Originally Posted by
Epimetheus
That certainly sounds re-assuring and plausible! Thanks for enlightening me. I've since also found an additional post on Flyertalk of a Belgian citizen with the same experience, which further reassures me that the problem isn't on our side.
Would the computer-system automatically pick up these non-standard UV features, and deny passage?
At DCA we just inserted our passport into a slot at the front of the counter, and a few moments later a red sign showed on the screen. Until that point, it didn't include any involvement of the TSO.
The TSO also asked us to try a 2nd time, which leads me to believe it was the computer system that didn't like our passports and not an intervention of the TSO (if the TSO saw the extra UV features on the first try, there wouldn't be a point in trying again).
I believe the experience in BOS was roughly the same: automated system does not accept the passport, and only then did we hand our passports to an officer for further examination.
Yes, deployment of automated document inspection technology with automated UV/infrared feature authentication is sort of the norm globally these days when using full-page document readers. (That is at immigration checkpoints, but I'd assume TSA uses a very similar technology as they also deploy full-page readers).
See also:
The important issues regarding the software for machine assisted document inspection systems are:
The ability to uniquely identify the document (usually based on MRZ, but also on pattern matching with the database).
The ability to correctly verify the document (either pattern matching based on detailed knowledge of the database document or based on generically applicable checks such as the IR readability of the MRZ and UV brightness).
The content of the database (quality, completeness, timeliness of content).
Checking logic (choice and quality of algorithms, selection of features).
Current machine authentication of security documents - Keesing Platform (keesingtechnologies.com)