Facial recognition question

[RotBenz8888]

My brother is travelling to Bangkok in a few weeks, unfortunately he developed a facial paresis with some obvious assymety. He's treated with steroids and it'll probably subside in a month or two.

What'll happen at immigration at arrival? The facial recognition from his last visit won't be the same but his fingerprints will. Would a doctor's certificate be enough or will he be sent back?

Edited September 20, 2019 by RotBenz8888

[berybert]

Strange question. Other than taking a picture I don't recall any face recognition systems in place from when I came back in a few weeks ago. 

Seriously do you think people who may have grown a beard or had a haircut will be stopped from entering ?

 

[elviajero]

They don’t use facial recognition.

[RotBenz8888]

32 minutes ago, elviajero said:

They don’t use facial recognition.

Great, no problems then. Thanks.

[thedemon]

There are plenty of news reports that say Thai Immigration's new biometric system does include facial recognition.

 

Here is one: https://news.thaivisa.com/article/35725/video-fingerprint-and-facial-recognition-now-scanning-passengers-at-don-mueang-airport

 

Certainly the Autochannel system has facial recognition so they have had the technology for some years.

 

As I understand it when facial recognition is used by an IO it doesn't simply say there is a match (to the chip embedded photo) or not. Rather it gives the officer a percentage match. I think it is very unlikely there would be a problem in the case of the op's brother,

Edited September 21, 2019 by thedemon

[007 RED]

11 hours ago, elviajero said:

They don’t use facial recognition.

Sorry to have to correct you, but Thai Immigration have been using facial recognition at their boarder control points for several years, and more recently they have expanded their system.

 

When you hand your passport to the Immigration Officer and he/she places the photo page onto the ‘scanner’ on their desk, the scanner reads the information at the bottom of the page between <<<< >>>>.  That information is used by a computer algorithm to unlock the encrypted biographical data held on the microchip which is embedded in the passport. 

 

The biographical data is in fact identical to the information given on the photo page (including the photo).  The biographical information from the microchip is displayed on the Immigration Officer’s screen so that they can compare the hard copy (passport) with the information on the microchip. 

 

At the same time, the photo image from the microchip is sent to the facial recognition system and compared with the database of ‘mug shots’ taken when the individual was last photographed by Immigration e.g. when entering or exiting the Kingdom.  The system is about 80% correct and will give the Officer a warning if there is a discrepancy so the he/she can double check manually – passport photo against microchip photo.

 

I noticed when I did my extension to stay based upon retirement a month ago my local Immigration Office now has desktop passport scanners installed at each officer's workstation (something that they did not have until quite recently), and I was able to see my biographical data displayed on the Officer's screen.   The Officer held my passport photo page next to her screen and was obviously doing a visual comparison.

 

FYI… Many Immigration Offices now have these very expensive BMW’s, as shown below.  These BMW’s have a high definition tilt/pan/zoom CCTV camera mounted on the roof.  The camera is connected to an onboard computer which is linked to the Immigration database for the sole purpose of facial recognition.

 

My local office has 3 of these cars and I often see one parked outside nearby factories which employ a large number of migrant labour.

[007 RED]

@RotBenz8888 ..... Your brother is unlikely to encounter a problem.  The facial recognition system may well flag-up a discrepancy warning to the Immigration Officer which will result in him/her doing a visual comparison with the biographical photo from your brother's passport against his face. No doubt your brother's medical condition will be fairly obvious.

If it helps to make your brother less stressed, having a medical certificate with him would not do any harm.

Best of luck.

Edited September 21, 2019 by 007 RED

[Kopitiam]

Nose job beats facial recognition.

 

https://www.abacusnews.com/tech/facial-recognition-defeated-nose-job/article/3027633

[elviajero]

3 hours ago, 007 RED said:

Sorry to have to correct you, but Thai Immigration have been using facial recognition at their boarder control points for several years, and more recently they have expanded their system.

 

When you hand your passport to the Immigration Officer and he/she places the photo page onto the ‘scanner’ on their desk, the scanner reads the information at the bottom of the page between <<<< >>>>.  That information is used by a computer algorithm to unlock the encrypted biographical data held on the microchip which is embedded in the passport. 

 

The biographical data is in fact identical to the information given on the photo page (including the photo).  The biographical information from the microchip is displayed on the Immigration Officer’s screen so that they can compare the hard copy (passport) with the information on the microchip. 

 

At the same time, the photo image from the microchip is sent to the facial recognition system and compared with the database of ‘mug shots’ taken when the individual was last photographed by Immigration e.g. when entering or exiting the Kingdom.  The system is about 80% correct and will give the Officer a warning if there is a discrepancy so the he/she can double check manually – passport photo against microchip photo.

No problem about the correction, I'm always interested in your knowledge and posts. 

 

As I understand it the system is comparing the biometric photo with the hard copy photo to check that the passport photo hasn't been tampered with. The IO then manually compares the photo in the passport with the person standing in front of them. I think the OP is concerned that facial recognition is used to compare the person standing in front of the officer with the photo in the passport, which I don't believe happens.

 

Please confirm.

[007 RED]

18 hours ago, elviajero said:

No problem about the correction, I'm always interested in your knowledge and posts. 

 

As I understand it the system is comparing the biometric photo with the hard copy photo to check that the passport photo hasn't been tampered with. The IO then manually compares the photo in the passport with the person standing in front of them. I think the OP is concerned that facial recognition is used to compare the person standing in front of the officer with the photo in the passport, which I don't believe happens.

 

Please confirm.

Sorry for the delay in coming back as I’m not a 27x7 TV member.  Just one who dips in and out as personal commitments allow.

 

You are correct (at the moment) when you say that the Facial Recognition System (FRS) which is currently incorporated in the Thai Immigration system does not compare the photo in the person’s passport with person standing in front of the Immigration Officer (IO). 

 

Note that I said, “at the moment”, as this is likely to change in the not too distant future with the introduction of high definition imaging devices and more sophisticated FRS.

 

As you are aware each time a person enters, or leaves, the Kingdom through one of the approved boarder posts, it is standard procedure for the IO to take a digital head and shoulders photo of the person (previously using a webcam, but more recently via a combined fingerprint/photo device).  It is also standard procedure for IOs to take a digital head and shoulders photo when an individual applies for an extension of stay (marriage, retirement etc).  These digital images are retained in the Immigration database against the individual’s passport number.  As far as I’m aware the Thai Immigration database currently only keeps the last 3 digital images of a person.

 

When presenting your passport to the IO at the port of entry/exit (or as it appears now at some the local Immigration offices), the IO will place the photo page of the passport onto a small desktop scanner which reads the information at the bottom of the page between <<<< >>>>.  The information is read by an Optical Character Reader (OCR) and initially used by an algorithm to unlock the encrypted data held microchip that is embedded within the passport.

 

Although microchip passports are often referred to as biometric passports, they in fact do not currently hold any biometric information e.g. fingerprints, iris scan, hand patterns DNA data etc.  The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) which sets the standard for Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTD) and who operate under the auspices of the United Nations only approved the addition of biometric data to be included on the microchip in June 2018.  It should be noted that the inclusion of biometric data is not mandatory and the decision to incorporate such information is left to the individual passport issuing authorities.

 

The information current held on the microchip which is embedded in the passport is identical to that which is given on the photo page of the passport, including an ‘enhanced’ digital photo of the passport holder.   FYI.  The ‘enhanced’ photo is cropped to show just the head – no shoulders or space above the head.

 

The Immigration system undertakes a comparison between the information which it obtained from the OCR and the character information held on the microchip.  If there is any discrepancy the system flags a warning to the IO.

 

In terms of Facial Recognition, once the encrypted information held on the microchip has been unlocked the Immigration system does two things.

 

Firstly, it takes the digital photo of the passport holder from the microchip and compares it with the photo that was last taken of the individual by Immigration during a previous encounter (entry/exit etc.).  If the FRS is unable to make a match (passport photo v last immigration photo) the system will flag a warning to the IO which will prompt a manual visual check.

 

Secondly, the passport holder’s information held on the microchip is populated onto the IO’s screen (including the photo).  This enables the IO to undertake a manual (visual) comparison between the information displayed on his/her screen and the information shown on the photo page of the passport, including the photos and the person standing in front of them.  It is not uncommon to see the IO hold the open passport next to his/her screen and for his/her eyes to scan between the screen, open passport and person.

 

It should be noted that the time that it takes for the Immigration System unlock the data held on the encrypted microchip, undertake a data comparison check and facial recognition check and populate the passport holder’s information on the IO’s screen only takes a fraction of second.

 

Sorry for the long explanation, but I hope this helps you and other TV members have an understanding of the process.

[Saltire]

19 minutes ago, 007 RED said:

Sorry for the delay in coming back as I’m not a 27x7 TV member.  Just one who dips in and out as personal commitments allow.

 

You are correct (at the moment) when you say that the Facial Recognition System (FRS) which is currently incorporated in the Thai Immigration system does not compare the photo in the person’s passport with person standing in front of the Immigration Officer (IO). 

 

Note that I said, “at the moment”, as this is likely to change in the not too distant future with the introduction of high definition imaging devices and more sophisticated FRS.

 

As you are aware each time a person enters, or leaves, the Kingdom through one of the approved boarder posts, it is standard procedure for the IO to take a digital head and shoulders photo of the person (previously using a webcam, but more recently via a combined fingerprint/photo device).  It is also standard procedure for IOs to take a digital head and shoulders photo when an individual applies for an extension of stay (marriage, retirement etc).  These digital images are retained in the Immigration database against the individual’s passport number.  As far as I’m aware the Thai Immigration database currently only keeps the last 3 digital images of a person.

 

When presenting your passport to the IO at the port of entry/exit (or as it appears now at some the local Immigration offices), the IO will place the photo page of the passport onto a small desktop scanner which reads the information at the bottom of the page between <<<< >>>>.  The information is read by an Optical Character Reader (OCR) and initially used by an algorithm to unlock the encrypted data held microchip that is embedded within the passport.

 

Although microchip passports are often referred to as biometric passports, they in fact do not currently hold any biometric information e.g. fingerprints, iris scan, hand patterns DNA data etc.  The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) which sets the standard for Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTD) and who operate under the auspices of the United Nations only approved the addition of biometric data to be included on the microchip in June 2018.  It should be noted that the inclusion of biometric data is not mandatory and the decision to incorporate such information is left to the individual passport issuing authorities.

 

The information current held on the microchip which is embedded in the passport is identical to that which is given on the photo page of the passport, including an ‘enhanced’ digital photo of the passport holder.   FYI.  The ‘enhanced’ photo is cropped to show just the head – no shoulders or space above the head.

 

The Immigration system undertakes a comparison between the information which it obtained from the OCR and the character information held on the microchip.  If there is any discrepancy the system flags a warning to the IO.

 

In terms of Facial Recognition, once the encrypted information held on the microchip has been unlocked the Immigration system does two things.

 

Firstly, it takes the digital photo of the passport holder from the microchip and compares it with the photo that was last taken of the individual by Immigration during a previous encounter (entry/exit etc.).  If the FRS is unable to make a match (passport photo v last immigration photo) the system will flag a warning to the IO which will prompt a manual visual check.

 

Secondly, the passport holder’s information held on the microchip is populated onto the IO’s screen (including the photo).  This enables the IO to undertake a manual (visual) comparison between the information displayed on his/her screen and the information shown on the photo page of the passport, including the photos and the person standing in front of them.  It is not uncommon to see the IO hold the open passport next to his/her screen and for his/her eyes to scan between the screen, open passport and person.

 

It should be noted that the time that it takes for the Immigration System unlock the data held on the encrypted microchip, undertake a data comparison check and facial recognition check and populate the passport holder’s information on the IO’s screen only takes a fraction of second.

 

Sorry for the long explanation, but I hope this helps you and other TV members have an understanding of the process.

Great post thank you, very informative.