(RNN) - Facial recognition technology is already common in many smartphones will be coming to an airport near you.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is already testing the technology at a dozen airports, according to a report by NPR.
The technology would help better track the identity of travelers and prevent against visa overstay.
The technology was installed recently installed at the Orlando International Airport by SITA, a Geneva-based company which creates the technology for airlines.
The cameras engage when passengers step on assigned footprints.
“We collect a photo, send it to CBP, who checks to make sure that person is booked on the manifest and matches the photo that they already have on file." Sherry Stein told NPR. "We open the doors and give them the OK to board." All that happens, she says, "in three to five seconds."
If the scans are unsuccessful, the passenger is then manually scanned by a gate agent.
One critic told NPR, the technology is not up to par.
"DHS doesn't seem to know whether its system will falsely reject folks," said Harrison Rudolph of the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown University Law School. The system is unable to match effectively minoritiies.
Rudolph added that privacy concerns are non existent.
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