Precision's Biometric Challenge for Engineering students
To educate engineering graduates and to test their aptitude and interest in the field of Biometrics, the Chennai based Precision group is conducting a Biometric Challenge - a competition aimed at creating awareness amongst students on the potential of Biometric science as a career.
Tweet-- To take part in Biometric Challenge students need to log on to http://challenge.precisionit.co.in and register. They will receive a Biometric Challenge Kit (BMC Kit). After receiving the kit, the students need to read the included primer on fingerprints, image processing and minutiae matching and write a set of programs to capture and process fingerprints (using minutiae or pattern matching) and then finally upload the same and await results.
The kit will have a special biometric scanner, drivers for the same, the basic .dlls that allow contestant to access the scanner, information on fingerprint, image/minutiae processing and their relevance. The information provided is just a starting point for contestants to begin their search and understanding of fingerprint processing. The main objective behind this Challenge is to enhance students knowledge in the field of Biometrics and hence the grading pattern will be in accordance with the same.
Here is what the program expects the student to do:
Ø Be able to capture a minimum of 25 fingerprints through the scanner (enrollment).
Ø The fingerprints should not be stored in a database but as images/templates with well defined file names that should correspond to the sequence of capture.
Ø Identify the number of unique fingerprints that have been enrolled.
Ø Verify whether the 26th capture is in the database or not.
Ø Document the entire process implemented by you.
Ø Also required to submit the following:
Ø All code including any libraries used along with basic documentation.
Ø You are allowed to download any code/module/library as long as you provide references for the same. Entries that use downloaded code without citing references will be disqualified.
Ø Instructions on how to execute the entry in order for us to judge it.
Addressing a Media Conference, Mr. Mathew Chacko, Director, Precision Group said, “Biometrics is a fast growing technology area especially fingerprint. Almost all socially targeted government projects (including the Unique ID project) require the use of biometrics to uniquely identify the beneficiary – be it the NREGA or the RSBY or the Financial Inclusion (a massive movement by the government to bring every individual into the banking net) or anything else that you may be able to think of ”.
He added “Banks have started using biometrics (fingerprint authentication) to restrict access to systems and transactions of their Core Banking Systems – a technology that has already been implemented by Indian Bank (through us) and SBI (the largest bank in India) following suite soon.” We feel that this growing awareness towards the benefits of fingerprint as an identity establishment mechanism and large scale use of the same will require a good amount of engineering talent to be working on such systems.
Mr. Chacko further said “Precision is the first(and probably the only) company in India to have complete in-house capabilities to design and manufacture scanners, develop new matching algorithms, build custom applications around these algorithms and integrate these applications with much larger applications. Precision has also developed capabilities to handle several million fingerprints in their databases and to retrieve and process them at speeds demanded by their specific use.”
Some of the specific applications of Biometrics:
Physical access control
Logical access (allow access into computer systems/applications/databases)
Identity establishment (I am really who I claim to be)
While physical access continues to be a standard and steadily growing segment that uses biometrics, logical access and identity establishment requirements have suddenly discovered the potential for using biometrics. The 2 large segments using these systems are Banks - for controlling access to their Core Banking Systems & Government initiatives aimed at social welfare.
Banks
Precision has deployed the first biometric application for banks by tightly integrating fingerprint verification systems into Indian Bank’s Core Banking Systems platform (Bancs - developed by TCS). Precision won a tender for the deployment of 1000 such systems and is now bidding for the
second round. A proof of concept for SBI is in progress and given the success so far, Precision will
not only qualify technically but also be the most cost effective bidder given that most of the R&D effort is in-house while potential competitors have to outsource the scanner/algorithm/applications.
Government projects
Biometrics (and fingerprint in particular) is the underlying identity establishment mechanism for several of the government’s social projects such as:
Ø Financial Inclusion
Ø RSBY
Ø NREGS
Ø Bhamasha
Ø Various micro-financing initiatives
Ø Unique ID project
Ø and several others.
With Tamil Nadu leading other states in producing engineering graduates it is but natural that students will be looking at new lines of professionalism to make a career and the biometrics industry is the sunrise industry which will absorb all those who have qualified and trained themselves to do work in different areas in which it is applied. This exercise by precision is to help students to understand and get involved in this fast growing industry which promises to make India a bigger and better IT Super Power in the years to come.
Notes to Editor
Precision Group is an Rs.250 crore System Integrator, headquartered in Chennai with PAN India presence. Precision offers end to end IT Infrastructure and Business solutions to its customers. Precision is currently engaged in a Proof of Concept mode with other leading banks to develop a similar solution for their internal banking needs.