An automated immigration system developed by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) uses hand geometry. In this project, frequent travellers have their hand geometry stored in a "smart" computer chip card. The traveller places a hand onto a scanner, and places the card into a slot. More than 70,000 people have enrolled in the trial. The scheme may ultimately result in a worldwide identification system for travellers.
The most controversial form of biometrics -- DNA identification -- is benefiting from new scanning technology which can automatically match DNA samples against a large database in minutes. Police forces in several countries such as the USA, Germany and Canada are creating national databases of DNA. In the United Kingdom and the USA, police have been demanding that all individuals in a particular area voluntarily provide samples or face being placed under scrutiny as a suspect.