( CNN ) -- A lie-detecting virtual border official nicknamed `` Elvis '' is the latest high-tech approach to securing borders in the United States . Developed by University of Arizona researchers in collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) , the computer is known as the Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real-Time -- or AVATAR -- kiosk . It uses sensors to screen passengers for unusual physiological responses to questioning -- which can indicate a subject is lying . `` What we 're looking for is changes in human physiology , '' said Doug Derrick , a member of the University of Arizona team behind the project . `` We 've had great success in reliably detecting these anomalies -- things that people ca n't really detect . '' The kiosk is being trialled at Dennis DeConcini Port in Nogales , Arizona -- a checkpoint on the U.S.-Mexico border -- as a way of processing passengers looking to sign up to CBP 's `` Trusted Traveler '' program . The program allows travelers pre-approved as `` low-risk '' to be fast-tracked through security processes . Applicants for the program must undergo an interview and biometric fingerprinting to be eligible for the program -- both of which can be performed by the AVATAR kiosk . Derrick said the kiosk could process travelers in five minutes . Travelers simply stand in front of the unit -- which `` looks like an ATM on steroids , '' according to Derrick -- and respond to yes/no questions asked in Spanish or English . `` You speak to it like you speak to a person , '' he said . Their answers are monitored , with any unusual physiological responses passed on to `` a human field agent '' who then subjects them to `` a more careful interview process , '' said CBP spokesman Bill Brooks . Unusual responses were not a sure sign of a lie , said Derrick . `` There might be valid reasons for it beyond deception . '' Read more : 'Safe-list ' travelers get fast-track through airport security . The computer uses three sensors to assess physiological responses : a microphone , which monitors vocal quality , pitch and frequency ; an infrared camera , which looks at pupil dilation and where the eyes focus ; and a high-definition camera recording facial expressions . Some of the involuntary cues that betray whether a speaker is lying could be controlled , but not all of them at once . Lab testing had indicated the machine was much more successful than humans at detecting these cues , according to Derrick . `` People have a hard time detecting small changes in the frequency of the human voice , that a computer is much better at , '' he said . `` People are accurate about 54 % of the time at detecting deception ... We have got our machine as high as 90 % in the lab . '' Brooks said the project was still in the early phase of field testing , and participating in the AVATAR interview process was entirely voluntary at this stage . But if successful , the initiative could be rolled out in other parts of CBP 's operations . Derrick said it was hoped that , as well as providing better detection of suspicious behavior , the AVATAR kiosk would prove to be `` a really important time and money saving tool . '' Initially , the kiosk did not have the avatar feature , but it was added after its developers found that without it , people would tend to speak to the machine in a robotic , unnatural manner . It even got a name among the team developing the project . `` We call him Elvis , or Pat , '' said Derrick . `` But when he 's in the field he 's just the AVATAR agent . ''
The AVATAR kiosk scans interview subjects for signs of lying . It is being trialled in Arizona and monitors voice , eyes and face movements . Interview subjects speak to the machine , in English or Spanish , as if it were human . If successful , the technology could be used elsewhere in U.S .