UK Passport Service Six Month Biometrics Enrolment Trial Goes Live

Atos Origin has commenced delivery and installation of the equipment and software for the UK Passport Service’s (UKPS) six-month biometrics enrolment trial that was launched at Globe House, the London Passport Office on 26 April this year. This is the first time that three different biometric technologies from three different suppliers have been integrated into one solution.

10,000 individuals are invited to participate in the trial that will test the enrolment and verification of facial recognition, iris and fingerprint biometrics at various locations around the UK including Globe House, London, Leicester Post Office, Newcastle Registrars Office, and DVLA Local Office, Glasgow. To ensure wider geographic coverage there will also be a mobile enrolment unit that will travel from north to south during the period of the trial.

Atos Origin as prime contractor has designed, built and will maintain the trial equipment and software. It is supported by a consortium of technology vendors; NEC are supplying its Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), Identix will provide the fingerprint capture and facial matching technology whilst the iris recognition technology is supplied by Iridian Technologies Inc. The survey research component of the project will be undertaken by MORI.

“We have been working in close partnership with the UKPS to ensure the successful delivery of this trial,” said Derek Ward, vice president, Public Sector. “Working with our partners we have implemented the latest technology to ensure the secure enrolment and verification of biometric data.”

This trial simulates a potential future biometric collection process; people will go through enrolment and then have their biometrics verified. To make the trial as realistic as possible, the participants’ biometrics are compared against a database of anonymised iris and fingerprint images collected outside the United Kingdom and the biometrics collected during the trial. If no match is found the applicant’s biometrics are added and the applicant is therefore enrolled.

Participants are asked to complete a questionnaire to gauge their reaction and will receive a demonstration smart card carrying both printed and electronic information.

All the biometrics obtained from the participants will be destroyed at the end of the trial. All process recordings and the participants’ questionnaires will be anonymous and analysed by the UKPS.

For more information on other Atos Origin Public Sector activities, please click here.