NEC has used Red Hat OpenShift as the foundation for Narita International Airport’s new “Check-in to boarding experience” known as “One ID” in Japan.
One ID covers the entire passenger experience within an airport, from check-in to boarding, and uses Red Hat OpenShift to provide the massive scale and flexibility required to handle peak passenger volume at Narita.
Also, One ID extends biometric technology to provide a solution tailored to the growing need for “fast travel” in the airline industry. The system requires a facial photo of a passenger to be registered when they initially check-in at an airport service desk or self-service KIOSK at Narita Airport.
From there, the passenger is able to move more rapidly through the airport, including screening, baggage storage and the boarding gate without having to show a boarding pass or passport. Biometric scanners at each phase of the travel process are able to confirm the individual’s identity, helping to improve traffic flow through the airport and the overall travel experience.
One ID is expected to go live at Narita International Airport’s 1st and 2nd passenger terminals soon. Following this, NEC aims to continue rolling out advanced solutions in cooperation with domestic and international airports throughout the world.
“With Red Hat OpenShift, NEC has the enterprise-grade backbone for One ID which can scale as needed to support high traveler traffic and provide tools, services and flexibility to fuel advances in the traveler experience,” said Ashesh Badani, SVP for cloud platforms at Red Hat.
Toshifumi Yoshizaki, SVP of NEC, said that by combining NEC’s biometric scanning technology with Red Hat’s OpenShift, they have built an agile and highly scalable platform for the future using open, robust and flexible container services.
As a result, travellers will be able to proceed quickly at the airport,” said Yoshizaki. “In the future, we will promote the deployment of this solution at airports in Japan, internationally and throughout a wide variety of industries.”
