Page 13 - GCN, June/july 2017

Eye-tracking tech helps CBP detect imposters
BY SUSAN MILLER
Nearly 1 million people are screened every day by Customs and Border Protection agents, who secure and manage 328 ports of entry. A critical part of that screening is verifying the identities of those entering the United States, and frontline operators must be able to accurately and efficiently spot imposters.
Traditional training tools do not allow instructors to give trainees feedback on their visual search abilities.
But thanks to a collaborative effort with the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate and DHS’ Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers,
CBP has developed a technology
to optimize that training. Called Eye-dentify, the tool tracks trainees’ eye movements so instructors can provide immediate feedback on their performance.
Eye-dentify is built on DHS’ Screen- ADAPT, which uses eye-tracking technology to examine the visual search performance of Transportation Security Administration employees
as they monitor X-ray images of baggage before it is allowed onto commercial aircraft.
Similarly, Eye-dentify tracks CBP agents’ eye movements during training to analyze how they examine an ID
or face. Trainees are given immediate feedback that includes not only whether their decision was correct, but how they scanned the face
or image.
Instructors can identify the
facial features trainees did or did
not sufficiently examine, and they
can review eye-tracking data for individuals or for the class as a whole.
“Eye-dentify allows us to maximize the effectiveness of our time with each student...to see how someone
is performing their inspection and offer feedback that addresses the root
cause of errors or inefficiencies,” said Michael Shekot, CBP’s basic training branch chief.
An evaluation of three classes of newly hired CBP agents showed a
15 percent improvement in imposter detection. Trainees using Eye-dentify were able to examine more image pairs in the same amount of time and detect more imposters, DHS said.
CBP is currently using eight Eye-dentify systems, and DHS will add four more systems in July. The technology will soon be used to train employees for other tasks, such as looking for signs of fake or altered IDs, pre-assault indicators or suspicious behavior. •
DOD: Blockchain can boost 3-D printing
BY TROY K. SCHNEIDER
The U.S. military has long seen the potential of additive manufactur-
ing — the industrial cousin of 3-D printing that can enable the services to produce mil-spec parts in the field. And now Defense Department officials believe the disruptive technology can be paired with another to address intellectual property concerns.
At a May event hosted by Washing- ton Technology, John Bergin, business technology officer in DOD’s Office of the CIO, cited the Navy’s aircraft carri- ers as a prime use case. What hap- pens, he asked, when an F-18
on that carrier breaks a pin in its landing gear?
“They need a part, but they don’t have the part on the aircraft carrier,” he said. “How do I use additive manufacturing to get there while still respecting Boeing’s intellectual property rights for that pin?”
Blockchain — the encrypted and distributed ledger system that makes the bitcoin cryptocurrency possible — could be the answer, he added.
If DOD’s “ecosystem of parts management” can incorporate blockchain ledgers, the 3-D printers on carriers could securely log every pin that’s produced at sea, Bergin said.
“You can print it, I can pay Boeing for it, and \\\[the Navy\\\] has planes that fly,” he added.
Such a system would also streamline supply chains by allowing the Navy, in this example, to get only the pin it needs rather than ordering a full landing gear assembly. That approach would help the military
and its industry partners. “It reduces your inventory that’s idle, and increases our operational capability
at the front,” he said.
Bergin urged contractors to work with DOD to resolve the intellectual property, security and quality assurance challenges. •
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