Relevance

Extensive deployment of biometric technologies in kindergartens, schools, colleges and universities is now a hot topic. Implementing biometrics complies with the following requirements imposed on today's educational institutions:

Ensure the protection of kindergarteners, pupils, students and school staff. Educational institutions are often subject to terrorist attacks; only reliable access control tools, identifying visitors by their distinct features, are able to assure the required protection level. In addition, there is a need to secure access to the most sensitive areas (computer labs or expensive equipment in research labs);

Streamline educational processes. This covers a wide array of tasks, including keeping attendance registers, borrowing books from the library (no paper library tickets are required, as students are identified by fingerprints), efficient identification of exam takers (e-learning, certification sessions and exams), and protection of confidential school data (tests, examinations ) and computer networks;

Provide added convenience (while reducing operating expenses) when rendering various services. An example is biometric identification of students during lunch times in cafeterias (e-payment for lunches prepaid by parents, confirmed by a fingerprint). Similarly, schools can organize access to copiers and equipment in language labs. In addition, biometrics assists in registering the pupil's attendance and automatically informing his/her parents thereof via an SMS.

There are other factors requiring the use of biometrics in educational institutions. As such, kindergarteners and pupils tend to lose their ID-cards, meal cards and library tickets, and they forget or share passwords or ID numbers. This gives rise to the occurrence of multiple problems and expenses related to forgotten/lost/damaged identifiers.

When organizing meals for low-income pupils that are members of free- or subsidized lunch programs, such pupils may experience discomfort and embarrassment because of their status. Installing cashless meal systems based on biometric identification of pupils eliminates such drawbacks as well as other cash-related problems (younger pupils carrying money presents a risk of it being taken by older children).

The deployment of biometrics is received positively by the majority of pupils, their parents and school staff. It presents other advantages, too: for example, equipping school libraries with biometric scanners attracts many students who did not use them previously.

Project References

• Fingerprint identification of pupils in cafeterias and canteens in the USA (the states of New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, California, Oregon, Maine and Alaska);
• A biometric access control system in kindergartens, identifying parents and staff by fingerprints – Great Britain;
• A biometric attendance register enhanced with fingerprint identification tools for pupils in India .

BioLink offers the educational market the following solutions:

• BioTime, a biometric T&A and access control system;
• BioLink U-Match, a fingerprint scanner;
• BioLink SDK, a software development toolkit for applications requiring strong identification;
• BioLink IDenium, a biometric identification corporate software;
• BioLink Authenteon, a biometric identification server;
• BioLink AMIS, an automated multi-biometric information system (for integration into loyalty programs);