APEX Investigates: Global Net Solutions Looks to Improve Airport Security With S-Badge
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APEX Insight: Global Net Solutions’ S-Badge leverages tracking tech, biometrics and artificial intelligence to identify threats in real time, in high-security environments, like airports.
Global Net Solutions unveiled its IoT-based identification card at the Consumer Electronics Show last week. The S-Badge, which has been in development for two and a half years, uses Bluetooth, RFID, NFC and biometric fingerprint technology to track individuals in high-security environments – airports, for example.
“The location services are only active on site, because we care about privacy,” explained Michael Elias, director of Business Development, Global Net Solutions. “We’ve come up with an intelligence trend mechanism that builds a trend of every single personal behavior [within a specified area].” By leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning, the S-Badge creates a prediction model, which can help identify threats in real time. When the model recognizes unusual behavior – like spending too much time in a restricted area – the system can send an alert to security.
Approximately 900,000 people work at airports across the US, and many can bypass traditional screening requirements, according to a report by the United States Homeland Security Committee. “In airports, we’re trying to tackle the insider threat,” said Elias. “Once you pass through security, no one knows where you are.” The S-Badge, which could also be used to make payments, allows individuals to be tracked throughout the entire airport, and what’s more, explained Elias, “if you lose it, no one else can use it.”
“In airports, we’re trying to tackle the insider threat.” – Michael Elias, Global Net Solutions
The technology behind the S-Badge could also be applied to luggage tracking. “At airports, we’re trying to complete the system, not compete with the system,” said Elias. “RFID is widely used in the sorting facilities but once you’re out of the sorting facility, we can track the containers. Half of the badge is basically the LoRa IoT sensor that [tracks location]. The sensor battery can last up to 6 months or a year. If we power it over solar, it’s indefinite.”
Global Net Solutions expects the S-Badge to be implemented in healthcare or education facilities, initially. When asked if the S-Badge could replace passports in the future, Elias said: “Many companies are targeting us to go into that avenue, [where the technology would be used in] a national ID, and eventually an e-passport.”