WO2005025420A1

WO2005025420A1 - Digital identification kit

Info

Publication number: WO2005025420A1
Application number: PCT/CA2004/001597
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gareth Spanglett; Robert Dyck
Original assignee: Code Incorporated
Priority date: 2003-09-12
Filing date: 2004-09-08
Publication date: 2005-03-24
Also published as: CA2440778A1

Abstract

A device for the digital identification of persons comprises a means for acquiring biometric information from a person and means for inputting personal identification information, both digitally interconnected to an electronic information storage means. A central processor unit is also digitally interconnected to cross reference the biometric information with the personal identification information and to store the cross referenced information into a database under an assigned unique person identifier. A means is digitally interconnected to generate a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier. All of the elements are contained, together with an uninterruptible power source and solar recharger, in a transportable housing. The device may be used according to a method for identifying members of a population, by inputting identifying information about persons into a database, generating an identification means which can by reviewed at a polling station, and compiling a verifiable database.

Description

DIGITAL IDENTIFICATION KIT TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a digital identification kit and system for generating a database and verifiable identification cards for use in registering groups of people for elections or the like.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, in elections of members of parliaments, governors of a metropolis, and mayors of cities, towns, and villages, a postcard is mailed to voters from local government that is used for a polling station ticket according to the law regulating election of public officials. A voter brings the postcard to a polling station and is identified to be an authentic voter with reference to a voters list. The voter is then given a voting paper or ballot, and the voter writes in the chosen candidate's name or places a mark next to the name of the chosen candidate on a pre-printed ballot, and casts a vote. When a plurality of elections are performed at the same time, a plurality of ballots are delivered to the voter and ballots for the different elections are cast in different boxes. Ballot boxes are then brought to a central location and are opened to count votes.

This conventional system pre-supposes that there is in existence a master voters list which is complete and accurate. The voters list is used to determine who receives a postcard or other government mailing to authorize particular voters to cast a vote. At the polling station, the arrival of individual voters is compared and recorded against the voters list. The reality is that many countries do not have a centralized and accurate master voters list or a population list. In fact many countries do not have any sort of accurate digitally recorded and updated database from which to generate voters lists or other lists of their population (including citizens, landed immigrants and approved aliens). The job of enumerating and authorizing persons to vote is very difficult in jurisdictions which do not already have centralized databases of their population. Election officers may be required to visit all areas of a country in person to manually record the name and identifying information of every person eligible to vote, and enter this information onto a voting list. Without a reliable centralized population list, the arduous task of enumeration must be completed from "scratch" each time an election is conducted. The present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for identifying members of a population, inputting identifying information about the members into a database, generating an identification means which can by reviewed at a polling station, and compiling a verifiable database.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for identifying and recording data with high reliability.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which is self contained, rugged in construction and secure, in order to permit the use of the apparatus in outlying areas with harsh climates and rough terrain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A device is provided for the digital identification of persons. The device comprises a means for acquiring biometric information from a person which is digitally interconnected to a means for storing the biometric information. A means for inputting personal identification information for the person is also digitally interconnected to a means for storing the biometric information. A central processor unit is also digitally interconnected to cross reference the biometric information with the personal identification information and to store the cross referenced information into a database under an assigned unique person identifier. A means is digitally interconnected to the central processor unit to generate a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier. A method for digital identification of persons comprises the steps inputting personal information from a person into an electronic storage means. The next step is acquiring and inputting biometric identification information for the person in the electronic storage means. The order in which the foreign inputting steps occur is not critical to the method. Then follows the step of processing to cross reference the biometric information and the personal identification information and storing the cross referenced information into a database as a data record and assigning a unique person identifier to the data record. The final step is generating a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the device of the present invention in an operating configuration;

FIG. 2 a perspective, view of the device of the present invention when closed and locked for travel or storage;

FIG. 3 a perspective view of the device of the present invention showing the top level of the housing containing certain of the elements of the device of the present invention;

FIG. 4 a perspective view of the device of the present invention showing the lower level of the housing containing certain of the elements of the device of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the functional relationship of various components of the device; Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The device for digital identification of persons according to the present invention is shown generally by reference numeral 10. A lockable, tamperproof housing 12 is used to contain all of the components of the device 10. As will become clearer below, the device consists of many fragile and highly sensitive components which must be supported and protected from the elements. Since the purpose of the device is to permit the transportation of sophisticated digital identification and recording technology to outlying regions in order to input and record population information, it is important to have a robust housing for the device components. The preferred housing is a rigid plastic case which is impact resistant, waterproof, dust proof and highly durable. The housing 12 may advantageously have highly durable wheels and a telescoping handle 16 for easy transport. A pressure relief valve is also provided in the housing. The housing 12 must be lockable and tamperproof in order to ensure that unauthorized persons are not able to access the identification and data recording equipment contained within the housing 12.

It should be understood that all of the component parts of the present invention are capable of operative electrical and/or digital interconnection (as the case may be). During storage and transport, the component parts may be disconnected, and then re-connected when the device is in use.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the housing 12 has two levels. The top level shown in Fig. 3 contains a padded foam inset 18 for transporting a computer 20 embodying a central processor unit having a means for storing biometric and personal identification information for the person, a means for processing and cross referencing the stored information, a means for assigning a unique person identifier to the cross referenced information.

There is an inset for the means to generate a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the means to generate a physical identification token is a compact portable printer 22 which is capable of digital interconnection to the computer. It is preferred that the printer is capable of printing to pre-plasticized card stock in order to generate an identification card for each person whose information is input into the device.

A means for acquiring biometric information can also be stored in the top level of the housing 12. As shown in Fig. 3 a digital camera 24 is the preferred means for acquiring biometric information. Additional storage space may also be provided in the top layer. A solar panel 26 is secured for storage in the lid of the housing 12 beneath padded foam for protection.

The top level lifts out of the housing 12 to reveal a second bottom storage level, as best seen in Fig. 4. . The bottom level of the housing can be divided into compartments for storage of the other components of the device. For illustration purposes, the housing in Fig. 4 is shown to contain four compartments. The first compartment contains a battery 28. The second compartment holds the battery recharger unit 30. The battery recharger unit 30 can be connected to the 28 either inside or outside the case. It is preferred that the recharger be capable of handling voltages of 115 v. to 230 v.

The third compartment can be used to hold card stock for the printer, stationary supplies, toner cartridges and an optional lantern unit 32 which can be connected to the battery to provide light in remote areas.

The fourth compartment contains an electrical inverter 34 that changes the direct current stored in the battery 28 to alternating current used by the computer 20 and printer 22. The power cables 36 for both pieces are permanently plugged into the inverter 34. The cables are neatly packed away using a ties such as VELCRO ™ fasteners. The fourth compartment also contains a battery monitor (not shown) to visually display the amount of power remaining and a solar charge monitor (not shown) to indicate when the solar panel is charging the battery. The battery 28 will power the device independently for 3 to 5 days of operation without recharging. A gel-based 35 Ah battery pre-approved for air transport is preferred in accordance with the present invention though persons skilled in the art would understand that other types of batteries may be used.

The device 12 comprises a means 24 for acquiring biometric information from a person and the means 24 is digitally interconnected to a means for storing the biometric information. The means for acquiring biometric information may be selected from the group consisting of a digital camera, digital fingerprint or handprint reader, retinal scanner, and micro for recording a digital voice print. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a digital camera is used as the means for acquiring biometric information. The means for acquiring is digitally connected to a means for storing biometric information.

Similarly, a means for inputting personal identification information 38 from a person is also digitally interconnected to a means for storing personal identification information. It is preferred that the means for inputting personal identification information 38 be a computer tablet equipped with character recognition ability and a computer tablet pen, but it should be understood that other input means such as ordinary keyboards, or dictation/voice recognition means could be substituted without departing from the spirit of the invention. The types of personal identification information to be input and included for each person in the database would include, but are not limited to: a full name, gender, date of birth, the person's address or an indication of nomadic status, the name of the person's father or mother, the location where the information was generated, a validity date when the information was recorded, possession of voting right and the reason for it, a passport number etc. The specific information to be inputted will vary with the purpose and geographic location for which the information is being collected and the database populated. The data is stored in data fields within the electronic information storage means, so as to facilitate selective sorting, grouping and other manipulation of the data.

A central processor unit 20 with means for storing biometric and personal identification information for the person (collectively, an electronic information storage means), a means for processing and cross referencing the stored information, a means for assigning a unique person identifier to the cross referenced information, and a driver for controlling a printer are typically available within a single personal computer. It should be understood that at the present time the use of a personal computer is believed to be the simplest and most cost effective mechanism for storing and processing of information in accordance with the present invention. The existence of data storage and processing functions are necessary to the structure and operation of the device according to the present invention, but no limitation to particular computers or configurations is intended. Moreover, there is no intention to limit these functions to being carried out by a single integrated unit. It should be understood that a central processor unit is also digitally interconnected to cross reference the biometric information with the personal identification information and to store the cross referenced information into a database.

As a security mechanism, information relating to the identity of the persons who operated the device and input the information could be automatically generated and cross-referenced into the database in each data file without the knowledge of the operator or the person being registered. Such information can be useful to confirm if and when any changes were made to the database. If a suspect operator has used the device, there will be a record of all data files created by the suspect operator, so that suspect records can be verified and corrected.

A means is digitally interconnected to the central processor unit 20 to generate a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier. As discussed above, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the means to generate a physical identification token is a compact portable printer 22 which is capable of digital interconnection to the computer. It is preferred that the printer 22 is capable of printing to pre-plasticized card stock in order to generate an identification card for each person whose information in input into the device. It is a simple matter to select the desired information fields from the database to generate the information which appears on the token or identification card 44. Typically one might want to generate an ID card with secondary information such as the name and address of the person in addition to the unique person identifier generated by the central processor unit in connection with the cross-referencing of the data. The presence on the token of the unique person identifier is the key element which permits an official to re-access the information in the database. The presence on the card other information may be useful for verification of the person by those officials who do not have access to the database, or as a portable and durable record of the person's name other information. If a digital photograph is the selected biometric information, the digital photograph can be automatically printed onto the ID card together with the other information. Although the generation of an ID card is the preferred identification token, other types of physical identification tokens may be generated, and the particular peripheral equipment needed to generate the token may vary. Paper, plastic and composite cards may be produced and may include magnetic strip encoding, bar-coding, and smart chip encoding. In addition to cards, identification tokens may also include receipts or enumeration cards.

The information recorded, cross-referenced and stored by the device can be saved by redundant means for greater security. The database generated by the device can be saved on the hard drive 46 of the computer. Additionally, a second copy of the database can be automatically saved to a disk or memory chip which can then be stored separately form the device. Finally, the device can be equipped with a communication device such as a modem to enable transmission of data from the database contained in the device to a remote central data processing centre master computer which may house a larger and more comprehensive database into which data input and recorded by a number of personal identification devices may be accumulated. Naturally, the data generated by the device may be useful to register voters for a particular election, but there are broader applications of the present invention as a means to create the backbone of a national population database which can then be enhanced to add medical information, taxation information and the like. Additionally, the device can be used for many other recording applications. Examples include registering attendees at conferences or other event, inputting new employee information into a database and issuing employee ID cards, and issuing mass transit ID passes.

The method of manufacturing the device for the digital identification of persons is as follows. The first step is selecting a central processor unit having a means for storing biometric and personal identification information for the person (also sometimes referred to as the electronic information storage means), a means for processing and cross referencing the stored information, a means for assigning a unique person identifier to the cross referenced information. A means for acquiring biometric information is digitally interconnected to the central processor unit. A means for inputting personal identification information for the person is digitally connected to the central processor unit. A means to generate a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier is digitally connected to the central processor unit. It should be understood that steps of digitally interconnecting may be accomplished using wire or by wireless technology. An uninterruptible power supply is electrically connecting the central processor unit, the means for acquiring biometric, and the printer. The power supply is preferably a battery, as discussed above, which may in turn be electrically connected to a recharger, which in the preferred embodiment is a solar panel. It has been found that a high efficiency 5-watt high impact resistant, shatterproof silicone solar panel is adequate for the recharging of the battery in the present invention. Solar panels having other specifications may be adapted for use with the device 12 without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the digital identification device is used as follows. An operator would unlock or break a security seal on the housing 12. The partition which separates the top level of the housing from the bottom level of the case can be flipped over to create a working table top 40 for the operator to use the device 10. The computer component 20 and the printer 22 are assembled and placed on table top 40. Power cables feed up from bottom level to power the printer 22 and computer 20. The digital camera 24 plugs into computer's USB port and requires no external power. The components are all connected and the power supply switched on . The operator would then log on to the computer and enter log in passwords in the conventional manner to initiate the device software. The act of correctly logging in identifies the operator and inputs a data record of the operator identity into a date and time stamp which will be associated with each of the data records generated by the operator during an operating session. As shown in Figure 1, the computer core is a tablet PC with intelligent character recognition. It can 'read' hand printing or writing in seven different languages. A blank registration form is opened on the visual display (the computer tablet or monitor) and personal identification information is input and stored into electronic storage means software using the computer tablet pen interface or other suitable means. Once the data entry is completed, a digital photograph of the person is taken in order to acquire and store biometric information. The processing to cross reference the biometric information and the personal identification information and the storing of the cross referenced information into a database as a data record and assigning a unique person identifier to the data record occurs within the computer. The last step is generating a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier, which in the preferred embodiment, consists of printing the ID card. The information in the database can be stored and communicated as discussed above.

Although we have shown and described certain present preferred embodiments of our device and methods, it should be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A device for the digital identification of persons comprising: a means for acquiring biometric information from a person, said means being digitally interconnected to an electronic information storage means; a means for inputting personal identification information for the person digitally interconnected to said electronic information storage means; a central processor unit to cross reference the biometric information with the personal identification information and to store the cross referenced information into a database under a unique person identifier; and a means to generate a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier.

2. The device of claim 1 further comprising an uninterruptible power supply electrically connected for supplying power continuously to said device.

3. The device of claim 2 further comprising a recharger electrically connected to the uninterruptible power supply.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the recharger for said uninterruptible power supply comprises a solar panel.

5. The device of claim 4 further comprising a housing for the storage and transportation of the device.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein the housing is lockable and tamper-proof.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the means for acquiring the biometric information is selected from the group consisting of a digital camera, digital fingerprint or handprint reader, retinal scanner, and microphone.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the means for inputting and storing personal identification information is a personal computer having a data input interface.

9. The device of claim 9 wherein the data input interface is a personal computer tablet with intelligent character recognition keyboard and computer tablet pen.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the data input interface is a keyboard.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein means to generate a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier is a printer.

12. The deyice of claim 1 further comprising a visual display means for displaying and confirming the inputting accuracy of the personal identification information, the biometric information and the unique person identifier.

13. A method for digital identification of persons comprising the steps of: a) inputting personal identification information for the person in an electronic storage means ; b) acquiring biometric information from a person; c) storing the biometric information in the electronic storage means; d) processing to cross reference the biometric information and the personal identification information; e) storing the cross referenced information into a database as a data record and assigning a unique person identifier to the data record; and f) generating a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the biometric information is selected from the group consisting of a digital photograph, a digital fingerprint image, a digital handprint image, a retinal scan, and a digital voice print of the person.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of generating a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier comprises printing an identification card displaying the unique person identifier.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the biometric information is a digital photograph.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of enabling the visual identification of the person in connection with the unique person identifier at a subsequent time.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of enabling the visual identification of the person in connection with the unique person identifier at a subsequent time is accomplished by printing the digital photograph of the person on the identification card.

19. A method of manufacturing a device for the digital identification of persons comprising the steps of: a) selecting a central processor unit having a means for storing biometric and personal identification information for the person, a means for processing and cross referencing the stored information, a means for assigning a unique person identifier to the cross referenced information; b) digitally interconnecting a means for acquiring biometric info to the central processor unit; . c) digitally interconnecting a means for inputting personal identification information for the person to the central processor unit; and d) digitally interconnecting a means to generate a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier to the central processor unit.

20. The method of manufacturing of claim 20 wherein the steps of digitally interconnecting are accomplished using wire.

21. The method of manufacturing of claim 20 wherein the steps of digitally interconnecting are accomplished using wireless technology.

22. The method of manufacturing of claim 20 further comprising the step of electrically connecting the central processor unit, the means for acquiring biometric, and the means to generate a physical identification token to an uninterruptible power supply.

23. The method of manufacturing of claim 20 wherein the uninterruptible power supply is a battery.

24. The method of manufacturing of claim 23 further comprising the step of electrically connecting battery to a recharger.

25. The method of manufacturing of claim 24 wherein the recharger.is a solar panel.

26. A device for the digital identification of persons comprising: a) a lockable, tamperproof housing having contained therein; b) a central processor unit having a means for storing biometric and personal identification information for the person, a means for processing and cross referencing the stored information, a means for assigning a unique person identifier to the cross referenced information; c) a means for acquiring biometric information from a person ca able of digital interconnection to the central processor unit, d) a means for inputting personal identification information for the person capable of digital interconnection to the central processor unit, e) a means to generate a physical identification token containing the unique person identifier digitally person capable of digital interconnection to the central processor unit; and, f) an uninterruptible power supply for the electrically connected to the central processor unit, the means for acquiring biometric information and the means to generate a physical identification token.

27. The device of claim 26 further comprising a visual display means for displaying and confirming the inputting accuracy of the personal identification information, the biometric information and the unique person identifier.

28. The device of claim 27 further comprising a communication means capable of digital interconnection to the central processor unit for communicating information to a remote computer.

29. The device of claim 26 further comprising a recharger electrically connected to the uninterruptible power supply.

30. The device of claim 29 wherein the recharger comprises a solar panel.