Traffic at the gates to Naval Air Station North Island might change as the Navy implements a new biometric pilot program designed to allow quicker access onto base during peak times.
“This is a traffic reduction effort,” Commanding Officer Loren Jacobi said at the Sept 15. Coronado City Council meeting. “The real thing that we need to do is increase efficient and safe throughput at the gate.”
Of the ten total entry lanes over three entrances into North Island, four at the main front gate have been sectioned off as what the pilot program calls SWIFT lanes. One lane at the main gate and the other entry lanes at Ocean and Carrier Gate are still using the original, or legacy, ID scan lanes.
Jacobi said that this new method allows for almost double the vehicles to enter during the same amount of time. Legacy lanes handle just over 300 cars per hour while SWIFT lanes are able to process up to 600 cars per hour.
The SWIFT lanes operate through facial recognition technology.
A camera at the front of the lane matches the driver’s face with the Navy’s Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) data, used to verify identity and manage access onto military installations.
When it matches the driver to a valid base access card, it allows the vehicle to pass through without stopping and showing identification.
Anyone with base access can enroll in this program, including children, contractors, cab-service drivers and caregivers.
Although SWIFT lanes are supposed to be faster, the first legacy lane was found creating more traffic due to people not being registered in the new program.
And, occasionally, the DBIDS software will crash rendering the faster lanes useless, Jacobi said.
Still, the system is over 90% accurate in recognizing faces, the commanding officer said. “The system is very, very high fidelity and highly reliable.”
Currently, there will be no escort privileges with the faster lanes. Typically, someone with a military ID card can escort anyone in their car onto base. With the SWIFT lanes, everyone in the vehicle must be enrolled in the program.
The biometric system also will not work for motorcycle riders as the helmets will block facial recognition.
“One of the big takeaways for the Navy is that we can save manpower,” Jacobi explained. “A year ago, every morning at that main gate, we were putting 15 sailors out there to check IDs and maintain security.”
With this new program, Jacobi said it would only take three sailors to man the front gate. One at the legacy lane and two overseeing the four SWIFT lanes.
Enrollment is at the North Island Visitor Center, and those wanting to register must do so in person.
We want to go all in and do as much as we can to develop this system to address the concerns that the members of Coronado have had for … decades about traffic.
Naval Base Coronado Commanding Officer Loren Jacobi
“We want to go all in and do as much as we can to develop this system to address the concerns that the members of Coronado have had for … decades about traffic,” Jacobi said.
