When the COVID-19 pandemic took over the world, it highly influenced the daily life of the people. Today more are opting for flight travel rather than trains or buses, which lead to a gradual increase in the crowd in airports. The long line of security protocols followed in airports makes the procedures time-consuming. Apart from that, with the increased number of people, the threat of COVID-19 variants being transmitted from one person to another is also a serious concern. To overcome such threats, the government of India has issued Digi Yatra which is based on Computer Vision technology. As the first phase, this facial recognition technology is being implemented at four major airports including Varanasi, Pune, Kolkata and Vijayawada. The passengers for domestic travellers who are willing to opt for Digi Yatra will have to register one time for a unique DY ID. This ID can be used in all of their future air travels.

It was after an attempt that lasted for two years that the Civil Aviation Ministry will be rolling out the project in March 2022. After analysing the success of the project in the initial four locations, it will be extended to the remaining airports in the country. 

How does Digi Yatra work?

The AI-based Digi Yatra functions on Computer Vision technology. The DY ID generated during the registration at the Digi Yatra Portal will be linked to the PNR number of every customer. This will be uploaded to the central database of the Digi Yatra portal. By using AI, the portal will be able to recognise the airport, the city, airline and passenger details before 6 hours of the departure of the flight. This offers a hassle-free experience for travellers. In the airports, automatic boarding gates with facial recognition technology will be deployed at various points at the airport. Some of the important points include the main entry gate into the terminal building, bearing gates and the gate to the Security Hold Area (SHA). According to Sudin Baroakar, global IT and Innovation Advisor, this AI-based technology is a very good use case across both security and health testing. The processes of ID authentication and authorisation through Aadhar Card coupled with Computer Vision APIs will speed up the security processes at the airports. The factors considered during the facial recognition process are the following:

1. Distance between one’s eyes 
2. Distance from the forehead to the chin
3. Facial landmarks

Analysing all the above-mentioned factors will aid in the generation of the facial signature of a passenger. This signature will act as a mathematical formula for comparison to a database of known faces.

Computer Vision ensuring secured travel

There are similar successful computer vision-based facial recognition use cases across the world. According to Girish Linganna, an aviation expert who is also the Director of ADD Engineering Components India Limited, at an international level approximately 117 million American faces is stored in one or more databases of the police. A facial recognition system can monitor the people who are walking in and leaving the airport. In the USA, the Department of Homeland Security uses this system to identify the people who have overstayed in the country after the expiration of their visas. Even the customs has captured an impostor while he was trying to enter the United sates. Balakrishna BS, the Director CMO of ABS Fujitsu General Private limited is confident that this system will benefit the airlines, travellers and airports alike as it ensures enhanced security, speed and ease of travel. The facial recognition system will also minimise the person to person contact and reduce the health risk caused by the virus. The Supreme Court advocate and Chairman, Sanket M. Yenagi remarked that the facial recognition system will reduce the number of touchpoints by strengthening security and medical precautions. It also helps in finding missing or suspected infected persons as well. The authorities can also track their movement using this system.