Iris recognition is at work today protecting people around the world through secure identification.

Iris recognition is already being used in numerous airports worldwide for government and transportation applications such as border control, restricted access, and simplified passenger travel. Your iris is literally your passport at border crossings in Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates. Where iris recognition supports border control, enrolled travelers can bypass lengthy customs and immigration lines, while security officials can more efficiently concentrate on examining unknown travelers. Restricted access to the tarmac at JFK Airport is provided by iris recognition. And at Narita Airport in Japan, passengers who enroll in a simplified passenger travel application simply glance at an iris recognition camera to pick up airplane tickets at check-in and even pass through the boarding gate.

Click here to see how iris recognition provides secure identification throughout an airport.

The US VISIT program in the United States and ongoing G8 country discussions have focused on how biometrics may be introduced more widely to improve national security. Iridian is deeply engaged in supporting government requests for data, research results and pilot programs to expand the body of knowledge about iris recognition.

In addition to the government and transportation markets, iris recognition is playing an emerging role in healthcare. Healthcare solutions based on iris recognition protect access to patient medical records at hospitals in locations such as Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Alabama. Applications like these are being implemented to comply with the data privacy and security requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). Also, in Germany, infant nursing stations are equipped with iris recognition to ensure that only parents, doctors and nurses have access to the room that holds newborn children and to avoid potential abductions.

An innovative program in the New Egypt school district of Plumsted, New Jersey was launched in 2003. This program uses iris recognition to secure school buildings and to link parents to their children, making sure that only authorized caregivers can pick children up from school.

Iris recognition has provided traditional restricted access since the mid 1990s, protecting access to critical areas such as data centers, utility companies and prisons.

Iridian is especially proud of our work with the United Nations, where iris recognition helps to distribute a one-time grant of human aid to refugees who wish to return to their homeland in Afghanistan. Four voluntary repatriation centers in Pakistan are equipped with cameras to process the refugees anonymously and quickly so that they can receive funds, food and travel supplies.