MOLOKWU SOLOMON OGECHI

The conventional manual method to taking record of examination attendance in academic institutions like the University of Benin (UNIBEN) has some issues like impersonation, human error, and manipulation. The Examination Guard Terminal (EGT), which is biometric-based, was developed to solve the problems of the traditional approach to recording examination attendance. The methodology was used to establish the functional requirements of the EGT. The EGT was to be portable, enable real-time fingerprint verification, and enable recording of attendance. The hardware components was selected based on its performance, cost, and availability. The ESP32 DevKit-C microcontroller was selected because of its dual-core processor and Wi-Fi capabilities. The AS608 Optical Fingerprint Module was selected because of its fast reaction time and easy use. The 2.8-inch TFT LCD was selected because of its clear display. Conceptual and detailed design for the circuits was developed, making use of the UART protocol for the fingerprint sensor and the SPI protocol for the display and data logging for the SD card. The software that was used for the project was based on the Arduino platform and consist of two modes for efficient functionality: one for Enrollment (Access Point Captive Mode) and another for Verification (Wi-Fi Mode). Testing and analysis for efficiency were done in a simulated examination environment with 30 students. This helped in understanding the efficiency of the prototype. The project showed high efficiency in terms of average student verification in 2.44 seconds. Most importantly, the project showed a Zero False Acceptance Rate (FAR) and Zero False Rejection Rate (FRR), which confirms the EGT's basic reliability and accuracy in terms of identity verification. In conclusion, the project successfully developed a functional prototype for the Examination Guard Terminal. Recommendations for further improvement: Upgrading the system to a multi-biometric system and using a faster processor like Raspberry Pi 5.to enhance speed and security further.