Biometrics Help Registered Travelers through U.S. Checkpoints

August 10, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

Operated by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), in cooperation with industry partners, the Registered Traveler (RT) program provides TSA-approved passengers with smart cards that validate identity and prevent fraudulent use by unauthorized persons.

Encoded with a passenger's unique biometric data, the smart cards are cross-checked and verified against a registered traveler's fingerprints or iris image.

To facilitate interoperability and performance between various airports and service providers, the Registered Traveler Interoperability Consortium (RTIC) - along with a council of private sector service providers specializing in biometrics, smart cards, identity management and related solutions - developed the RTIC Technical Interoperability Specification.

According to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the technical interoperability specification stipulates the use of several well-known national and international biometric standards.

Due to its broad acceptance across industry with regard to interchanging fingerprint information, the RTIC based its biometric enrollment data on ANSI/NIST-ITL 1 - Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial and Scar Mark and Tattoo (SMT) Information.

Published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the document enables the electronic encoding and transmittal of data, such as fingerprint, palm print, mug shot, scar mark and tattoo images, along with associated biographic information.

Because image quality has a direct effect on subsequent matching performance, assessing fingerprint image quality is a critical element of the RT program.

As such, NIST algorithm NISTIR 7151 - Fingerprint Image Quality is used in conjunction with INCITS 378-2004 - Information technology - Finger Minutiae Format for Data Interchange, the U.S. national standard developed by the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) that enables fingerprint data to be exchanged.

In lieu of fingerprints, RT applicants can opt to submit an iris scan of their eye. Using a small camera, an iris scan system examines small details in the eye's stromal pattern. All iris images used in the RT program must conform to ISO/IEC 19794-6:2005 - Information technology - Biometric data interchange formats - Part 6: Iris image data, which specifies image interchange formats for biometric iris recognition authentication systems.

The standard was developed by the ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee on Information Technology (ISO/IEC JTC 1) and its Subcommittee on Biometrics (SC 37). INCITS M1 serves as the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for JTC 1/SC 37, and is responsible for establishing U.S. positions and contributions to the subcommittee.

At the time of enrollment, an applicant's digital facial photograph is also collected. INCITS 385-2004 - Information technology - Face Recognition Format for Data Interchange offers enrollment providers guidance on facial image capture conditions.

Specifically, the standard details various photographic properties (i.e., environment, subject pose, focus), digital image attributes and an interchange format. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) adopted INCITS 385-2004 as an official DHS standard.

In conjunction with the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), Daon provides the central information management system component of the RT program, which aggregates, stores and distributes information to all participating RT entities. In addition, Daon provides identity management components for the Clear and rtGO service provider systems, the latter of which is operated by Unisys, which ran three of TSA's five pilot RT programs.

Source: American National Standards Institute (ANSI).