Dubai International Airport is replacing its border controls with a walk down a virtual aquarium tunnel to screen passengers.

Due to launch early next year, passengers must pre-register, before the system uses facial recognition software and over 80 cameras to scan people as they walk through the virtual aquarium.

The idea, which came about after 18 months of brainstorming, encourages people to look at the “fish” in the aquarium.

The cameras then capture people’s faces from all angles. This not only much faster than existing checks, but it also improves accuracy rates.

Travellers departing from Dubai will no longer have to pass through any sort of security clearance counter or e-gate.

The move is one of several new security measures taken by Dubai aviation officials, such as replacing the explosive detection scanners with new, Chinese-made ones that can detect a wider range of explosive materials.

“The fish is a sort of entertainment and something new for the traveller but, at the end of the day, it attracts the vision of the travellers to different corners in the tunnel for the cameras to capture his/her face print,” said Major Gen Obaid Al Hameeri, deputy director general of Dubai residency and foreign affairs.

The tunnel display can also be altered to offer other natural settings, such as the desert, or even to display adverts.

At the end of the tunnel, if the traveller is already registered, they will either receive a green message that says “have a nice trip” or, if the person is wanted for some reason, a red sign will alert the operations room to interfere.

“And throughout the tunnel, the passenger does not feel anything, they pass through normally,” Maj Gen Al Hameeri said.

The first of these “virtual borders” will be installed by the end of the summer of 2018 at Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, the home of Emirates. In phases up until 2020, the tunnels will be rolled out at other Dubai terminals.