Regula Rethinks the Conventional Process of Border Control

The almost unlimited access to high-quality printing services, as well as to sophisticated graphics software, has increased the quality of document forgery in recent years to the point where it is becoming more difficult for border control officers to tell the difference between real and fake secure documents.

And as manufacturers of security devices increase the number and complexity of optical features on secure documents, so the need for specialised equipment and knowledge rises. This, in turn, leads to the constant need to expand the number of forensic experts and to cover the costs for additional training of border control staff.

To help contain this technology escalation, Regula has devised a concept that rethinks the conventional process of in-depth border control, which looks to improve the deployment of forensic experts.

The high-resolution photospectral scanner Regula 8880 aims to solve the need to post forensic experts to examine suspect documents at every border service unit. In Regula’s concept, the forensic expert can perform document authenticity verification and examination for several border service units from a central laboratory.

Central Laboratory concept (© Regula).

If a border control officer examining a document with the Regula 8880 photospectral scanner has any doubts about its authenticity, they can send the images obtained of the document in various light sources to the forensic expert stationed at the central laboratory. 

High-quality images contain the information about the parameters of the image capturing. The forensic expert will decide on the validity of a particular document by examining its digitised version, with the option to zoom in on areas of interest.

Specifications of Regula 8880 are:

• Reading and authenticity verification of passports, ID cards, driving licences, visas and other security documents

• Light sources: white, UV, IR, incident, oblique, coaxial, transmitted; light sources for IR and anti-Stokes luminescence

• Hologram visualisation

• Camera – 187 Mp

• Field of view – 190×127 and 135×90 mm – a page spread and one passport page

• Image resolution – up to 3401 ppi

• Reading RFID chips

• Integrated data base with reference images in different light sources and the detailed description of security features and printing methods. 

Border service units that lack forensic experts can be easily replenished with Regula 8880, says the company. This innovation gives the border control system a fantastic opportunity to expand the knowledge of the top professionals to small / regional checkpoints without the need to send them there physically.