Wearable Passport for Identity Verification

Nowadays, individuals can provide their passports/local photo identification cards to confirm their identity. While the existing solution for identity confirmation is dominant all around the world, it has a huge pitfall which is very prominent in the numbers of identity theft cases reported. Identity theft is a serious crime that is on the rise. It takes place when a scammer uses an individual’s personal information without their knowledge or consent to commit fraud or theft. Apart from the individual’s photo, there isn’t a way to confirm the individual is who they claim to be. This project’s purpose is to create a new kind of ID “passport” that can help reduce identity theft crimes by using biometric data to confirm an individual’s identity. 

The most common method of identity verification currently only involves an assigned official comparing the individual with the photo presented to ensure they are the same individual. Apart from the individual’s photo, there isn’t a way to confirm the individual is who they claim to be. Hence, our project aims to innovate identity verification checkpoints through automation and the use of biometric data for improved results.   

Our design solution aims to automatically verify if the person is in possession of their own identity which removes the need for an official that may introduce human error to the verification process. Additionally, the passport would be in the form of a wearable to make it easier and comfortable for individuals to have access to at most times. 

We validate our design through hardware testing and software testing.  

For hardware testing, we use the “Performance Evaluation Table”. Each table targets specific components with requirements. All team members are going to evaluate test results with a “Yes” or “No” anonymously. The team is going to discuss and improve the design if a “No” is voted. If the new design cannot meet the requirement(s) through internal discussions, the team would look for help from TA, advisor, sponsor, and even the course instructor. 

For software testing, alongside testing mentioned above, including testing performance against requirements, additional testing was implemented for software components: 

• Unit Testing, Integration Testing, System Testing and Acceptance Testing was performed with the software development. 
• Interclass and Intraclass validation was completed to ensure matching algorithm correctly identifies user. The system was tested against different images of the correct individual (interclass) to ensure the person is correctly verified. The system was also tested against images of other individuals (intraclass) to ensure the system would not verify individuals who do not match the identity.

Although our current prototype of the passport is not as compact, with an approximate price of ($180) using the available hardware as a proof of concept, we believe our design solution is feasible. The final product of the “passport” can be reduced in size to the dimension of a toonie making it super easy to carry at all times with a price of $1. Additionally, the python user-interface makes it easy to implement on any existing computer system, although our preferred platform would be Linux machines.