Dulles International Airport (IAD) outside Washington, D.C., is set to test first-in-the-nation technology for Global Entry, allowing certain travelers to pass through customs without ever interacting with — or even passing by — a human officer.

In the coming months, Dulles plans to launch a pilot program testing the use of so-called e-gates at customs.

The new, high-tech process would work in concert with the recently launched Global Entry mobile app, allowing members to handle nearly every aspect of passport control and customs declaration on a smartphone, before proceeding to state-of-the-art gates that would open following a quick facial scan.

More broadly, it's part of an evolution for Global Entry that could, in the not-so-distant future, render the program's signature kiosks virtually obsolete in favor of newer, higher-tech options, a top U.S. Customs and Border Protection official in charge of the program tells TPG.