Clear offers $500,000 for ways to speed members through checkpoints

How can you find the right geeks to build you a better technological mousetrap? Verified Identity Pass, Inc., the operator of the Clear Registered Traveler program at a dozen U.S. airports, is offering a big cash incentive -- $500,000 – “to the first team to deploy faster security lane technology at an airport.” Once the winning team’s technology is approved by the Transportation Security Administration, Clear promises to buy it in bulk, the company said. Clear CEO Steven Brill said he believes there are “literally hundreds of creative teams out there with cutting edge technology products” that could speed registered travelers through the checkpoint. Clear has had some trouble with technology in the recent past, most notably by failing to win TSA approval for a General Electric device designed to scan shoes for explosives without requiring travelers to remove them. For information on the competition, go to www.flyclear.com/innovation. Meanwhile, USA Today reported last week that the Registered Traveler program currently has only 65,000 participants – far short of the 126,000 that Verified Identity Pass had projected for the program’s first year. The program provides expedited security clearance for persons who pay $100 a year, pass a background check, and get a biometric ID.