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Electronic tagging to counter terror threat

      London: As part of the global campaign in the war on terror, airlines may start electronically tagging passengers at airports. Researchers at University College London say the prototype technology is to be tested at an airport in Hungary, and if successful, could become a reality "in two years" time. Other projects include scanners for explosives and dirty bomb radiation, they say. Dr Paul Brennan, an electrical engineer, who is leading the tagging project, known as Optag said: "The basic idea is that airports could be fitted with a network of combined panoramic cameras and RFID (radio frequency ID) tag readers, which would monitor the movements of people around the various terminal buildings". "The plan would be for each passenger to be issued with a tag at check-in. In our system, the location can be detected to an accuracy of 1m, and video and tag data could be merged to give a powerful surveillance capability," the BBC quoted him as saying. He said the tags did not store any data, but emitted a signal containing a unique ID, which could be cross-referenced with passenger identification information. In the future, this could incorporate biometric data, Dr Brennan added. "The project still needs to overcome some hurdles, such as finding a way of ensuring the tags cannot be switched between passengers or removed without notification. The issue of infringement of civil liberties will also be key," he further said. The tags could nevertheless aid security by allowing airports to track the movement patterns of passengers deemed to be suspicious and prevent them from entering restricted areas, he said. "It could aid airports by helping evacuation in case of a fire, rapidly locating children, and finding passengers who are late to arrive at the gate. The "proof of concept" of the system is about to be tested at Debrecen airport in Hungary. If successful, claimed Dr Brennan, it could be available elsewhere within two years," he said. "The new centre will also be investigating a range of other airport security tools," he added.
-Oct 13,  2006

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