空中飛人的福音：一種更好的指紋掃描器

????試想一下，你剛從飛了15小時的國際航班上走下來，作為美國政府主導的“全球通關”計劃（Global Entry program）的會員，你滿心以為可以快速通關入境，卻發現掃描器無法讀取你的指紋。

????對于這種情景，旅行常客在線論壇FlyerTalk上的竅門是，將手指在（你自己或其他人的）油性皮膚上按一下，然后再去掃描。在2013年，要讓（指紋識別）這種被政府廣泛使用的昂貴技術正常工作，以上方法聽起來可能有些粗魯，但放心吧：你進出的機場或許不久就會裝備新一代的掃描器。

????交叉匹配技術（Cross Match Technologies）是一家位于美國佛羅里達州的公司，其生產的掃描設備被應用于全球通關計劃，該公司最近開始生產一種更加用戶友好的機器，以期更好地處理麻煩指紋帶來的挑戰（交叉匹配公司同樣為生物識別信息管理辦公室供應掃描器，后者使用3,000臺儀器在出入境口岸采集指紋）。

????全球通關計劃的發言人不愿透露新掃描器部署計劃的具體細節，只稱美國海關與邊境保護署（CBP，該機構負責主持全球通關計劃）——“一直在評估正在服役設備的狀況和使用壽命”，該機構將“使用升級后的型號代替現有的型號，因為舊設備已經開始老化。”

????全球通關是面向受信任旅客的一項計劃，其150萬經常進行國際旅行的會員能夠直接通過一個無人值守亭完成入境手續，不需要排隊或等待，登記該計劃的旅客只需要掃描自己的護照和指紋就能快速通關。

????全球通關計劃在2008年推出，獲得了如潮好評，諸如“全球通關計劃（的手續費）是我花得最值的一筆錢”這樣的微博并不罕見，同樣，對美國聯邦政府推出如此高效計劃感到驚奇的人也有不少。全球通關計劃的負責人約翰?瓦格納表示自己經常聽到大家說：“我無法相信是政府在主持這項計劃！”

????強大的口碑正在推動新的增長：2012年之前，每月平均約有15,000人申請加入全球通關計劃，而這個數字現在已經達到50,000人左右。另外，該計劃還因為被當成一種特殊待遇而流行，舉例來說，美國運通（American Express）會為其白金卡和黑金卡客戶墊付那100美元的手續費。瓦格納預期，參加全球通關計劃的會員在旅客中的比例將會提高到15%至20%。

????Imagine that you step off a 15-hour international flight with plans to zip right through immigration thanks to your membership in the government-run Global Entry program -- only to find that the scanner can't read your fingerprints.

????In that scenario, the conventional wisdom at FlyerTalk, an online forum for frequent travellers, is to press your finger on an oily patch of skin (yours or someone else's) and try again. That may sound like a crude way to get to a piece of expensive, widely used government technology to work in 2013, but take comfort: A new generation of scanners may be landing in your airports soon.

????Cross Match Technologies, the Florida-based manufacturer of the scanning equipment used by the Global Entry program, has recently begun production of a more user-friendly machine designed to better deal with the challenges posed by the finicky human fingerprint. (Cross Match also supplies scanners to the Office of Biometrics Information Management, which uses 3,000 of its machines at entry and exit ports to collect fingerprints.)

????A spokesperson for Global Entry would not provide specifics about the program's plans to implement the new scanners, saying only that the U.S. Department of Customs and Border Protection, which runs Global Entry, is "always evaluating the condition and service life of the equipment in the field" and that it will "replace current models with updated models as older units begin to fade."

????Global Entry is a trusted traveler program that allows its 1.5 million globetrotting members to pass straight through immigration without the line or long wait at an unmanned kiosk. Enrolled travellers simply scan their passport, scan their fingerprints, and fly on by.

????The program, which launched in 2008, has received widespread, ecstatic acclaim -- tweets like "Global Entry is the best money ever spent" are not uncommon, nor is wonder that federal government has created something that works so well. John Wagner, the program's director, says he often hears: "I can't believe the government is running this program!"

????That strong word of mouth is driving new growth: Applications to Global Entry averaged about 15,000 per month prior to 2012 but are now averaging around 50,000 per month. The program is also catching on as a perk -- American Express (AXP), for example, covers the $100 fee for its Platinum and Centurion card customers. Wagner expects Global Entry will one day extend to 15 to 20% of all travelers.