News

Biometric Tech Unveiled At Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal

According to officials, passengers at the new Terminal A can get from the curb to their departure gate in just 12 minutes.

Published

1 year ago

November 29, 2023

Nour Nasir

Abu Dhabi Airports

The new Terminal A at Abu Dhabi’s International Airport now benefits from the latest biometric systems. The technology will offer passengers a faster and smoother journey from outside the airport all the way to their departure gates.

Airport officials claim that the combination of new technologies and streamlined processes will shorten passenger processing times to 12 minutes. Self-service baggage drop-off kiosks now take just 30 seconds to navigate, while immigration and flight boarding procedures take 10 seconds and 3 seconds, respectively.

biometric tech abu dhabi airport 1

Airport executives chose four tech companies to install the biometrics services at the terminal, while Next50, an Abu Dhabi-based AI company, was responsible for integration.

Andrew Murphy, chief information officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, showcased the new systems during a recent media tour, explaining: “From a passenger experience perspective, passengers really enjoy the seamless nature of it. It allows you to get through the airport faster and then enjoy more time in retail or at the lounge and enjoy the whole experience”.

biometric tech abu dhabi airport 2

Eventually, the biometric systems will extend to retail areas and airport lounges through a loyalty scheme, allowing for smoother duty-free shopping, car rentals, and more.

Also Read: Abu Dhabi AI Company Aims To Create Global Tech Hub

The expansion of biometric technology will also include more check-in desks as well as solutions for connecting flights. The new terminal currently has 14 self-service bag-drops and 17 biometric boarding gates, but at present, they are only used by national carrier Etihad Airways.

Abu Dhabi International Airport’s Terminal A can serve 45 million users per year and handle 11,000 passengers per hour. 28 airlines currently operate from the terminal, which can cater to 79 aircraft at any one time.

Related Topics:Abu Dhabi Aviation United Arab Emirates

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News

Truecaller For iPhone Gets Real-Time Caller ID And Auto Spam Blocking

The latest update integrates with Apple’s Live Caller ID Lookup framework, launched with iOS 18 last year.

Published

3 hours ago

January 23, 2025

Nour Nasir

Truecaller

Truecaller has rolled out a major update for iPhone users, introducing API support that brings real-time caller identification and automatic spam blocking. The upgrade aims to bring the iOS version of the app closer to its Android counterpart, which has long offered these advanced call-screening features.

The latest update integrates with Apple’s Live Caller ID Lookup framework, launched with iOS 18 last year. The technology allows third-party apps to cross-check incoming calls against a database of known spam numbers in real-time. Importantly, the process employs “homomorphic encryption,” ensuring user privacy by masking the caller’s number, concealing the client’s IP address, and using anonymous authentication.

With this update, Truecaller has also introduced global automatic spam call blocking for iPhones. However, the real-time caller ID feature is being released gradually and is available only to Truecaller Premium subscribers on iPhones running iOS 18.2 or later. Free users will still have access to ad-supported features, such as manual number searches and caller identification for verified businesses.

How To Enable The New Features

To activate the new features, follow these steps:

Update the Truecaller app to version 14.0 or newer via the App Store.
Go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification on your iPhone.
Turn on all Truecaller toggles, then restart the app.

Also Read: “AI Seal” Certification Now Required For Dubai Gov Partnerships

While these features are new to iOS, Truecaller has hinted at this update for months. Following Apple’s iOS 18 update and the introduction of its Live Caller ID API last September, Truecaller Co-founder Alan Mamedi shared his excitement on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “Truecaller finally works on iPhone”.

The global rollout of spam call blocking is already live, but users may need to wait for gradual access to the live caller ID feature.