from the dept. CHICAGO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Picture this: The line at the gate check-in counter snakes far back into the terminal. The first passengers are beginning to board the flight, while the others mill about waiting for their row to be called. But, up walks a traveler who skips the counter line and goes directly to the ramp, taking out a cellular phone and passing it over the boarding pass scanner like a magic wand to board the plane without even touching a piece of paper. This is not some business traveler's fantasy. It is a system being developed by Aeritas Inc. of Irving, Texas, which will begin real-life testing in the next few weeks. According to Malik Mamdani, co-founder and chief executive officer of the company, it would work like this: -- The passenger would go through a one-time registration that includes a voice print -- considered as accurate as a fingerprint -- to be used for identification. Also, the passenger would have to possess a Web-enabled wireless phone, such as a Sprint PCS, and would have to be using an electronic ticket. On the day of the flight, before departure, the phone rings with a voice message informing the traveler of the terminal and gate number. At that point, the passenger confirms by voice that he or she is the ticket holder and answers the FAA-required check-in questions regarding luggage contents and whether the bags have been out of the traveler's possession. Because the voice recognition technology authenticates the identity of the traveler, there is no need to present a driver's license or photo ID to the gate agent. When that process is completed, an electronic boarding pass with bar code is sent to the wireless phone's screen. The passenger passes the cell phone screen with code over the boarding pass scanner at the gate, and enters the plane. "It is completely paperless," says Mamdani, "the first that we know of." The voice recognition feature is especially important, he said in an interview, because it saves users from punching numbers and letters into the phone's tiny key pad -- a process that is tedious and often mistake-prone. That system would allow the same traveler faced with a flight cancellation to query the system by voice for available alternatives, and get computer-generated voice responses. It might take four or five minutes to punch in such a query, but only 10 seconds to lodge it by voice, he said. "There are significant savings," Mamdani said. "It costs the airlines about $40 to process a paper ticket, compared to about $10 for an e-ticket, and "this is even cheaper." He said he chose the travel industry to find a product application because it incorporates people who are "early adopters of technology." Nearly 70 percent of business travelers carry mobile phones, he said. And while Web-accessible wireless phones have come into favor more slowly in North America than in some other parts of the world, that is now changing, Mamdani added. He said punching the keypad is one reason Web access by phone has not been more popular, something that the voice feature of the Aeritas system will address. Aeritas, which recently changed its name from Impulsivity Inc., says it hopes to make money from the system by customizing and implementing it for airlines and through monthly fees for hosting the system, as well as a small transaction fee for each check-in. < | >
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