Business Requirement:
The client needed a set of applications to demonstrate how biometric technologies like facial recognition and iris scanning could personalize customer services and in-flight entertainment at the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) event.
Business Solution:
AccelOne developed a series of biometric applications that allowed users to create personalized profiles and interact with various biometric stations throughout the exhibit, demonstrating how these technologies could enhance travel experiences.
The Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) event hosts thousands of industry professionals, over 100 airlines, 150 vendors, and features technology, products, and services for the aviation industry. The goal was to create interactive applications to help educate the industry on how biometric technology such as facial, IRIS, voice, palm-vein recognition, and head tracking could be used to personalize the passenger travel experience, customer service, in-flight entertainment, and in-airport and in-flight services.
Technical Solution:
The solution included integration with biometric sensors for facial, iris, and voice recognition, as well as a custom database for storing biometric data. The applications were developed for Microsoft Surface Pros and utilized SOAP web services for biometric data transfer.
Approach
AccelOne divided the project into three phases, focusing first on biometric registration, followed by biometric education and the 360° Audio/Visual Experience. Each phase was developed and delivered in sequence to meet the event deadline.
To begin the custom application development work on this project, a team of nearshore software engineers was assembled.
Phase 1: Biometric Registration
For the first development phase, the team focused their efforts on the Biometric Registration station application. This station needed an application that would create a unique visitor profile based on a series of questions to establish personal preferences and IRIS + facial scan data.
IRIS biometrics are acquired using a camera that takes a detailed greyscale photo of the eye. The image of the eye is segmented so that only the iris, the textured and colored part of the eye that surrounds the pupil, remains. An algorithm converts the IRIS image into a template that resembles a 2D barcode, and another algorithm compares the template with others to find a match.
The Facial biometric system uses a camera to capture a picture of the face. Distinguishing physical features of the face, such as the eyes, eyebrow, forehead, nose, chin, cheekbones, mouth, and ears are identified, and their relative positions calculated.
The biometric device used to capture the data for this application used a SOAP Web Service and Ethernet connection. AccelOne integrated the IRIS scanning hardware and APIs, developed the personal profile application, and integrated with the backend databases that hosted the IRIS capture image and personal information. Because each database record was anonymized, database efficacy was critical, as this information would be used by several 3rd parties throughout the exhibits.
Phase 2: Biometric Education
Next, the nearshore team began the development of the Biometric Education application. When visitors approached this station, they were automatically “recognized” by the station based on their IRIS+facial data collected in the previous station, and invited to interact. The application walked them through the different biometric technologies and educated them on why and how the application was able to recognize them. They also were provided information on other biometric technologies, including Fingerprint Authentication and Voice Recognition.
Phase 3: 360° Audio/Visual Experience
For the third and final phase, the team developed the Experience station application. The purpose of this station was to immerse the visitor into a simulated travel environment where biometric data could be combined with high-quality digital content and head-tracking technology to enhance their in-flight experience.
When users approached this station, which featured multiple large display screens arranged in a 360° fashion, they were recognized and their preferences recalled by the application. They were then immersed in a high definition, 3D, Dolby surround-sound experience according to their preferences (e.g. beach, city, jungle, travel, rain, etc.). Key features of this experience included:
Auto-shifting of the display to maintain it in front of where the user was looking
Visitor capacity to control the audio/visual content based on their facial and head positions
Voice recognition technology to adjust sound volume or pause an experience
Language translation to improve interactions between passengers and flight-crews
Results
The applications were successfully showcased at APEX, with visitors praising the quality of the experience and the potential for biometric technologies to revolutionize air travel.
Despite the many challenges that the nearshore team faced due to limited time, resources, and assets, they worked with exceptionally high speed, precision, and creativity in order to deliver the fully-functional applications in time for the event.
In just four weeks, they developed, integrated, and delivered the three applications. The applications were installed at the stations several hours prior to the event and the team continued to provide technical support throughout the event.
AccelOne’s innovative biometric applications demonstrated how technology can personalize and enhance the passenger experience, setting the stage for future adoption in the aviation industry.
