PART 1CHAPTER 1

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology that uses radio waves to transfer data from an electronic tag called an RFID tag or label, which is attached to an object through a reader for the purpose of identification.The main concept behind this RFID based attendance system is to take the attendance, as well as provide security of the employees of the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Its ability to uniquely identify each employee based on their RFID tagged card and their fingerprints makes the process of providing security easier.The workers only need to show their RFID card to the reader and scan their fingerprint, and then the time at which the card was shown will be noted down in the micro controller memory.

1.1 FIELD AND SUBJECT AREA OF STUDYThe field of study is Information technology and my subject area of study is Software Development.

1.2 STUDY OBJECTIVESThe study objectives are grouped into two:1.2.1 General Objectives: The proposed research, RFID based attendance management system for Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the public sector, is targeted not only to contributing to the general knowledge of ICT but to develop an efficient system to maximize the effective use of modern data approach to management practices in terms of attendance.The main objective of the system is to uniquely identify a person in a secure way through the use of RFID technology. The system will store employees basic information and monitor their attendance to work. This will reduce the stress of manually signing in and getting inaccurate records.

1.2.2 Specific Objectives:In achieving the general objectives, this research work will specifically concentrate on achieving the following: To design and develop an Attendance Management System in the public sector, specifically Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry. To develop a database that will store employees records and basic information. To include a biometric fingerprint feature into the system for authentication and security purposes. To monitor and generate attendance reports on the employees at certain stages of work (weekly, monthly or annually).

1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENTCurrently, one of the major problems being faced by the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry is the time consuming manual attendance.The current manual system of taking attendance is done by signing a ruled notebook called the attendance book which is placed at the reception for all employees to sign in upon arrival. According to a worker at the ministry, the employees are supposed to sign in upon their arrival and sign out when leaving but the staff do not bother to sign out.Some employees do not go to work rather they ask a colleague to sign in for them and they easily get away with not coming to the office.Due to the large number of civil servants in the ministry, it is very difficult to keep track of the attendance of each worker.The attendance books used over the years are stored in a file room and this is no longer a modern way of storing data. It also makes it very difficult to retrieve a particular employees attendance record. The proposed system is going to solve this problem by using RFID technology. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using the RFID tags. Normally, the RFID comprises of two main parts: the RFID reader and the RFID tag.

1.4 METHODOLOGYWe intend to use to the Waterfall development model, as shown in Figure 1 below, for the proposed system. Fig 1.1.1- Waterfall Model [29]

The waterfall model involves a phased progression of activities which include: requirement analysis, design, implementation, testing, installation and maintenance.Our purpose for choosing this method is developing this system sequentially starting from the requirements analysis leading up to the implementation, testing and maintenance because we could encounter errors, problems and uncover new information between the phases but we can still go back and make the appropriate modifications.For the hardware components of this system, we intend using a ZK 125 KHz read-and-write proximity card and a compatible ZK CR10E USB proximity enrollment terminal as the RFID reader which will be used as an interfacing device to read the data from the card and interact with the database. For the biometric module, a fingerprint scanner connected to the system would be used. It will be used to scan each employees fingerprint on the time of arrival. This biometric module will completely eliminate every opportunity of impersonation and guarantee better security to the workers in the organizationThe system will be developed with C# and MySQL. I am choosing this programming language because is it secured and simple to understand. MySQL will be used to create the back-end database.

1.5 BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION OF PROJECT1.5.1 Background StatementIn a developing country such as Nigeria, lots of latest technologies such as RFID, Bluetooth and so on are being introduced and developed and it is therefore important for organizations to adapt to these technologies in order to improve their quality of workers and management. The Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry currently uses the manual method of attendance which requires employees to write their names, time of arrival and signature upon entry into the organization. This system lacks automation, where a number of problems may arise. Having a system that can automatically capture employees attendance by flashing their cards to the RFID reader can really save time and troubles

1.5.2 Justification of studyThe proposed RFID based employee attendance system would record and calculate the attendance of the employees in the organization and reduce the labor of manual attendance. Since the Ministry currently uses the conventional method of manual attendance, this system would ensure accuracy in taking attendance electronically and thus reducing human error.The implementation of this system will prompt employees to come to work early and the percentage of employee attendance will increase because the opportunity of someone else signing in for a colleague would be very limited and to completely eliminate this problem, a video camera would be installed at the RFID access point.The development of this system will be of great benefit to the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry. RFID technology usage can increase the standard and reputation of the organization in the eye of Rivers State. The system, when implemented, will enable the administration get full reports of employee attendance.

1.6 EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THE PROJECTThe expected outcome of this project is to develop an efficient attendance management system using both biometric fingerprint and RFID technology for the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry which would be able to accurately maintain records of their employees attendance.

1.7 SAFETY, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS

The proposed system is economically feasible because the cost involved in purchasing the hardware and the software is almost negligible as compared to the man-hours lost due to employee lateness and absenteeism, which results in loss of revenue. Cost such as salaries of employees hired to operate this system are also nominal, because working with this system does not require a highly qualified professional. The operating-environment costs are marginal. The less time involved also helps in its economic feasibility.

1.8 PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULEThe proposed system, as planned for, would be completed in two parts: Part one would occupy the preliminary investigation, system analysis and design and is expected to be completed by December, 2014. Part two is expected to be completed in May, 2015 and encompasses the design, coding, testing and implementation of the proposed system, including the final presentation.A plan of all the tasks required to be done during the course of this project is shown in Figure1.1.2 below:

Fig1.1.2: Project Timelines

1.9 PRESENTATION OF THESISChapter 1 will be devoted to: General introduction and summary of the proposed topic.

Chapter 2: Literature and System Review which will focus on history of existing attendance system.

Chapter 3 will be concerned with the Methodology that will be used in developing the system.

Chapter 4: Design and Analysis of the System. In this chapter, the proposed system is analyzed into details and its importance discussed expansively where context level diagrams, dataflow diagrams and flowcharts will be used to explain the system further.

Chapter 5: Testing and Implementation of the proposed system; Implementation of the computer software goes on after the design. The system will be tested and reviewed to reveal errors. In this chapter also, the conclusion and recommendation is made.

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTIONIn the process of system development, literature reviews are conducted to understand the theory, methods and technologies associated with systems that have been developed. This chapter will contain background research on the organization and comparative studies of the existing attendance management system.

This project only involves the development of the software component of the attendance management system. The Attendance management system will be developed using RFID and Biometric technology. Through this chapter, studies on the technologies, equipment and techniques used will be discussed briefly.

2.2 ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND

The Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry is responsible for the regulation, development, and promotion of Rivers States trade and commerce through formulation of international trade, commercial and industrial policies and implementations of the various provisions thereof. The basic role of the ministry is to facilitate the creation of an enabling environment and infrastructure for accelerated growth of both local and international trade. The ministry formulates implements and monitors trade policies which provide the basic framework of policy and strategy to be followed for promoting exports and trade. The Trade policy is periodically reviewed to incorporate changes necessary to take acre of emerging economic scenarios both in the domestic and international economy.The Ministry is also entrusted with the responsibilities of multilateral and bilateral commercial relations, state trading, export promotion, trade facilitation & development and regulation of certain export oriented industries and commodities.

The Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industryadministers two departments, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.

The Ministry is headed by a Permanent Secretary Ms. Kadilo Brown, who has held the post since Wednesday 2nd October, 2013. She is assisted by an Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, four Additional Secretary and eleven Joint Secretaries & Joint Secretary level officers and a number of other senior officers.

2.2.1 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCEThe department is entrusted with formulating and implementing local andforeign tradepolicy and responsibilities relating to multilateral and bilateral commercial relations, state trading,exportpromotion measures, and development and regulation of certain export oriented industries and commodities.In order for the smooth functioning, the Department is divided into eight divisions: 1. Administrative and General Division1. Finance Division1. Economic Division1. Trade Policy Division1. Foreign Trade Territorial Division1. State Trading & Infrastructure Division1. Supply Division1. Plantation DivisionThe subjects under the administrative control of the Department include: International trade State trading Management of the States Trade Services2.2.2 DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY & PROMOTIONThis department is responsible for formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental measures for growth of theindustrial sector, keeping in view the national priorities and socio-economic objectives. While individual administrative ministries look after the production, distribution, development and planning aspects of specific industries allocated to them, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion is responsible for the overall Industrial Policy. Policy and Promotion is also responsible forintellectual propertyrights relating topatents, designs,trademarks, and geographical indication of goods and oversees the initiative relating to their promotion and protection.

2.3 THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENTAttendance management is important to every single organization; it can determine whether or not a business will be successful in the future. Businesses will have to keep a track of employees, this being their main concern and a lot of other things. Monitoring attendance helps in the long term for a business, as an employer will be able to tell which employees arrive early, which arrive late and who has the most absences without any valid reason. This could help an employer in deciding which employees are most suitable to work in the business, having employees who arrive to work on time means that the day-to-day tasks of the organization will be fulfilled. Employees within an organization should know about their employers attendance and absence policy, so that they are aware of what is required of them. Attendance management is also a health and safety procedure something in which that has to be carried out. It is important because in case of an emergency that was to arise in a workplace like a fire, then if they register in the company they will know how many people are inside a building. It is important to manage a set of workforce as it can lead to higher profits as well as an increase in productivity. If you have a look on the other side of what will happen if a business does not manage their attendance, it will mean that they will have no sort of information to look back on in case if it is needed in the future. They also will not be able to keep a track on their employees on a day-to-day basis which means there is no leadership in place.

2.3.1 REWARDING EMPLOYEES WITH GOOD ATTENDANCE Some employers may choose to reward an individual employee because they have very good attendance or could be something else. A lot of businesses have reward system in place based on attendance this is because it motivates staff as well as if employees turn up on time it will save the business a lot of money, absences cause businesses to lose money. An example of this is Royal mail they were giving out free cards and vouchers to their employees with the highest attendance. Royal mail reported that attendance levels have risen 11% - 1,000 workers a day - since it was launched last August. Attendance management is really important as a business can reward employees which will combat absences. But there are some that oppose to rewarding employees as they believe they are getting extra credit for just turning up to work. But rewarding employees will bring higher staff motivation inside the work place, work being done quicker and also employees actually enjoying to come to work.

2.3.2 THE EFFECTS OF ABSENCES IN ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT

Managing attendance can also be a factor in which a business can manage absences. Absences in a business can cause it to lose a huge amount of money as well as the productivity inside the company, because when one person is missing it has a huge impact on the rest of the business.If a business can manage or measure attendance the employer will be able to tell how much time is being lost/delayed. They will be able to look into this and see in what way to tackle this problem. The only way they will be able to tell the amount of absences is to manage their attendance. Minimizing absences absolutely to the lowest will mean that the business will have a higher financial reward. There are many reasons why an individual employee may be absent such as health and lifestyle factors, workplace factors and stress factors these all relate in some way or another. Absence from work is now costing employers over 600 per employee per year on average, Absence costs business 11.6 billion a year. This is a huge figure when looked into, so it is vital that a business manages their attendance properly. Not all businesses will have the same absence policy or attendance management policy; it will vary from business to business. Notifying absences will be different so an employee has to know what their business policy is.

2.3.3 HOW ATTENDANCE IS TAKENThere are many ways in which an organization can monitor attendance. This varies from business to business, some organizations may just use an attendance sheet, some may use online and recently a lot of businesses have been using RFID and finger print recognition which is also very reliable. Each of these methods has their positive and negative sides.Nowadays everything is done through technology, over the last couple of decades technology has vastly improved leading it to be used by many businesses. Businesses can monitor attendance the simple way by having a sign in sheet which can be very quick and convenient, but however this system could be outdated in a business organization and can easily get lost.

The absence of technology in the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce And Industry has led to the usage of manual employee attendance records to substantiate proof of attendance.

The manual attendance register was the best alternative prior to the discovery of biometric and RFID technology to manage employee attendance. Interactions between supervisors and subordinates take place on a daily basis and promote a healthy working environment. During a brief interview with a worker at the ministry, the following has been identified with the use of the manual attendance register, namely that:

There is no confirmation if the data was captured on time or if it was verified and signed by the supervisor; The register is easy to destroy and there is also a high risk it of getting lost. It will be a time consuming task to replace a lost manual attendance register; and No back-up data exist of commencing and ending times.

The analysis of the benefits and risks of the manual attendance register can be tabled as follows

BenefitsRisks

It was used as the best alternative prior to the development of biometricsLimited reporting on results;

100% human interaction present between the register and the employee

No verification exist on captured time;

Time consuming task when it needs to be replaced

Register is easy to destroy

No protection against theft

2.3.4 THE NEED FOR AUTOMATED ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT IN RIVERS STATE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

The manual method of attendance management in the Ministry is however time consuming, stressful and laborious because the valuable time that could otherwise been used for settling into the office is dedicated to employees attendance taking and sometimes not accurate.In addition to all these challenges, the attendances are recorded manually by each employee and therefore are prone to personal errors. There arises a need for a more efficient and effective method of solving this problem. A technology that can solve this problem and even do more is the combined use of RFID and biometric technology.RFID is considered to be the most easy and fast way of detecting the physical objects like humans, products etc. as it has an ability to detect the objects using radio frequency. This makes RFID most efficient, easy, secure, and safe hence more advantageous with low overhead as compared to conventional method. But as RFID can only help to answer the question who I am? and not am I really the person who is entering? It is necessary to use a combined RFID-Biometric system to take the attendance.

On the matter of access, it was discovered that the possession of the manual attendance is not secured by any password while the automated attendance system will utilize RFID and biometric technology to obtain access to the attendance register database. The manual attendance register does not have any security measures in place to prevent the register from getting lost or destroyed, while the automated attendance system will be protected by daily backups. The responsibility to register attendance in the manual attendance register is the responsibility of the employee. The responsibility to clock on the biometric scanner will reside with the employee and the employer will be responsible to maintain the captured data on a daily basis. No completion frequency of the manual attendance register exists allowing opportunity to inflate the operational time worked by the employee, while the automated attendance register will conduct real time capturing according to the synchronized time on the computer server. Interaction with employees and supervisors takes place with both attendance systems as evidence with the manual attendance register upon request and the biometric reports on a daily basis. The automated attendance reports will be utilized as the basis for interaction with subordinates. The accessibility of readily available attendance data as captured within the manual attendance register has not been determined because this function has been decentralized to the relevant directorates. The accessibility of automated attendance reports at any given time will be confirmed with the backups made on the computer server. The completion of the manual attendance register allows that the attendance data be captured on a later date, or in advance, while the automated attendance system will require the employee to be present to scan in or out. The scalability of attendance data in the manual attendance register is limited to the amount of pages in the register while the automated system will have unlimited space with the option to expand hard drive space

2.4 LITERATURE REVIEW OF RELATED WORKSA number of related works exist in literature, application of RFID Technology to different areas and specifically to the area of attendance monitoring problems.

In Implementation of an Improved secure system detection for E passport by using EPC RFID tags, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology Journal, Volume 6,pp1-5.], authors Mohamed A.B, Abdel-Hamid A and Mohamed K.Y designed and implemented a model of a secured and portable embedded reader system to read the biometric data from the electronic passport. The authors attempted to solve problems of reliability, security and privacy in E-passports by authenticating holder online using Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM) network. The GSM network is the main interface between identification center and the e-passport reader. The communication data is protected between server and e-passport reader by using AES to encrypt data for protection while transferring through GSM network.

Nambiar A.N in A supply chain perspective of RFID Systems, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology Journal, Volume 6,pp1-5 reviewed the current research application of RFID to different areas with emphasis on application for supply chain management and developed a taxonomic framework to classify literature which enables swift and easy content analysis to help identify areas for future research.

Lui C.M and Chen L.S, authors of "Applications of RFID technology for improving production efficiency in an Integrated-circuit packaging house," in the International Journal of Production Research, vol 47, no. 8, pp. 2203-2216 reviewed the use of RFID in an integrated circuit(IC) packaging house to resolve inventory transaction issues. His study suggests that RFID contributes significant improvements to the water receiving process and the inventory transaction process that reduce labor cost and man-made errors.

In RFID SensNet Lab (2005), A white paper on Automatic Attendance System. Texas A & M University, Texas, USA., an automated attendance management system was implemented both in electronic and mobile platform using stationary matrix AR 400 RFID reader with four circulatory polarized antennae and Symbol MC9000-Ghandheld RFID reader respectively. In the electronic platform, the attendance management system

2.5 RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (RFID) TECHNOLOGY

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification, which is a wireless communication technology that is used to uniquely identify tagged objects or people. RFID systems have been widely used in many application areas, such as inventory control, product tracking through manufacturing and assembly, parking lot access and control, container or pallet tracking, ID badges and access control, equipment or personnel tracking in hospitals, etc.[1,3]

RFID systems use radio waves to transmit information from an integrated circuit tag through a wireless communication to a host computer. These systems consist of three components that are the tag (transponder), the reader (interrogator) and the host computer (controller).

RFID Tags are uniquely and universally identified by an identification sequence, governed by the rubrics of EPC global Tag Data Standard (which defines the guidelines of how key identifiers must be encoded on the tag to define industry based standardization). A tag can either be passively activated by an RFID reader or it can actively transmit RF signals to the reader.

The RFID reader, through its antenna, communicates with the tags in its wireless range and collects information about the objects to which tags are attached. The reader, whose effective range is based on its operational frequency, is designed to operate at a certain frequency. The operational frequency of the reader ranges from 125 KHz 2.4 GHz.The Middleware encompasses all those components that are responsible for the transmission of germane information from the reader to the backend management systems. The Middleware can include hardware components like cables and connectivity ports and software components like filters that monitor network performance of the system.The Backend database stores individual tag identifiers to uniquely identify the roles of each tag. The database stores record entries pertaining to individual tags and its role in the system application. Compared to other automatic identification technologies, like optical barcode systems, RFID has several advantages, such as tag data can be read automatically without line of sight, through some materials, simultaneously tag reading and from a range of several meters.The RFID system is interdependent on its core components to achieve maximum efficiency and optimum performance of the application. Due to its high degree of flexibility, the system can be easily adopted for an array of applications ranging from small scale inventory cabinets to multifarious and highly agile supply chain management systems. Although, the cost of incorporating this technology has restricted its outreach, the technology promises to have untapped potential[3]

2.5.1 EVOLUTION OF RFID TECHNOLOGY

Historical perspectiveRFIDs primary prerequisite was the advent of radio technology. Since Guglielmo Marconi first transmitted radio signals across the Atlantic in 1901, radio waves have been an important way to send messagesfrom Morse code to the first voice broadcast in 1906. Scientists also discovered that they could use radio waves for more than just message transmission. In 1935, Alexander Watson-Watt showed how his new invention, radar, could use radio waves to locate physical objects. Radar found its first big application during World WarII, where it detected incoming aircraft by sending out pulses of radio energy and detecting the echoes that came back. Radar energys re-radiation was a form of on-off modulation that indicated an aircrafts presence or absence. However, radar operators still had no way to identify their own forces, presenting a major military weakness. (Some people hypothesize that the US could have prevented the attack on Pearl Harbor if its radar had been able to identify as well as detect. A Diamond Head, Hawaii, radar station allegedly spotted the incoming airplanes but dismissed them as American aircraft arriving from the mainland.) The Germans attempted to solve the identification problem by simultaneously rolling their aircraft in response to a signal from the ground radar station. This would change the radar reflections polarization, creating a distinctive blip on the radars. This crude system was the first demonstration of active RFID using electromagnetic backscatter. The British responded by creating IFF, where long range transponders actively modulated the reradiated ground radar signal so the aircraft itself didnt have to. Parallel to these developments, Harry Stockman of the US Air Force Materiel Command published Communications by Means of Reflected Power, the first public description of RFID technology.[4,9]

Modern perspectiveA half-century later, RFID systems hardly seem recognizable. Modern RFID tags, like other pervasive technologies (such as sensor motes), represent a culmination of the evolution toward wireless infrastructure and low-cost embedded computers. RFID tags are now the size of a grain of rice and have built-in logic (microchip or state machine), a coupling element (analog front-end with antenna), and memory (pre-masked or electrically erasable-programmable read only memory). Passive and semi active tags use RFID readers power to communicate, while active tags use battery power for greater range. Individuals can typically read low-frequency tags (125135 kHz) up to 30cm away, high frequency tags (13.56 MHz) up to 1 m away, ultra high-frequency tags (2.45GHz) up to 7m away and active tags100m away or more.

Despite these modern features, RFID hasnt changed as suddenly as we think. Many of todays familiar RFID applications have roots deep in the past.

2.5.2 SOME OF TODAYS APPLICATIONS OF RFID:

Supply chain managementStores and libraries have used electronic article surveillance, a 1-bit form of RFID for theft control, since the 1960s. EAS tags indicate whether an item has been bought or properly checked out; a clerk will usually deactivate the tag at checkout. By extension, RFID tags are basically EAS tags augmented with additional data storage and processing. Low-cost RFID tags promise to expedite supply chain processes, from moving goods through loading docks to managing the terabytes of data collected from these goods. The US Department of Defense and various retailers are already conducting RFID trials at the pallet, case and item levels. Wal-Mart even issued a mandate requiring its top 600 suppliers to adopt pallet-level RFID tagging in January 2007

Automatic paymentAutomatic payment is another popular RFID application. Various industry sectors have conducted trials of RFID-enhanced cashless payment technology, from RFID-augmented credit cards and public transportation tickets to RFID-like Near Field Communication in consumer devices. Electronic toll collection using E-Z Pass is widespread. E-Z Pass is a car tracking with RFID tagged license plate or windshield. The active E-Z Pass transponder attaches to a cars windshield or front license plate; as the car drives over a toll road, the transponder sends account information to equipment in the toll collection lanes. The toll then automatically deducts from a prepaid account. Although customers consider the E-Z Pass hip and modern, the technology was patented in 1977 and has been deployed since the 1980s.

Access controlContactless access control with RFID is popular for securing physical locations, such as office buildings and university campuses. Charles Walton first invented an RFID-based access control system in 1973. It involved an electronic lock that opened with an RFID key card. The passively powered key card, which Schrage sold for US$1.25, was a 36-square-inch circuit board loaded with chips and analog components. Today, RFID-based access cards are the size of a credit card and assist with policing border access. The US Department of Homeland Security and the International Civil Aviation Organization also plan to use passive RFID to police airport access. By 2015, the ICAO wants to replace all passport with digital passports that store encrypted biometric data on an RFID chip. The DHS also wants to use passive RFID to record who is entering or leaving the US across land routes.

Animal tracking RFID-tagged animals are already common. Applications vary from identifying runaway pets to tracking cattle from pastures to the grocers freezer. Cows and chips first met in the 1970s in American microwave-based systems and European inductively powered systems (see figure 3). Since then, various parties have used RFID-based animal tracking to monitor cows, pigs, cats, dogs, and even fish to control outbreaks of animal diseases such as avian influenza (bird flu) or bovine spongiform encephalopathy(mad cow disease) and most recently, the Ebola Virus.RFID has also been used to track people. Manufacturers have created wearable RFID wristbands, backpacks, and clothing to track prisoners, school children, and even the elderly. Applied Digital created an injectable RFID tag called the Verichip. This sub dermal RFID chip stores personal data that can be read at various venues such as nightclubs and hospitals.

Other applications RFID tagging lets physical objects be represented in cyberspace and entered into databases. Candidates include clothes (to be queried by smart washing machines), packaged foods (to be queried by smart refrigerators), medicine bottles (to be queried by smart medicine cabinets), rental cars, airline baggage, library books, banknotes, drivers licenses, employee badges, and even surgical patients (to avoid mix-ups).Both the opportunities and the threats are enormous.[2]

2.5.3 THE EVOLUTIONDespite modern RFIDs gradual evolution, comparing older RFID systems with modern RFID systems reveals several trends.

RFID tag characteristicsRFID tags are both shrinking and multiplying. Theyre smaller, and there are more of them, especially in the supply chain. The proportion between active and passive tags is also changing; IFF and early RFID systems used mostly active tags, while most modern applications use passive RFID tags.

Application characteristicsToday, RFID is used for much more than just identification. RFID tags have been reinvented as data-bearing devices. Accordingly, modern applications require network connectivity to permit the exchange of data with back-end management systems(which then necessitates the development of industry-wide standards for air interfaces and on-tag data formats). Another modern twist is that the desired RFID application functionality might change within a tags lifetime. When an RFID tag changes hands, the new owner might consider the old function undesirable or even an attackfor example, tracking supply-chain RFID tags after a customer buys the tagged item.

System perimetersModern RFID systems have no clear system perimeters. The users arent well-defined, and RFID tag ownership has become less clear. With IFF, the military was always the owner. However, with modern RFID, an individual could own an RFID tag but a separate third party could own the tags data (for example, the issuing government could retain sovereignty over the data on a digital passport).[3]2.6 COMPONENTS OF RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

RFID has the following main components and Fig 2.1.1 shows the basic components of RFID systems and concepts.

RFID Tag RFID Reader RFID Antenna The Middleware PC /Database

Fig 2.1.1- components of RFID system [3]

2.6.1 RFID TAGS

A tag consists of a microchip that stores a unique sequence identifier that is useful in identifying objects individually. The sequence is a numeric serial, which is stored in the RFID memory. The microchip includes minute circuitry and an embedded silicon chip. The tag memory can be permanent or re-writable, which can be re-programmed electronically by the reader multiple times. Tags are designed specific to its applications and environment. For example, paper-thin tags are attached to books in a library management system.Tags are available in various shapes and sizes. Tags that are initiated by the reader are known as Passive tags, whilst those that do not require external initiation are called Active tags. A Semi-Passive tag exists, which has the features of both Active and Passive tags. Each tag type has its distinct characteristics.Tags are operable on Microwave (2.4 2.5 GHz), Ultra High Frequency (UHF) (860 1500 MHz), High Frequency (HF) (13.56 MHz) and Low Frequency (LF) (125 kHz).

Fig 2.1.2 Different types of RFID tags

2.6.2 RFID READER

The reader is the most fundamental part of the RFID system. It reads raw data from the tag and transmits it to the middleware for further processing. The reader attempts to interrogate the tags at varying frequencies. The reader communicates by transmitting a beam of impulses, which encapsulate commands to the tag and listens for the tags response. The reader also contains built in anti-collision processes, which allows the reader to read multiple tags simultaneously. The reader is connected to the computer for data processing via a USB cable or over a wireless connection.Depending on mobility, RFID readers are classified into two different types: fixed RFID and mobile RFID. If the reader reads tags in a stationary position, it is called fixed RFID. These fixed readers are set up specific interrogation zones and create a "bubble" of RF energy that can be tightly controlled if the physics is well engineered. This allows a very definitive reading area for when tags go in and out of the interrogation zone. On the other hand, if the reader is mobile when the reader reads tags, it is called mobile RFID. In our system we are using RFID reader RS232, which Supports EM410x Series Unique Tags works at industry-standard 125KHZ Frequency. Its Range is up to 8-12cm. [13]

2.6.3 RFID ANTENNA

The antenna is medium through which the tag and reader communicate with each other. It antenna can activate a passive tag and transfer data by emitting wireless impulses that has electromagnetic properties. The antenna comes in various forms.

They come in following types: (1) Stick antennas, (2) Di-pole or multi-pole antennas, (3) Beam-forming or phased-array element antennas, (4) Circular polarized, (5) Gate antennas, (6) Patch antennas, (7) Linear polarized, (8) Adaptive antennas, and (9) Omnidirectional antennas .[13,14]

2.6.4 THE MIDDLEWARE

It is a communication interface to interpret and process data being fed by the readers into information. It takes into account all relevant ports of communication and a software application to represent this information.The middleware is an interface that manages the flow of data from the reader and transmits it efficiently to the backend database management systems. The middleware monitors the number of tags present in the system and extracts relevant information from the readers. [13]

2.6.5 BACKEND DATABASE

The backend database primarily deals with the storage of relevant information recorded by the reader and communicated by the middleware. For example, the middleware in an automated security control system will store all tag readings taken by the reader in the database. This helps create log entries for the system.[11]

2.7 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT KIT (SDK)

A Software Development Kit (SDK) is typically a set of development tools that allows a software engineer to create applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform. It may be something as simple as an application programming interface in the form of some files to interface to a particular programming language or include sophisticated hardware to communicate with a certain embedded system. Common tools include debugging aids and other utilities often presented in an IDE. SDKs also frequently include sample code and supporting technical notes or other supporting documentation to help clarify points from the primary reference material.

A fingerprint SDK is a software toolkit that allows the integration of biometric fingerprint recognition into various applications. They will typically utilize either DLL or ActiveX (COM) to interface with the integrated application. By referencing these DLL or COM objects, developers are able to utilize the fingerprint functionality from within a desired application. Fingerprint SDKs provide a basic framework of functions to talk to a fingerprint scanner, capture an image, extract the unique minutiae data from the image, and compare two sets of extracted minutiae data. All of the more complex features and functionality are built upon this framework.

2.7.1 ZK FINGER SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT KITZK Finger SDK currently supports Windows 9x/2000/NT and Linux OS Platforms. Under Windows environment, the SDK comes in both DLL and ActiveX formats. For Linux environment, the relevant drivers and files are provided. ZK Finger SDK is an extremely powerful tool that provides system integrators ease of interface. As long as the image is obtainable, the SDK will be able to extract fingerprint templates from any type of sensors. The images can be from Bitmap in memory or taken from various image files in BMP, JPG, TIFF, GIF formats with 256 grey scale levels. It can do automatic classification of fingerprints and conduct 1 - M identification matches of up to 10,000 per second.

2.7.2 ZK FINGER SDK FEATURES: Ability to extract minutia through fingerprint images, and files. The size of the file is about 256 bytes to about 1024 bytes depending on the extraction method. There are 3 types of extraction method: fingerprint images, bitmap file handle, and two-dimensional byte array. The enrolled or registered fingerprint template can be obtained by 1 - 3 repeated placements of the fingers on the sensor; the size of the enrolled templates varies between 256 or 1024 bytes Allows 1:1Verification capability with a stored fingerprint template. Makes use of the DRAM memory for 1: N Matching. Normally, all the stored templates are buffered into the RAM memory for quick 1: N Matching. ZK Finger SDK currently supports many OS platforms, for development purposes, sample source codes in Visual C++ 6.0, C++ Builder 5.0, Visual Basic 6.0, and Delphi 5.0 are provided, the use of (DLL) and ActiveX components are all demonstrated using the ZK Finger SDK program samples.

2.8 ACTIVE X CONTROL

Active X Control is a term used to denote reusable software components that are based on Microsoft Component Object Model (COM). Active X controls provides encapsulated reuse functionality to programs and they are typically but not always visual in nature.

Example, an Active X control might implement a spreadsheet functionality similar to Microsoft Excel, which would be visual in nature, but it might also implement a functionality to upload or download files from a file transfer protocol, FTP site which is not visual in nature unless it incorporates some sort of download progress display.

2.9 BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION Biometrics can be explained as a field of science that uses computer technology to identify people based on physical or behavioral characteristics, such as fingerprints and voice scans. "Bio" in the name refers to the living physiological traits that are measured, while "metrics" refers to the quantitative analysis that provides a positive identification of a unique individual

Biometrics can be clarified by, identification, verification and time. Identification and verification are positioned in contrast to one another whereby identification is also known as 1:N matching - a process whereby one fingerprint obtained from a biometric scan is compared against a database of templates to determine the correct template. This process can also confirm if any of the prints exist within the database.

2.9.1 HOW BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION WORKSIdentification uses a biometric device to determine the corresponding person from a database containing many identities, or decides if a particular individual is enrolled or not. Authentication, also known as 1:1 matching or identity verification, takes place whereby the system verifies the biometric input of one scanned fingerprint against a single biometric record. The system will correspond by a Yes if the scanned print matches a saved template on the server or a No if it does not match. During registration a unique identifier will engage to determine if the new enrolment has been previously captured. Time is recognized as a factor that impedes on all development within the technological domain. Biometrics is not being affected by behavioral characteristics such as state of health or the passage of time. Biometrics is dependent on the physical characteristics on the fingertips of every human being.

2.9.2 THE IDENTIFICATION OF BIOMETRICS Biometrics uses six major identification or verification operations, namely:0. fingerprint0. iris0. hand geometry0. facial recognition0. speech identification 0. Recognition.

i. Fingerprints

Fingerprints are the most commonly used biometric method. The development of fingerprint technology has developed and become indispensable in biometric time and attendance use, identification, access control and computer user log in. Fingerprint recognition is based on four types of technology, namely: a) Frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) as the oldest live scan method. A camera with infrared ability views the reflected signal from the prism as the finger touches a side of the prism. An image size of 1 inch x 1 inch is converted to a 500 dots per inch (dpi) image using a charged coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processor camera

b) CMOS capacitance focuses on the appearance of ridges and valleys of the fingerprint to create different impressions. A finger needs to touch the CMOS chip guard to reveal the image of the ridges and valleys [8].

c) Thermal measurements occur by means of pyro-electric material in the sensor which measures temperature changes as the finger is swiped over the sensor to produce an image. The person who makes use of the biometric device needs to be alive due of the operation of live scan technology which measures temperature. Constant measurements of fingerprint quality are obtained to verify the best possible image against the sample template. The skin elasticity of a living person allows that the biometric scanner obtains a detailed image sample.

d) Ultrasonic beams scan over the fingerprint surface to measure the ridge depth from the reflected signal. Due to the size of the images more time will be required to process the data rich scans.

ii. Iris

Iris verification is the latest type of biometric and has proven to be accurate and stable. Every person has a rich texture within the iris and distinguishes one person from another. The texture for this type of scanning is obtained from the pupil and sclera which form the iris. The recognition between iris and retinal recognition are different because the latter has a greater level of complexity than iris identification. The level of complexity in iris scanning will influence the cost to operate and maintain the scanning system. iii. Hand geometry

Hand geometry is a user friendly biometric whereby the characteristics of the hand are measured and transferred onto a template. This system has limitations because it compares characteristics such as lines within the palm of the hand that may be similar to another persons. This availability of similar hand characteristics projects a high false accept rate (FAR) allowing a high level of false acceptances and a high false reject rate (FRR) which will reject a high number of correct scans during the operational stage.

iv. Facial recognition

Facial recognition can be clarified as an ancient biometric used by everyone on earth. The natural appearance of the face makes it more acceptable to identify individuals at face value than biometrics because recognition takes place without any electronic device. The limitation of face recognition lies in the existence of people with identical facial characteristics, such as identical twins. This limitation in facial recognition, as a dependable identification method, lies within physical and image changes. Physical changes include aging, personal appearances such as make-up, glasses, facial hair, hairstyle and disguise. Image change is brought forward by light variation, camera variation and the compression of images that alter the appearance of the face. Images with 600 dots per inch (dpi) and 1000 dpi compression experience a change in appearance whereby the 1000 dpi image appears to be smoother because more dpi is used to complete the detail of the image. Images with a higher dpi count appear to be more detailed and allow more data for interpretation over a longer period because more information needs to be processed). v. Speech identification

Speech identification relies on the reception of sound from the person who requests access. Sound has little security measures and can be substituted with little or no effort. The brain is the most sophisticated part of the body allowing the ability for voice manipulation in order to gain access during the speaker identification process.

vi. Signature verification

Signatures represent the oldest method of authorization whereby the signature of the individual in question allows permission towards an instruction or agreement. The manual attendance register was based on this technology and employees signed the attendance register to confirm attendance. Signature verification is considered as the oldest biometric which requires a handwriting expert to distinguish the originality of a written document. The international use of signatures as an authorization tool emphasizes the importance of having technology available to equip signatures with security measures.

2.9.3 THE BENEFITS OF BIOMETRICS IN ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT

The use biometrics in attendance management has more advantages than disadvantages in contrast to the manual attendance register. Biometric devices can assist with the positive identification of individuals and act without any discrimination. The verification standards are applicable to all persons who scan for attendance and no room will be allowed for impersonation.

Biometric systems function without any supervision and the time for roll call has been eliminated. The development of biometric technology grants access to a variety of employee attendance reports which outweigh disadvantages. The in and out clocking data are captured in real time with no scope for compromising clocking times. The biometric time and attendance system operates as a stand-alone device during power failure. Various reports can be extracted and analyzed to determine employee trends. The biometric technology operates on a voice over internet protocol (VOIP) network saving additional cost in cabling and connection to the server. Savings on the salary budget will be possible because the working times of employees will be correct. The following are risks involved with the use of biometrics in attendance management.

It operates with electricity and will require back-up batteries during power failure.Some scientists are of the opinion that the accuracy of biometric technology can decrease the confidence in human aptitude. Humans can develop a lack of confidence.Electronic equipment can malfunction and the allowance of 1% failure during a breakdown can have fatal results.Biometric identifications may violate privacy.[5,8]

2.9.4 FINGERPRINT Fingerprints are one of those bizarre twists of nature. Human beings happen to have built-in, easily accessible identity cards. People have tiny ridges of skin on their fingers because this adaptation was extremely advantageous to the ancestors of the human species. Finger skin is made up of friction ridges with pores. These friction ridges are created during the course of life and only the general shape is genetically defined. A friction ridge remains the same all lifelong; only growing up to adult size. The picture below shows the example pattern of minutiae- minutiae are the discontinuities of the ridges in a fingerprint.

Fig 2.1.3- Minutiae of Fingerprint [15]Terminations are the points at which a ridge stops.Bifurcations are the point at which one ridge divides into two.Dots are very small ridges.Islands are ridges that are slightly longer than dots, occupying a middle space between two temporarily divergent ridges. Ponds or lakes are empty spaces between two temporarily divergent ridges.Spurs are a notch protruding from a ridge. Bridges are small ridges joining two longer adjacent ridges. Crossovers are two ridges which cross each other. Deltas are the points, normally at the lower left and right hand of the fingerprint, around which a triangular series of ridges center.

Fig 2.1.4- Different minutiae patterns [15]

Advantages of fingerprints

Fingerprints are a unique marker for a person, even an identical twin, and while two prints may look basically identical at a glance, a trianed investigator or an advanced software can pick out clear, defined differences. Some of the advantges of fingerpints are: Fingerprint patterns cannot be forged or gotten like a password. Fingerprints cannot be forgotten like a password. The physical attributes of fingerprints are much hader to fake than identity cards. Fingerprints cannot be misplaced like an access card.

Disadvantages of fingerprint

Fingerprints are very effective, but as effective as they are, they are certainly not infallible and they do have major disadvantages.Optical scanners cant always distinguish between the picture of a finger and the finger itself, and capacitive scanners can sometimes be fooled by a mold of a persons finger, meaning that if someone gains access to an authorized users fingerprints, that person can trick the scanner.

2.9.5 FINGERPRINT MATCHING

A critical step in automatic fingerprint matching is to automatically and reliably extract minutiae from the input fingerprint images. In order to ensure that the performance of an automatic fingerprint identification or verification system will be robust with respect to the quality of the fingerprint images, it is essential to incorporate a suitable fingerprint technique.

Fingerprint matching techniques can be divided into two categories:

Minutiae-based approach: minutiae based technique first finds the minutiae points and map their relative placement on the finger. This technique however has some difficulties. It is difficult to extract the minutiae points when the fingerprint is of low quality. There is also difficulty in matching different sized minutiae patterns.Local ridge structures cannot be completely characterized by minutiae. Also this approach does not take into account the global pattern of ridges and furrows.

Correlation-based approach: in this approach Gabor filters are used to extract features directly from the gray level fingerprint. This approach is able to overcome some of the difficulties of the minutiae-based approach. However, it has some of its own shortcomings. Correlation-based approach requires the precise location of a registration point and is affected by image translation and rotation.[15.16,18]

2.9.6 FINGERPRINT SCANNER A fingerprint scanner system has two basic jobs; it needs to get an image of the finger, and it needs to determine whether the pattern of the ridges and valleys in this image matches the ridges and valleys in the pre-scanned images.The most common ways of getting an image of a persons fingerprint are through optical scanning and capacitive scanning. They both come up with the same image but they go about the identification and verification differently.

Optical scanner The heart of an optical scanner is a Charge Coupled Device (CCD), the same light sensor system used in digital cameras and camcorders. A CCD is simply an array of light-sensitive diodes called photosites, which generate an electrical signal in response to light photons. Each photosite records a pixel, a tiny dot representing the light that hit the spot. Collectively, the light and dark pixels form an image of the scanned scene (in this case, a finger). An analog to-digital converter in the scanner system processes the analog electrical signal to generate a digital representation of this image.

Capacitive Scanner Just like optical scanners, capacitive fingerprint scanners generate an image of the ridges and valleys that make up a fingerprint, but instead of sensing the print using light, the capacitors use electric current. The main advantage of a capacitive scanner is that it requires a real fingerprint-type shape rather than the pattern of light and dark that makes up the visual impression of a fingerprint. This makes the system harder to trick. Additionally, since they use a semi-conductor chip rather that a CCD unit, capacitive scanners tend to be more compact than optical devices. [7]

2.0.0 MICROSOFT VISUAL STUDIOMicrosoft Visual Studiois anintegrated development environment(IDE) fromMicrosoft. It is used to developcomputer programsforMicrosoft Windows, as well asweb sites,web applicationsandweb services. Visual Studio uses Microsoft software development platforms such asWindows API,Windows Forms,Windows Presentation Foundation,Windows Store andMicrosoft Silverlight. It can produce bothnative codeandmanaged code.Visual Studio includes acode editorsupportingIntelliSenseas well ascode refactoring. The integrateddebuggerworks both as a source-level debugger and a machine-level debugger. Other built-in tools include a forms designer for buildingGUI applications,web designer, class designer anddatabase schemadesigner. It accepts plug-ins that enhance the functionality at almost every level including adding support forsource-controlsystems and adding new toolsets like editors and visual designers fordomain-specific languagesor toolsets for other aspects of thesoftware development lifecycle.Visual Studio supports differentprogramming languagesand allows the code editor and debugger to support nearly any programming language, provided a language-specific service exists. Visual Studio supports languages by means of language services, which allow any programming language to be supported by the code editor and debugger. It also provides a language-specific service has been authored including:

C++ (via Visual C++)VB.NET (via Visual Basic .NET)C# (via Visual C#).It also supports XML/XSLT, HTML/XHTML, JavaScript and CSS. Languages specific versions of Visual Studio also exist which provide more limited language services to the user. These individual packages are called Microsoft Visual Basic, Visual J#, Visual C#, and Visual C++.

Code editorLike any otherIDE, it includes acode editorthat supportssyntax highlightingandcode completionusingIntelliSenseforvariables,functions,methods,loopsandLINQqueries. IntelliSense is supported for the included languages, as well as forXMLand forCascading Style SheetsandJavaScriptwhen developing web sites andweb applications.The code editor is used for all supported languages.The Visual Studio code editor also supports setting bookmarks in code for quick navigation. Other navigational aids includecollapsing code blocksandincremental search, in addition to normal text search andregexsearch.Visual Studio features background compilation.As code is being written, Visual Studio compiles it in the background in order to provide feedback about syntax and compilation errors, which are flagged with a red wavy underline. Warnings are marked with a green underline. Background compilation does not generate executable code, since it requires a different compiler than the one used to generate executable code.

DebuggerVisual Studio includes adebuggerthat works both as a source-level debugger and as a machine-level debugger. It works with bothmanaged codeas well asnative codeand can be used for debugging applications written in any language supported by Visual Studio. In addition, it can also attach to running processes and monitor and debug those processes. If source code for the running process is available, it displays the code as it is being run. If source code is not available, it can show thedisassembly. The Visual Studio debugger can also creatememory dumpsas well as load them later for debugging. Multi-threaded programs are also supported. The debugger can be configured to be launched when an application running outside the Visual Studio environment crashes.

Microsoft Visual C#Microsoft Visual C#, Microsoft's implementation of theC#language, targets the .NET Framework, along with the language services that lets the Visual Studio IDE support C# projects. While the language services are a part of Visual Studio, the compiler is available separately as a part of the .NET Framework. The Visual C# 2008, 2010 and 2012 compilers support versions 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 of the C# language specifications, respectively. Visual C# supports the Visual Studio Class designer, Forms designer, and Data designer among others.

CHAPTER 3METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTIONThis chapter seeks to provide further review, crystallization and challenges of the existing system under research. The chapter will also provide further insight into the various methods and technologies used to solve these current problems of manual attendance in the development of the system. For this system, the focus is more on the main part of the software which is designing the basic Graphical User Interface (GUI) that can integrate with the hardware components of the system. The GUI will be developed in Object Oriented programming language for the front end while the backend can be based on developing the relational database management system. Below is the process flow chart of the project.

Fig 3.1.1- The Process Flow Chart For The ProjectSTARTRESEARCH AND LITERATURE REIVIEWGET FAMILIAR WITH VB2012 AND C# SOFTWARE CODING AND GUI DESIGNSTOPINTEGRATE WITH HARDWAREDEFINE PROJECT OBJECTIVESTEST THE SYSTEMTROUBLESHOOTFINAL TESTING & IMPLEMENTATIONTEST THE SYSTEM

3.2 CURRENT SYSTEM (Manual System)

Through the information gathered during a brief interview with an employee of the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce And Industry, it was revealed that the organization currently has no automated attendance system which means that , the current management is paper-based meaning every detail are written down manually on paper.The employees record their attendance by writing their details in a book upon arrival every morning and with the large amount of workers in the organization, it is a very difficult task for the supervisors of the departments to manage the attendance records. In addition, every work is done manually include the calculations to generate report. This is quite a hard task and it may cause calculations errors and contribute to the repetitions of work. The repetition of work is time consuming and the generated reports must be checked many times to ensure that the report is accurate. Moreover the loss of a single record may lead to difficulty of report generation during the end of months or year.

3.3 THE PROPOSED SYSTEM (Overview)The Attendance system is based on the working principles of the combination of both RFID and Biometric system, using Visual Studio 2012, as an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) to develop and run the system. The Attendance system works in such a format that RFID Tags which have unique numbers (identities) are matched to an employee. This means that each employee is given an RFID card that is unique to him/her. Passive RFID Tags were chosen because they dont need a power source to operate, as they are stimulated when they get close to the electromagnetic field created by the RFID reader.This Attendance system operates in such a way that when an employee passes the RFID tag close to the RFID reader, the number associated with the tag is captured by the reader, and sent to the application, which displays the employees details in the database, also displaying the employees picture for verification, the system will furthermore need to scan the employees finger print for authentication and then record the time of attendance in the database.

The flowchart of the system is shown belowSTARTREAD EMPLOYEE CARD/TAGS

Enroll New Employee Bio-Data and details registeredEnrolled?

NoYesCompare fingerprint with template stored in the databaseVERIFY EMPLOYEE FINGERPRINT

Match?

NoDATABASE

YesREGISTER TIME-IN/OUT

ENABLE DEPARTURE TIMEUpdate database with Time-In/OutSTOP

Fig 3.1.2- Flowchart of the proposed attendance system using RFID and Biometric technology

3.4 SYSTEM DEVELOPMENTThe major factors in designing this attendance management system include: choosing the hardware and software components and integrating both to work together, defining the system working mode (verification or identification), dealing with poor quality images and other programming language exception, and defining administration and optimization policy.

3.5 HARDWARE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

The hardware components required for the development of this attendance management system are:RFID tagRFID readerBiometric fingerprint scanner

3.5.1 RFID TAGIn RFID systems, a tag consists of a silicon device and antenna circuit. The purpose of the antenna circuit is to induce an energizing signal and to send a modulated RF signal. The read range of tag largely depends upon the antenna circuit and size. The tag can be mobile or stationary and be scanned by stationary or mobile readers respectively, using radio waves. The tag can be encoded with a unique identifier, allowing tagged items to be individually identified by the reader. In each scanning case, a reader must scan the tag for the data it contains and then send that information to a database, which interprets the data stored on the tag. The tag, reader, and database are the key components of an RFID system.[9]

Different Types of RFIDThere are several versions of RFID that operate at different radio frequencies. The choice of frequency is dependent on the business requirements and read environment. Three primary frequency bands are being used for RFID:_ Low Frequency (125/134KHz) Most commonly used for Attendance & access control,_ High -Frequency (13.56 MHz) Used where medium data rate and read ranges up to about1.5 meters are acceptable. This frequency also has the advantage of not being susceptible tointerference from the presence of water or metals._ Ultra High-Frequency (850 MHz to 950 MHz) offer the longest read ranges of up to approximately 3 meters and high reading speeds.

RFID tags are further broken down into two categories:_ Active RFID Tags are battery powered. They broadcast a signal to the reader and can transmit over the greatest distances (100+ meters). Typically they cost more and are used to track high value goods like vehicles and large containers of goods. Shipboard containers are a good example of an active RFID tag application._ Passive RFID Tags do not contain a battery. Instead, they draw their power from the radio wave transmitted by the reader. The reader transmits a low power radio signal through its antenna to the tag, which in turn receives it through its own antenna to power the integrated circuit (chip) For the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the system will designed using a 125KHz passive read/write RFID tag. The use of these cards will enable cost-effective issuance of secure radio frequency identification (RFID) credentials for the organization. The cards can fit easily into a wallet or purse, or may be attached to a lanyard or keychain via a standard clip aperture. The cards offer universal compatibility with a broad variety of proximity readers, and deliver highly consistent read ranges that are unaffected by body shielding or variable environmental conditions, even when close to keys and coins. The tags are almost indestructible, can be read even if covered with dirt or submerged and tags have unalterable permanent serial code that prevents tampering and the passive, battery-free design allows for an infinite number of reads.

The proposed RFID system offers many advantages to this design application using this passive 125KHz RFID tag such as:Electronic tags can be embedded into employees conventional means of identification (employee ID card).The electronic tag can be read during motion.No batteries are needed; no line of sight required for wireless communication between the tag and the reader.Cards may be pre-programmed to customer requirements, and pre-printed with custom artwork.

3.5.2 RFID READERRFID reader is used to activate passive tag with RF energy and to extract information from the tag. For this function, the reader includes RF transmission receiving and data decoding sections. In addition, the reader includes a serial communication (RS-232) capability to communicate with the host computer.This system will be designed with CR10 RFID Series which are designed to read (CR10E/M) & write (CR10M/W) proximity cards. They are connected to PC through USB Port (Plug & play). They allow high speed transactions and incorporate LED indicators.CR10M/W includes communication protocol for development and its compatible with Windows O.S 32 bits. CR10E and CR10M are compatible with all kind of windows O .S and reads the same serial number as ZK Software devices. The CR10 RFID module at its core generates a magnetic field through its integrated antenna at 125 kHz, or 134 kHz. The Passive tags also have an in-built antenna that tunes to the same frequency. When the tag comes near the range of the reader module, it draws power form the electromagnetic field to power itself. Once powered, they modulate the magnetic field which is detected by the RFID reader. This way, the Tags transmit their data to the Reader module.[28]

.

Fig 3.1.3- Connectivity diagram between a ZK CRI0E reader and a computer [28]

3.5.3 FINGERPRINT SCANNERFingerprint scanner which captures the image will be connected to a personal computer which: houses the database, runs the comparison algorithm and simulates the application function. The fingerprint scanner will be connected to the computer via its USB interface.There are 2 types of fingerprint scanners; capacitive scanners and optical scanners. For this project the fingerprint reader to be used is the optical scanner. Optical fingerprint capture devices have the longest history and use of these categories, dating back to the 1970s. Optical fingerprint imaging involves capturing a digital image of the print usingvisible light. This type of sensor is, in essence, a specializeddigital camera. The top layer of the sensor, where the finger is placed, is known as the touch surface. Beneath this layer is a light-emitting phosphor layer which illuminates the surface of the finger. The light reflected from the finger passes through the phosphor layer to an array ofsolid statepixels (acharge-coupled device) which captures a visual image of the fingerprint. A scratched or dirty touch surface can cause a bad image of the fingerprint. A disadvantage of this type of sensor is the fact that the imaging capabilities are affected by the quality of skin on the finger. For instance, a dirty or marked finger is difficult to image properly. Also, it is possible for an individual to erode the outer layer of skin on the fingertips to the point where the fingerprint is no longer visible. It can also be easily fooled by an image of a fingerprint if not coupled with a "live finger" detector. However, unlike capacitive sensors, this sensor technology is not susceptible to electrostatic discharge damage

Optical scanners operate on the principal of frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR). A laser light illuminates a fingerprint placed on a glass surface (platen). The reflectance of this light is captured by a charged coupled device (CCD) array- a CCD is simply an array of light-sensitive diodes called photosites, which generate an electrical signal in response to light photons. The amount of reflected light is dependent upon the depth of ridges and valleys on the glass and the finger oils between the skin and glass. The light that passes through the glass into valleys is not reflected to the CCD array, whereas light that is incident upon ridges on the surface of the glass (more precisely, the finger oils on the ridges that constitute the ridge-to-glass seal) is reflected..[17,21]

Fig 3.1.5- How fingerprint is captured with Optical scanners [17]For this system, the ZK fingerprint reader will be used to capture image of the employees fingerprints. Using the ZK Fingerprint Reader, the ZK Finger Software Development Kit (SDK) toolbox provided by ZK Technology is going to be used as an interface between the fingerprint reader and the attendance software.ZK fingerprint SDK provides a basic framework of functions to talk to a fingerprint scanner, capture an image, extract the unique minutiae data from the image, and compare two sets of extracted minutiae data. Some of these functions and algorithms provided by the SDK are stated below:

The ZK Finger SDK is a high speed and accurate 1: Many Fingerprint Matching algorithm catered largely for software developers. When using ZK Finger SDK for 1: N identification (2000-6000 fingerprints), there is no requirement to input a name or a PIN number. Identification can be preceded with ease within 1-5 seconds.ZK Finger SDK allows easy integration to the applications of the users. It opens the interface of dealing with various image, it can support scanner and fingerprint sensor (The resolution of the image>= 300DPI).ZK Finger SDK algorithm is able to filter noises, enhance the contrast of ridge and trough. Even from the fingerprint with bad quality (dirty, cuts, scars, dry, wet), the algorithm is able to extract accurate minutia points.ZK Finger SDK Matching algorithm allows the identification or verification of 0 to 360 degree rotation of the live fingerprint. With state-of-the-art techniques, the matching can still be conducted at a high speed despite the different orientation angles of the finger (Approximate Matching Speed of 3000 Match/sec, even for fingers with low minutia points (= 15 minutia points.)ZK Finger SDK Matching algorithm does not require complete minutia points such as (core, delta, etc); it can make identification successfully based on several essential or critical minutia points.[28]

3.5.4 FINGERPRINT MATCHINGThere are a number of different strategies through which fingerprint identification can be done, among which verification through minutia points is the most simple and easy [15]. ZK Finger SDK categorization method: Fingerprints are divided mainly into 5 categories: Arch, left loop, right loop, tented arch, whorl, if categorization is used in the first instance, the matching speed will be greatly increased.Arch: Fingerprint lines start from side of the finger and end at the other side, do not return and on the core points and delta point. Tented Arch: Like an arch fingerprint, but graphic Center upward rise in the vertical direction, equivalent to a core and a delta on the same vertical line.Left Loop: To the left is Left Loop. There is a core and a delta at the lower left.Right Loop: To the right is Right Loop. There is a Core and a delta at the lower right.Whorl: At least one fingerprint stripe rotate into a closed curve around the center, there are two core points in center, a triangular point on each side when the cores are not in the same vertical line, here will form a double helix [26]

. ARCH LEFT LOOP RIGHT LOOP WHORL TENTED ARCH

Fig 3.1.6- The 5 categories of fingerprints [26]

ZK Finger SDK Matching algorithm does not require complete minutia points such as (core, delta, etc); it can make identification successfully based on several essential or critical minutia points.

3.5.4.1 Minutiae based matching algorithmMinutiae and patterns are very important in the analysis of fingerprints since no two fingers have been shown to be identical.

Fig 3.1.7- Minutiae matching [25]

The minutia based algorithm is widely used for fingerprint authentication. It focuses on the endings of ridges and bifurcations. Consequently the central area in fingerprint image is very important and this algorithm keenly relies on the quality of the input images. Global and local characteristics of fingerprints are used for identification of individuals. Global features are the ones that can be seen with naked eye like ridges, pattern area and delta while local characteristics are the minutia points.Fingerprint ridges are not continuous as there are a number points at which ridges change and end and these points are called minutia points. The unique identifying features are provided by these minutia points. A raw image is taken from the sensor and algorithms are implemented on the image to enhance it and further extract the minutia points directly from this representation. This procedure provides a much more efficient and reliable result as compared to other methods of fingerprint verification.Most automatic systems for fingerprint comparison are based on minutiae matching. Minutiae are local discontinuities in the fingerprint pattern. A total of 150 different minutiae types have been identified. In practice only ridge ending and ridge bifurcation minutiae types are used in fingerprint recognition.[16,18,21]

Fig 3.1.8 Diagram showing ridge endings and bifurcations [21]

The building blocks of a fingerprint recognition system are:

FEATURE EXTRACTIONCLASSIFIERTHINNINGEDGE DETECTIONIMAGE ACQUISITION

Fig 3.1.9- Building blocks of fingerprint recognition [25]

a) Image AcquisitionA number of methods are used to acquire fingerprints. Among them, the inked impression method remains the most popular one. Inkless fingerprint scanners are also present eliminating the intermediate digitization process.Fingerprint quality is very important since it affects directly the minutiae extraction algorithm. Two types of degradation usually affect fingerprint images: 1) The ridge lines are not strictly continuous since they sometimes include small breaks (gaps);2) Parallel ridge lines are not always well separated due to the presence of cluttering noise. The resolution of the scanned fingerprints must be 500 dpi while the size is 300 x 300.

b) Edge DetectionAn edge is the boundary between two regions with relatively distinct gray level properties. In practice, the set of pixels obtained from the edge detection algorithm seldom characterizes a boundary completely because of noise, breaks in the boundary and other effects that introduce spurious intensity discontinuities. Thus, edge detection algorithms typically are followed by linking and other boundary detection procedures designed to assemble edge pixels into meaningful boundaries.

c) ThinningAn important approach to representing the structural shape of a plane region is to reduce it to a graph. This reduction may be accomplished by obtaining the skeleton of the region via thinning (also called skeletonizing) algorithm.The thinning algorithm while deleting unwanted edge points should not: Remove end points. Break connectedness Cause excessive erosion of the region

d) Feature ExtractionExtraction of appropriate features is one of the most important tasks for a recognition system. The feature extraction method is explained below:A multilayer perceptron (MLP) of three layers is trained to detect the minutiae in the thinned fingerprint image of size 300x300. The first layer of the network has nine neurons associated with the components of the input vector. The hidden layer has five neurons and the output layer has one neuron. The network is trained to output a 1 when the input window in centered on a minutiae and a 0 when it is not.. The networking will be trained using: The back propagation algorithm with momentum and learning rate of 0.3. The Al-Alaoui back propagation algorithm.

Once the network is trained, the next step is to input the prototype fingerprint images to extract the minutiae. The fingerprint image is scanned using a 3x3 window given.

e) ClassifierAfter scanning the entire fingerprint image, the resulting output is a binary image revealing the location of minutiae. In order to prevent any falsely reported output and select significant minutiae, two more rules are added to enhance the robustness of the algorithm:1) At those potential minutiae detected points, we re-examine them by increasing the window size by 5x5 and scanning the output image.2) If two or more minutiae are close together (few pixels away) we ignore all of them.

To insure translation, rotation and scale-invariance, the following operations will be performed: The Euclidean distance d(i) from each minutiae detected point to the center is calculated. The referencing of the distance data to the center point guarantees the property of positional invariance. The data will be sorted in ascending order from d(0) to d(N), where N is the number of detected minutiae points, assuring rotational invariance. The data is then normalized to unity by shortest distance d (0), i.e: dnorm(i) =d(0)/d(i); This will assure scale invariance property.

In the algorithm described above, the center of the fingerprint image was used to calculate the Euclidean distance between the center and the feature point. Usually, the center or reference point of the fingerprint image is what is called the core point. A core point, is located at the approximate center, is defined as the topmost point on the innermost upwardly curving ridgeline. The core point is located at the center of the fingerprint image.

After extracting the location of the minutiae for the prototype fingerprint images, the calculated distances will be stored in the database along with the ID or name of the person to whom each fingerprint belongs.The last phase is the verification phase where testing fingerprint image:1) Fingerprint image is inputted to the system2) Minutiae are extracted3) Minutiae matching: comparing the distances extracted minutiae to the one stored in the database4) Identify the person[25]

3.6 SOFTWARE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

3.6.1 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT MODEL: Waterfall Model

Waterfall development is a software development model involving a phased progression of activities, marked by feedback loops, leading to the release of a software product.It's a framework for software development in which development proceeds sequentially through a series of phases, starting with system requirements analysis and leading up to product release and maintenance. Feedback loops exist between each phase, so that as new information is uncovered or problems are discovered, it is possible to go back a phase and make appropriate modification. Progress flows from one stage to the next, much like the waterfall that gives the model its name.The waterfall model is very simple to understand and use. In this model, each phase must be completed fully before the next phase can begin. This type of model is basically used for the project which is small and there are no uncertain requirements.At the end of each phase, a review takes place to determine if the project is on the right path and whether or not to continue or discard the project. In this model the testing starts only after the development is complete. Inwaterfall model phasesdo not overlap.[29]

Fig 3.2.0 Diagram showing the phases in the waterfall model [29]

In general, the waterfall model may be considered as having six distinct phases, described below:Requirements analysis:This first step is also the most important, because it involves gathering information about what the customer needs and defining, in the clearest possible terms, the problem that the product is expected to solve. Analysis includes understanding the customer's business context and constraints, the functions the product must perform, the performance levels it must adhere to, and the external systems it must be compatible with. Techniques used to obtain this understanding include customer interviews, use cases, and "shopping lists" of software features. The results of the analysis are typically captured in a formal requirements specification, which serves as input to the next step.Design:This step consists of "defining the hardware and software architecture components, modules, interfaces, and data...to satisfy specified requirements. It involves defining the hardware and software architecture, specifying performance and security parameters, designing data storage containers and constraints, choosing the IDE and programming language, and indicating strategies to deal with issues such as exception handling, resource management and interface connectivity. This is also the stage at which user interface design is addressed, including issues relating to navigation and accessibility. The output of this stage is one or more design specifications, which are used in the next stage of implementation.Implementation:This step consists of actually constructing the product as per the design specification(s) developed in the previous step. Typically, this step is performed by a development team consisting of programmers, interface designers and other specialists, using tools such as compilers, debuggers, interpreters and media editors. The output of this step is one or more product components, built according to a pre-defined coding standard and debugged, tested and integrated to satisfy the system architecture requirements. For projects involving a large team, version control is recommended to track changes to the code tree and revert to previous snapshots in case of problems.Testing:In this stage, both individual components and the integrated whole are methodically verified to ensure that they are error-free and fully meet the requirementsoutlined in the first step. An independent quality assurance team defines "test cases" to evaluate whether the product fully or partially satisfies the requirements outlined in the first step. Three types of testing typically take place: unit testing of individual code modules; system testing of the integrated product; and acceptance testing, formally conducted by or on behalf of the customer. Defects, if found, are logged and feedback provided to the implementation team to enable correction. This is also the stage at which product documentation, such as a user manual, is prepared, reviewed and published.Deployment/Installation of system:This step occurs once the product has been tested and certified as fit for use, and involves preparing the system or product for installation and use at the customer site. Delivery may take place via the Internet or physical media, and the deliverable is typically tagged with a formal revision number to facilitate updates at a later date.Maintenance:This step occurs after installation, and involves making modifications to the system or an individual component to alter attributes or improve performance. These modifications arise either due to change requests initiated by the customer, or defects uncovered during live use of the system. Typically, every change made to the product during the maintenance cycle is recorded and a new product release is performed to enable the customer to gain the benefit of the update.3.6.2 Advantages of waterfall modelThe waterfall model, as described above, offers numerous advantages for software developers. First, the staged development cycle enforces discipline: every phase has a defined start and end point, and progress can be conclusively identified by both developer and client. The emphasis on requirements and design before writing a single line of code ensures minimal wastage of time and effort and reduces the risk of schedule slippage, or of customer expectations not being met.Getting the requirements and design out of the way first also improves quality; it's much easier to catch and correct possible flaws at the design stage than at the testing stage, after all the components have been integrated and tra