Think biometrics are just for airports, banks, and government offices? Not so. The cutting-edge body measurement technology is showing up at stadiums and in devices like computers or smartphones that unlock with a fingerprint. Now rental car company Hertz is using the technology too.
God made each human’s fingerprint—and irises and faces—different. Improvements in cameras and other equipment have made detecting those differences easier and less expensive. Walt Disney World verifies visitors’ identities by scanning fingerprints. More than 100 airports worldwide use biometric scanners.
Hertz is teaming up with Clear, the maker of biometric screening kiosks found at many airports. Together, they’re trying to slash the time it takes to pick up a rental car.
Biometric scanners launched this week at Hertz at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Next year, 40 more U.S. Hertz airport locations, including New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles plan to have the scanners.
Hertz loyalty program members will be able to bypass the counter, pick up their cars, and head to the exit gate. There, Clear pods equipped with cameras and touchscreens can read their faces or their fingerprints. If they match Hertz’s reservation data, the gate will open.
Hertz President and CEO Kathy Marinello expects Clear to shave a minute and a half off what’s now a two-minute checkout process.
Amil Jain, a biometrics professor, doesn’t think customers need to be too worried about facial scans. He points out that millions of people share photos of their faces on Facebook and elsewhere already.
But Justin Brookman, director of consumer privacy and technology for Consumer Reports, says consumers should think twice before sharing personal identifiers. He says, “Once your biometric data gets leaked or compromised, you can’t really do anything about it.”
What do you think about sharing your biometrics?
(A rental car driver demonstrates a new biometric scanning machine at the Hertz facility at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, in Atlanta. AP Photo)
