The Herald E-Edition

Security app opening doors for NMU student

Guy Rogers rogersg@theherald.co.za

In a technical breakthrough worthy of a James Bond movie, an NMU honours student has used cutting edge face and voice “passive liveness recognition” technology to create a new smartphone security app.

The Uniface authentication system, created by Marco Venter for his NMU computing science honours project and presented just two weeks ago, is already opening doors for him in the US and Germany.

Venter, 22, said he had got the idea for the app while reading about the latest artificial intelligence trends.

“Passive liveness detection for both face and voice was developed and used globally for the first time at the beginning of this year, but it has only been used in the e-commerce sector and not to open a locked door so I thought this had to be a gap.”

He said he had started by reaching out to all the biggest artificial intelligence companies in the world to see if he could use their liveness tech for his project.

“As I was doing that I realised that, in fact, their systems could be bypassed by using ‘spooks ’— fake pre-packaged images or voice notes instead of live, freshly captured photos and voice.

“So they were no good for

what I had in mind. I eventually got hold of IDR&D in New York and their system was the only one that worked.

“They are the only company in the world to properly implement passive liveness detection for both face and voice.

“They were interested in what I was working on so they gave me permission to use their technology.”

Venter said he had bought himself a model door with an electronic lock from Houdini and had used a selfie, his voice and his cellphone to create a virtual key for the door.

“Once I had done that, I tested it on various Android devices and produced a functional prototype app.

“Uniface uses face and voice recognition to unlock a physical door and creates a log of

everyone who accesses that particular room.

“The system also includes a motion sensor which allows users to exit, locking the door after them.”

He said his app also had the advantage of being cheap.

“The existing 1960s-vibe NMU door security mechanisms use a R5,000 smart card, and locks with motion sensors cost a further R1,000.

“My system is almost 80% cheaper than these current systems and it’s all contained in a single app that students and lecturers can download.”

He said Uniface could be programmed to open any electronic lock.

“The synchronisation process is quick and simple and the user can do it himself. Cur

rently electronic locks are mostly used in business and industry, but if homeowners move that way it could work for them as well.”

Once he had finished his project, Venter and his supervisor, Prof Janet Wesson, had shown it to IDR&D and their response had been positive.

“They said it surpassed industry standards, that it was highly novel and that it had never been seen before in the biometric sector, which uses human characteristics to formulate management controls,” Venter said.

“They offered me a job in California in the US or doing research in the biometric field in Germany.

“It was overwhelming. I’m very excited.”

Wesson said the system was indeed the first of its kind.

“Not only is it a low-cost solution, according to IDR&D, Marco’s system is the first to use the two biometrics of face and voice recognition to authenticate a user.

“IDR&D have offered Marco a job and they also want to post a demo video of his system on their website to increase public knowledge about the usefulness of using two biometrics.

“I’m very proud of him,” Wesson said.

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