In August, Customs and Border Protection will deploy a new system for scanning drivers' faces as they leave the US.The pilot, called the Vehicle Face System (or VFS), is planned for installation at the Anzalduas border crossing at the southern tip of Texas and scheduled to remain in operation for a full year.The project is currently moving through the necessary privacy reviews, and it is set to be officially announced and submitted to the Federal Register in the coming months.According to a Customs spokesperson, the purpose of the project will be “to evaluate capturing facial biometrics of travelers entering and departing the United States and compare those images to photos on file in government holdings.”The new pilot is the result of years of effort by Customs and Border Protection to develop a camera capable of recognizing faces through the windshield of a car, a long-standing challenge for facial recognition systems.The project is part of the broader Biometric Exit program , which seeks to physically verify visa-holders' identities as they leave the country.The largest arm of that program has been the installation of facial recognition systems at airports, which are currently being piloted in New York, Los Angeles, and six other major cities .
Face recognition plan for US borders
