Biometrics gets its ‘fingers’ into school foodservice
Pastor Dale Morgan
Mar 1st, 2007 7:32 AM
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Biometrics gets its ‘fingers’ into school foodservice*
By Ryan Kline, Contributing Editor
The use of biometrics for identification and authentication is taking
hold throughout the country and in our schools.
Way back in 1972, far before many people were even thinking of using
biometrics in conjunction with daily authentication, the University of
Georgia began using biometrics in their dining halls. The campus had
decided to simplify their mealplan offerings—from a ticket-based program
to an enrollment program—and they needed a way to accurately identify
paid customers The same goal of simplification remains a core motivator
when colleges, universities, and K-12 schools decide to use biometrics
in their facilities.
Biometric identification is not a new concept. “The ancient Egyptians
used bodily characteristics to identify workers to make sure they didn’t
claim more provisions than they were entitled—just like governments
today are looking at biometrics to lessen benefit fraud,” says Jay Fry,
CEO of biometric developer, identiMetrics. And just like the University
of Georgia has been doing for years.
Lower costs and increased accuracy has many school administrators
looking to biometric as means of authenticating students. According to
Mr. Fry, “price is no longer an obstacle…. Today, biometrics can
actually be priced competitively with barcode readers, swipecard
(magnetic stripe) readers and PIN pads.”
Though the number of schools utilizing biometrics is not known, Mitch
Johns, CEO/President, Food Service Solutions, reports that his company
has 65 school districts using their solution.
Bud Yanak, VP Marketing, BIO-key International, stresses that the
advantages of biometrics far exceed those of other authentication
techniques.
CR80News spoke with the three men in an effort to determine the state of
biometrics in college and university as well as K-12 settings. Both are
convinced that biometrics hold the key to solving the challenges of
authentication in campus environments.
An interview with Charles Yanak, VP Marketing, BIO-key
What advantages do you think there are with a biometric system?
First, convenience … With biometrics, there is no need to remember a
password or carry an ID card. You simply place your finger on a
biometric reader that takes a picture of your finger, digitizes it and
then compares it against a database of templates. For students, this is
a major plus, since it eliminates the need to constantly be replacing
lost or stolen IDs and it eliminates the possibility of sharing ID cards.
Second, security … Biometrics are far superior to current passwords/PINs
and ID cards identification techniques for establishing identity. It’s
very easy to “share” a password or PIN with someone and worse yet, they
are easily forgotten or unknowingly obtained by someone looking to
access your personal records or assume your identity. In the campus
environment, biometrics can help eliminate:
“Buddy punching”,
students logging into systems using a teacher or administrator username
and password to access protected information, and
identity theft.
Is this a cost effective strategy to implement in schools?
Definitely … The cost to deploy biometrics has gone down significantly
over the past 2 years. Three years ago, the average cost of a
fingerprint reader was over $100. Now, they are included in most new
laptop computers. External USB readers cost less than $40 today,
one-third the price they were two years ago.
The cost to deploy a fingerprint biometric system is far lower than the
costs to issue and manage ID cards and passwords. And they provide far
better security since you can’t “borrow” or loose a finger like you can
an ID card or password/PIN.
Why do you think so many people are afraid of using such secure technology?
Great question. There is still a lot of misinformation about biometrics
and “Big Brother” concerns. The reality is we all use biometrics every
day. Biometrics are defined as the ability to recognize someone by their
physical attributes. You intuitively use biometrics when you pick up the
phone and recognize the voice at the other end, or when you meet a
friend on the street and recognize their face. However, people are
concerned about how biometrics can be misused with “Big Brother” being
able to track your every move. Banks, retailers and other institutions
store and track a lot of information about us every day. Biometrics can
protect access to this information! With biometrics deployed to access
this information, our lives would be safer, since they would reduce or
eliminate unlawful acts such as identify theft. Biometrics provide
better security and confirm who has access to critical information and
can improve your privacy since it can virtually eliminate or
substantially reduce unlawful/unwanted access to your private information.
What sort of stereotypes can biometrics eliminate in the lunchroom?
Another great question. When two students are traveling down the lunch
line side-by-side, they look identical to the system. When they get to
the cashier, they both place their fingers on the reader to establish
their identity and the system electronically debits their account. One
of these students may in fact be buying his lunch with government aid.
(With biometrics, there is no) negative stigma among peers. Another
example … very young students often forget or lose their ID. With
biometrics, the lunch line flows faster and eliminates the embarrassment
when the student discovers he has forgotten or lost his ID or password.
An interview with Mitch Johns, CEO, Food Service Solutions
Have parents expressed apprehension to using biometrics with children?
The association with fingerprint-based biometrics is generally
associated with law enforcement. AFIS systems store actual fingerprints
while commercial applications only store a numerical template of the
enrollment scan. Post 9-11 events including the Patriot Act and war on
terrorism have elevated concerns over the Americans the loss of privacy.
Using Opt In or Opt Out at time of implementation gives parents a choice.
What do you think the future holds for identification at schools around
the nation?
More and more schools are considering doing away with ID cards and using
biometrics in the lunch process. Schools are currently testing/using
biometrics and GPS for tracking bus attendance. As security becomes an
even bigger issue for schools biometrics will be used for door entry and
attendance.
An interview with Jay Fry, CEO, identiMetrics
What about privacy issues?
Biometric technologies don’t conjure up the Orwellian fears they used
to. Of course, some people still grumble at the mention of systems that
scan fingerprints because of misunderstood privacy fears, but overall
the acceptance of biometrics has risen substantially over the past few
years. In fact, people are now realizing that biometrics actually
protect their privacy and that in many biometric applications, including
the one identiMetrics employs, their fingerprints are not stored
anywhere and their fingerprints can never be recreated from the digital
template. Minutiae based systems, like ours, use flat images to create
templates. Flat images reveal the center of the finger and require only
a minimum of unique identifying points in order to make a match. The
purpose is to identify a person already enrolled in the software.
Fingerprints can never be recreated.
Why would a school use biometrics?
Quite simply, to save time and money, and improve the accuracy of
reporting. Biometric technology can provide benefits in terms of
convenience, safety and security. There are two areas of identification
that schools have to manage: students and employees. Biometrics are
beginning to be used in both of these areas.
In some schools, teachers, staff and employees (use biometrics) for time
& attendance, making record keeping very accurate. It can be used to
identify people that come into the school on a regular basis, like
substitute teachers, contractors, parents, so you know who is in your
school and when they left.
Biometrics can be used to identify students as well. The cafeteria is
usually the first area in the school to embrace biometrics. With up to
80% of students forgetting or losing their cards on a daily basis or
forgetting or sharing their PINs, lines are slowed and mistakes are
made. Biometrics will be used:
in vending machines to ensure positive identification of children eating
free or reduced lunch
for attendance to eliminate “buddy punching” and provide irrefutable
proof of attendance and help cut down on “class cutting” when attendance
is taken on a period-by-period basis
in the library to checkout books
in the nurse’s office to make sure that the students are receiving the
correct medication.
How do you begin to implement biometrics on campus?
Start by making small improvements. You want to improve productivity,
record keeping and of, course, safety. Take baby steps! Identify and
assess your “pain.” Where in your school could the use of finger
scanning instead of cards and PINs save you time and money? We have
found that in most schools it’s in the cafeteria.
Why the cafeteria?
About 65% of purchasing that is not facilities-related in schools is
done by food service departments. Food service is a business and it
needs to run efficiently.
There’s a growing interest in the use of biometrics for student ID in
school cafeterias nationwide. By just about every measure, finger
scanning biometrics outpace other options for efficiency and ease. When
a child presses a finger into a scanner, there’s no doubt about his or
her identity. There’s no risk of lost ID cards or forgotten PIN numbers.
There’s no chance of fraudulent use of the child’s meal account by
someone else. Biometric ID also provides anonymity and eliminates any
stigma for the children who receive free or reduced-price lunches,
(therefore increasing) participation in the National School Lunch
Program. And increased participation – can translate into more funding
for districts.
Another key area of focus is healthier vending. Instead of going to the
cafeteria, a student can purchase a prepaid, reimbursable meal from a
vending machine. The machines being tested are tied into a point-of-sale
system, and they can track the purchases to prevent a student from
buying two lunches on the same day. And biometric finger scanning will
ensure accurate record keeping – a must for federal and state reimbursement.
What should a school think about when choosing the right biometric solution?
Choose a biometric identification platform that can eventually be used
throughout your entire school. This means that students should be
enrolled only once to be identified in a variety of areas in the school
– the cafeteria, the front door or classroom for attendance, the nurse’s
office, the library and the office for absence information entry. It’s
just impractical to expect a Principal to disrupt the entire school to
enroll the entire student body for each application that requires
student identification.
Make sure that it can scale if needed. Some biometric technologies work
great with ten students or less in a standalone environment, but fail
miserably as the number of students increase in a networked environment.
A more robust biometric technology might cost a bit more, but will be
worth it in the long run.
Make sure that it can integrate with your software applications that you
already have in place, if you don’t want to replace them. Ask about
performance accuracy. There are basically four metrics: false
acceptance, false rejection, failure to enroll and failure to acquire
rates. False acceptance rates are what you should be most concerned
about. That means I place my finger on the scanner and your name comes up.
Compare, but not just on price. Check up on customer support and rollout
experience. Once again, make sure the technology works in a practical
school setting and not just in a vendor lab.
Communication, communication and communication! Make sure everyone –
parents, teachers, students, administrators, the school board and the
media have up to date and accurate information about biometrics.
identiMetrics has a “Guide to Implementing Biometrics” that includes,
for instance, sample letters to parents, biometric FAQs, best practices
and other important information to make the whole process run smoothly
and easily.
Any concluding thoughts for institutions considering biometrics?
Cost-effective biometric technology is here today with practical uses
for schools. It’s a perfect solution for schools who are dissatisfied
with the current student identification systems in place such as PINs
and swipecards. Biometrics, and in particular finger scanning systems,
provide irrefutable proof of identification. Unlike the complicated and
expensive government systems in the past, biometric finger scanning
systems can be simple, cost-effective and technology friendly. If
children can do it, you can, too. It’s just smart business!