Sometimes, technology is used for evil—just ask anyone who has gotten dumped by text message—but when it comes to speeding up security lines and eliminating airport hassles, upgraded tech can only be a good thing. Amsterdam's Schiphol airport has proven to be a great test lab for some of the technology revolutionizing the way we travel, and the latest example is "biometric boarding gates," an experiment where travelers can have their faces scanned to verify their identity, eliminating the need to carry their passports. The project, spearheaded by the Netherlands' national airline KLM, is being tested on a small group of fliers but could be expanded throughout the entire airport and across all airlines if it works smoothly and travelers respond well. The move is similar to other projects aimed at using biometric information to replace the paper passports we've all become used to—Australia hopes to get rid of the booklets by the year 2020. Good news for travelers who are antsy about being guinea pigs: KLM promises that all passenger biometric data is deleted after boarding and will not be stored by the airline.

A passenger gets his face scanned at one of Schiphol's new gates. Courtesy Schipol Airport

That isn't the only way Europe's third-busiest airport is pushing ahead in its goal to become "a leading digital airport" by 2018. Schiphol is also experimenting with a new CT scanner that would permit travelers to keep liquids and laptops inside their bags, thus cutting down on the time it takes to get through a security line—many of the innovations are led by KLM, the world's longest continually operating airline, which Conde Nast Traveler readers ranked their #16 airline in the world in the Readers' Choice Awards. In 2015, following a study that showed the top cause of flight delays was passengers getting lost in the airport on the way to their flight, KLM unveiled "Spencer," a robot who helps people locate their gate. The airline also became the first in the industry to allow guests to check in for their flight and get real-time updates via Facebook Messenger. Next up? We hope it's a robot who tells people in the terminal having super loud phone conversations to please be quiet or take it somewhere else. Or maybe enough outlets that every single person can charge all their electronics at once. The possibilities are endless, really.