Development of CUiris: A Dark-Skinned African Iris Dataset for Enhancement of Image Analysis and Robust Personal Recognition

Iris recognition algorithms, especially with the emergence of large-scale iris-based identification systems, must be tested for speed and accuracy and evaluated with a wide range of templates – large size, long-range, visible and different origins. This paper presents the acquisition of eye-iris images of dark-skinned subjects in Africa, a predominant case of verydark- brown iris images, under near-infrared illumination. The peculiarity of these iris images is highlighted from the histogram and normal probability distribution of their grayscale image entropy (GiE) values, in comparison to Asian and Caucasian iris images. The acquisition of eye-images for the African iris dataset is ongoing and will be made publiclyavailable as soon as it is sufficiently populated

Automatic Electrical Appliances Control Panel Based on Infrared and Wi-Fi: A Framework for Electrical Energy Conservation

-Today, proprietary home automation targets very specific applications which operate mostly on a cable based infrastructure. In contrast to that, our implementation builds on a wireless platform for the automatic control of house hold electrical appliances. The nodes gather sensor readings in a home and transmit them to a central automation server. There, the readings are matched against a list of script statements. When there is a match, a specific action is performed. An important property of the system is that the control of all home appliances is done by means of the ubiquitous Infrared and Wi-Fi wireless technologies. This way, the co-operation between manufacturers is not a necessity in order to connect devices to the home automation network

Vertical Off-line Signature Feature Block for Verification

Handwritten signature image is normally used as a mark of endorsement of written document. Signatures of the same person vary and they can be forged by imposters. Effective feature extraction algorithm is needed in off-line signature verification. Robust features capable of increases interpersonal variation and decreases intra personal variation are required. This work presents robust signature feature that can be used to build effective off-line signature verification system. Signature processing is performed and the preprocessed signature image is vertically divided into sixteen smaller image blocks through the center of gravity. Three features are extracted from these smaller image blocks. Feature vector is formed and are passed to Support Vector Machine (SVM) for training and classification. The proposed signature feature vector increases the accuracy of tested off-line signature verification syste

Hand Image Feature for Human Identification

This paper presents an algorithm for efficient personal identification using robust hand features. The feature is extracted from hand boundary points and print of hand palm. The centre of gravity of the edge map of the hand image is determined to serve as a reference point. Thereafter City block distances between the reference point and hand boundary points are found. These distance feature vectors are compared using Euclidean distance measure for effective image classification. The proposed algorithm will improve personal identification in access control and attendance recor

Smart Assistive mHealth System for Medication Adherence in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

Cognitive impairment in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease often times require medication management to prevent forgetfulness due to the diversity of medication involved in the treatment. Traditional interventions to mitigate non-adherence to medication have been largely unsuccessful. However, the programmability and intelligibility of modern electronic systems and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be exploited to solve this problem. In this paper, we designed and developed an intelligent assistive mHealth system to facilitate medication adherence in elderly patients with Alzheimer’s disease. This system achieve medication adherence by creating an audiovisual alert for the user with ‘memory loss’ disability to take the right doses of medication at required frequency. The drug prescriptions are keyed in by the physician and the medication schedule is stored in the non-volatile memory of the system. At the set time, the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) unit shows the drug to be taken in the right dosage. The buzzer in the electronic device provides a sound effect to get the attention of the patient. In any case of non-adherence, the system automatically sends a text message to the physician via SMS using the integrated GSM modem and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) in the system. This system can be miniaturized into a wearable device for optimal performanc

Development of a Recognition Algorithm for Newborn and Infant Fingerprints

This research seeks to develop a fingerprint recognition algorithm with emphasis on feature extraction for the automatic recognition of newborns and infants. The feature extraction algorithm will extract the salient features required for identification/verification of the identity of newborns and infants from the fingerprint images captured with the ubiquitous 500ppi fingerprint scanners. It is expected to produce a database of fingerprints acquired from newborns and infants and an automated fingerprint recognition system for the identification of newborns and infants with improved speed and accuracy, cost reduction and the least possible vulnerability to spoofing

A Simplified Overview of Text-To-Speech Synthesis

Computer-based Text-To-Speech systems render text into an audible form, with the aim of sounding as natural as possible. This paper seeks to explain Text-To-Speech synthesis in a simplified manner. Emphasis is placed on the Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) components of Text-To-Speech Systems. Applications and limitations of speech synthesis are also explore

Occupancy Controlled Lighting System for Smart Buildings

Efficient utilization of the limited available energy in developing countries is a practical solution to the present challenges facing the power sector in the region. Automation of lighting systems in both residential and industrial buildings is one of the strategies for energy efficiency towards a sustainable economic development. In this paper, the authors developed an intelligent lighting system using occupancy control. The prototype consists of an Arduino uno microcontroller, Infrared module, Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), relay, buzzer, and a light bulb. The infrared module senses human presence in a room and transmits a corresponding electrical signal to the Arduino. The relay was connected to the Arduino to act as the control unit. The programmable microcontroller was also used to keep track of the number of people in the room while the information is displayed on the LCD. The system achieved a significant energy saving by switching ON the light bulb only when it is really needed. A large-scale implementation of this smart application in residential and office buildings will encourage energy efficiency, making electrical energy available for other areas which are yet to be connected to the power grid. Aderemi A. Atayero, Victor Ademu-Eteh, Segun I. Popoola, Temitope O. Takpor, and Joke A. Badej

Biometric Enabled E-Banking in Nigeria: Management and Customers’ Perspectives

The adoption of biometric technology is rapidly increasing around the globe due to the increasing sensitivity of security issues. With the recent 2015-plan and collaborations of the Central Bank of Nigeria to incorporate biometrics into her banking system, it is imperative to assess the perception of the managers and customers to the use of the long-awaited biometrics for secure, seamless and successful transactions. The banking sector touches the daily lives of at least 60% of the over 150-million Nigerian population and it is expected to increase as more security measures are put in place. Therefore, this empirical evaluation captures the factors influencing the perception of the bank management and ATM users. A total of 740 respondents participated in the survey cutting across different age groups and educational backgrounds. Descriptive statistics and T-test analysis of the survey showed that management and customers of strongly support the adoption of biometric ATM in Nigeria