RESTON, Va., Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Traffic jams at U.S. border crossings aggravated by new passport laws could be eased by a new system that can read a personal ID card in a moving vehicle.
The system developed by Raytheon uses ultra high-frequency radio signals to tie the personalized identification cards in with an automated reader that would be installed at border crossings.
Raytheon said Monday the Personal Authentication Device (PAD) would be able to validate the identities of travelers and truck drivers entering the United States from Canada and Mexico, who must now carry a passport under new U.S. security regulations.
"Last week's passport requirement ... underscores how U.S. border travel is becoming increasingly more serious and complicated," said Guy Swope, senior biometrics architect for Raytheon Information Solutions in Reston. "With an estimated 13,000 trucks alone crossing through the Mexican border daily, Raytheon set out to create the next generation of travel ID card that not only secures the person's identity but also is sufficiently portable to track people quickly and efficiently through a busy border or customs gate."
The system is based on fingerprint data stored in the card that is both read and tracked by the sensor, allowing border agents to verify the identity of a person 30 feet away, or even multiple individuals in a car traveling up to 60 miles per hour.
