Facing up to high-speed security

Airport check-in may change forever if UK trials of a new type of split-second 3D face imaging system are successful.

The technology — being developed at Sheffield Hallam University's Materials and Engineering Research Institute (

) by a team led by Prof Marcos Rodrigues — passes a single pattern of light over the face creating a 2D image from which 3D data is generated. A 'parameterisation' process, providing an accurate digital map of the face, then extracts biometric features.

Other 3D systems — requiring 16 shots of the face — have proved unworkable because of the time it takes to construct a picture. The chance of movement during such a multi-shot process is extremely high, and if the face moves even a fraction then the 2D to 3D image is unworkable.

MERI also claims several other advantages for its technology. Hardware requirements are a projector and a single camera, making set-up inexpensive — a few hundred pounds, compared with up to £40,000 for older systems. These need at least three or four cameras to capture an image, which means time-consuming parameters and complex calibrations.