe.”
“We are witnessing the beginning of a revolution in aviation security, one that will fundamentally alter the passenger experience. The shoe-scanning technology in GE’s new kiosk will one day be remembered as what started this revolution,” said Matthew Farr, senior homeland security analyst, Frost & Sullivan.
“The GE SRT Kiosk is blazing the path for this and future generations of aviation security technologies to enter the market in a more expedient fashion, which will deliver better and less intrusive security screening to all air travelers.”
The GE SRT Kiosk is the first integrated, or sensor-fused, aviation security product, purpose built for the Registered Traveler (RT) market, to be deployed to an airport passenger checkpoint. RT program members identified and assessed by the SRT Kiosk may enjoy a more convenient airport experience, including potential waiver of the need to remove their shoes in many cases. It’s hoped that a future benefit to be afforded by security officials may allow users to avoid removing jackets and other outer garments.
The GE SRT Kiosk offers a one-stop, self-serve solution for quickly, conveniently and positively identifying program members while potentially enhancing overall security as a result of evaluating finger scans and shoes for indications of possible threats. The kiosk integrates quadrupole resonance and trace (ITMS) explosives detection technologies with biometric identification functionality to create a solution built specifically to support RT programs.
The trace explosives detection and quadrupole resonance functionalities of the Kiosk are being evaluated by the TSA and have not yet been approved for permanent use in U.S. airports.
The integration of multiple technologies into one kiosk is an initial step toward realization of GE Security’s vision for the airport checkpoint of the future where the data from multiple security sensors are fused to produce a collective security product that is more than the sum of the individual sensors’ parts. In the sensor-fused airport of the future, GE envisions creation of something that doesn’t exist today, a total passenger security picture made up of data from all available sensors, with each able to signal increased scrutiny by other sensors as “alarms” occur.
The SRT Kiosk will be on display at the Inter Airport Europe 2007 Conference and Exhibition, hangar 4, hall 4A, booth P14, Munich International Airport.
For more information on the show: http://www.interacirport.com/europe/english/event/introduction/. October 9 – 12 2007
About GE’s Security Business
GE Security, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the General Electric Company, is a leading supplier of security and life safety technologies, with operations in more than 35 countries and $1.8 billion in annual sales. GE Security offers one of the industry’s broadest product portfolios, covering explosives and narcotics detection, intrusion and access control, video surveillance, key management, and fire detection. GE Security’s products are used to protect people and property across a wide range of industries, including aviation, law enforcement, banking, education, healthcare, mass transit, residential and retail. GE Security was honored with Frost & Sullivan’s 2007 Global Market Leadership Award for Container Security Devices for its CommerceGuard container security solution.
For more information about GE Security and our products, please visit http://www.gesecurity.com.