#37th GITEX Technology Week conference

[arabasiajournal]

efatoora supports dubai’s mandate to go paperless by 2021

efatoora supports dubai’s mandate to go paperless by 2021

In what is predicted to be the most disruptive tech event in the region to date, GITEX is bringing the best organizations with leading global digital transformation and game-changing technology solutions to the Middle East next month.

The 37th GITEX Technology Week conference, which will open on October 8th 2017, aims to create an immersive, engaging and rewarding experience where businesses can…

[antoine-roquentin]

Public anonymity is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Coming soon to an airport in Dubai is an artsy, colorful video security and customs tunnelthat scans your face, adds you to a database, indexes you with artificial intelligence and decides if you're free to leave -- or not.

By the end of summer 2018, Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 will have replaced its security-clearance counter with a walkway tunnel filled with 80 face-scanning cameras disguised as a distracting immersive video.

Travelers' eyes will roam the enclosed tunnel and its virtual shimmering aquarium as they head to their gate, while their biometric data is seamlessly collected, compared and stored ... somewhere, under unknown terms and conditions. According to officials presenting the security and customs tunnel at the 37th Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) Technology Week at the World Trade Centre in Dubai, its video shows will not be limited to chicken of the sea. The airport plans to also distract its very captive audience with desert scenes, majestically galloping white horses, or ... advertisements.

"The fish is a sort of entertainment and something new for the traveler but, at the end of the day, it attracts the vision of the travelers to different corners in the tunnel for the cameras to capture his/her face print," Maj. Gen. Obaid Al Hameeri, deputy director general of Dubai residency and foreign affairs, told press.

Travelers are expected to "register" their faces at kiosks throughout the airport so they may travel. The tunnel will replace the terminal's security control desk. "At the end of the tunnel," The National reported, "if the traveler is already registered, they will either receive a green message that says 'have a nice trip' or, if the person is wanted for some reason, a red sign will alert the operations room to interfere." You can watch a video of its reporter's walkthrough here.

Australia is currently considering the same thing, filtering passengers through a tunnel that seamlessly captures their biometrics (facial scanning) as they go through the airport.

The "virtual aquarium tunnel" was four years in the making and debuted this week at GITEX. Other stars of the GITEX innovation conference included a flying autonomous taxi and drone motorcycle for police. This year the theme at GITEX is "Reimagining Realities," with a focus on smart cities.