IRIS @ T4 [reliability]
 

How reliable are the IRIS machines at Heathrow Terminal 4?

Isn't it retarded that we have to ask questions like this even though Iris has been operating for years now, meaning any maintenance issues should have been solved by now?

There is a whole Thread dedicated to this topic.

IRIS@T4 - does it work?

Enjoy!

It is a bit pointless referring to OP to such an out of date thread IMHO! There are two posts from Jan 10 and the next most recent post is Mar 09. The world has moved on a tad! :)

As BA no longer use T4, we'll give this a short run before moving over to UK & Ireland.

Swanhunter
Moderator, BAEC

UKBA has taken the decision not to continue supporting the IRIS platform going forward. As the existing stock of hardware reaches the end of its service life, they will be removed without replacement.

Aren't they, eventually, going to replace IRIS with the system currently in use at MAN? :confused:

Do you happen to have any information that you can quote on that? I haven't come across that anywhere, and it seems very strange that they would do that IMO

I could never get the stupid thing to work and eventually gave up trying and while queuing at passport control I often saw others having problems, although others sailed straight through.

I don't know why they don't have fingerprint readers similar to DXB, which always worked for me.

I've had plenty of discussion with UKBA on this issue (I am the liaision for my airline with UKBA so I deal with them on an almost daily basis on various subjects), but I don't know where one might find something that specifically says this.

The key reason for this is that the IRIS technology has limitations in that it doesn't work in natural lighting environments - natural lighting interferes with the focus of the mirrors and has made it impossible to roll out IRIS at some major POEs such as London Stansted.

Fingerprints are actually easily forged and because of the build up of skin oils and debris the readers very quickly lose their efficiency. They actually need a lot of maintenance.

The camera type solution such as MAN doesn't require intimate contact with the PAX so minimal maintenance and unlike IRIS they compare the passport chip information with the PAX standing in front of the camera. Thus no need to call home to check!

Well, IRIS is to be replaced by the Advanced Rectal Recognition System
(Enhanced), or ARRSE for short.

The advantage with this system is that it isn't dependant on any
particular form of light, as it works on a touch feel recognition.

Another advantage being that it can be manually performed by UKBA
officials by hand, whenever the auto probes fail.

bjorns

Thought that was already in use but for departing PAX? :D

Do they plan to replace IRIS with a (hopefully) better system of automated clearance? Or is the whole idea going to be scrapped? I really hope not.....

I used it on arrival from Malta last night and the chap inside the doors was taking his time, the three ahead of me left the queue and joined normal passport control. As soon as they did that the chap completed his recognition and I stepped up. Was through in a jiffy, certainly no longer than the ones in T5 and I beat my travelling companions through as well.

I quite like the IRIS system. In my experience it has never failed the recognition in almost 3 years (on an average of 1 to 2 entries per week). As someone else has already reported, I noticed a considerable improvement in the machine's speed (now it never takes more that 2 seconds from the photo "snap" to "Thank you"/green arrow).

I really hope they don't scrap the project. If they need to upgrade the systems, I am quite confident that many people would be ready to pay a yearly fee...

Lol - I'd be careful in saying that, as there's already an ARRSE in existance (ARmy Rumour SErvice) - put it into Google, and see what comes out. They might take offence at being put into the same context as UKBA :D

I too like Iris, when she is working. At T1 this morning she had obviously come out in sympathy with BA Cabin Crew and was not welcoming customers.

Speaking at a meeting of the parliamentary delegated legislation committee in February 2010, the immigration minister, Phil Woolas, said:

"The draft order will facilitate the entry of automated gate users into the United Kingdom by amending the Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order 2000. Automated gates, which are already in use at some UK airports, speed up the passage through the border of legitimate travellers by allowing permitted passengers lawfully to enter the UK without having to queue up at the manual immigration control.

"The gates work by verifying a person’s identity and making checks against our Home Office systems to ensure that they are eligible to use the gate and enter the country. If the person is eligible, the gates open and allow the person to come in. If not, the gates remain closed and the person is required to seek entry at the manual immigration control. I emphasise that use of the gates is entirely voluntary. They have two main benefits: they allow eligible users to enter the UK quickly and efficiently and reduce the number of low-risk passengers queuing up at the manual immigration control, allowing our UK Border Agency officials to focus staff resources on the higher-risk passengers at the primary checkpoint.

"There are currently two automated gate schemes in operation. The first is called the e-passport gate and can be used only by European economic area nationals who hold a second generation biometric passport. The gates, which do not require any pre-enrolment by users, are being trialled in 10 UK airport terminals. To date, more than 1 million of the crossings of the UK border have been made using that method.

"The second scheme is IRIS—the iris recognition immigration system—and is available to all traveller categories. A person wishing to use IRIS must go through an enrolment process that includes a face-to-face interview with a UKBA officer. If the person is considered suitable, their biometrics are taken and securely stored. IRIS is also installed in 10 UK airport terminals. More than 350,000 passengers have enrolled on to the IRIS scheme since January 2006, and collectively they have used IRIS gates 2.7 million times—they are the frequent travellers. Hon. Members may be familiar with the gates if they have signed up to IRIS; I certainly find them convenient.

"Future automated gate schemes are being developed with the British Airports Authority. We will roll out a new pre-enrolment automated gate scheme, the automated clearance system plus, at Heathrow airport; it is due to go live this year. Like IRIS, nationals of all countries can apply to enrol on to ACS plus. Again, as with IRIS, UKBA officers will interview every applicant to assess a person’s suitability. If someone is approved, their fingerprints and an image of their face will be taken and securely stored before they are able to use the scheme’s gates. I ought to explain that the 'image of the face', which to the layperson might be a photograph, is, in fact, a geometric map of a person’s face which enables us to secure identity.

"The order is necessary because the current method of granting leave to enter to non-visa nationals who use automatic gates is inefficient and out of date. Non-visa national Irish users are currently granted leave via a paper notice printed by the gates. When the gates’ printers break down, which they do on occasion, or run out of paper, the whole gate system is shut down and cannot be used by any passengers. Users also regularly forget to take their written notice from the gate, which then retracts the printout for security reasons, again taking the gates out of operation.

"The order provides a better and more efficient method of granting leave to non-visa national gate users. The order allows the UKBA officers to authorise a person as someone who may obtain leave by using the automated gates following satisfactory screening. Thereafter, each time the person uses the gates to enter the UK, he or she will automatically be granted leave to enter for six months, on the same basis as leave granted at the manual immigration control to non-visa nationals who seek to enter as a visitor. In both cases, recourse to public funds and employment is prohibited. The only difference is that gate users will not receive written evidence of their leave when they use the gate.

"In practice, the order needs to apply only to non-visa nationals, as other types of traveller do not require leave to be granted when they seek entry to the UK. British citizens and EEA nationals do not require leave to enter the UK, visa nationals are granted leave in the form of a visa before they arrive in the UK, and foreign nationals who are settled in the UK already have limited or indefinite leave to remain in the country. I trust that hon. Members will join me in supporting such pragmatic, sensible measures."

However, he is not strictly correct when he says that the IRIS scheme "is available to all traveller categories", since there are criteria that travellers must fulfil before they are eligible to enrol in the scheme. What he means, it seems, is that there is no stricture as to nationality.

I am also not sure what he means by "non-visa national Irish users [being] currently granted leave via a paper notice printed by the gates" — what's the Irish bit here?

Anyway, it sounds as if the government is not planning to do away with automated entry to the UK for certain travellers, even if the IRIS technology is not the method used in the long term.

ETA: I've realised that "non-visa national Irish users" is of course simply a mis-transcription of "non-visa national IRIS users".

And now over to UK & Ireland

Swanhunter
Mod, BAEC

FWIW I came through Iris at T4 this morning and the system worked perfectly. Christopher thank you for your informative post, reference to which I hope can be made in the inevitable future discussion about automated border crossing.

I came thru T4 last week and did not notice any signage for IRIS. Does anyone know if it is still there, or have they removed it from T4?

A colleague arriving at T4 yesterday morning couldn't find the Iris lane either. She said it's gone.

It's still there, but difficult to see because of the E-passport lanes -- it has not worked in several months -- last week, the agent said it needed to be fixed, but they had not done so...:rolleyes:

It's there, but like T3 the signs have been removed.

Fortunately, T3's kiosks have continued to work...one more reason I look at AA routings over DL sometimes...