The future is now, folks (for better or worse) and its starting in a VCU’s Shafer Dining Court.
The future is now, folks (for better or worse) and its starting in a VCU’s Shafer Dining Court.
A new iris camera is being installed in the buffet-style cafeteria space for VCU students and it’s hoping to replace the need for student ID cards and help students who might lose their ID cards over the weekend (there’s no way to replace them after office ours ATM).
“Students won’t need their ID to enter the dining center anymore,” said Stephen Barr, the director of campus services in a press release on VCU’s website. He oversees VCU Dining Services. “With iris identification, it’s as simple as a camera taking a picture of their eyes and two seconds later they walk through.”
The new system is voluntary and is supposed to be a kind of “express lane for students.”
The actual cameras, iCAM 7100 iris cameras, made by North Carolina-based ColorID, will take a picture of your eye and generate a number associated with over 200 unique points in your iris, according to VCU’s statement. That number is then assigned to your student ID number, much like the student ID card system already in place.
“We don’t keep pictures of your iris,” Barr said. “It’s just a number, just like your ID. Your ID has a unique number that ties it to you.”
Barr compared the new iris scan system to the fingerprint scan used in an iphone, or at the Cary St. Gym.
We’ve reached out to ask some questions about the program but haven’t heard back by press time. We’ll update next week with more details.
Top image via VCU – Sarah Murphy, communications and office specialist for the Department of Business Services, demonstrates the use of the new iris cameras in Shafer Court.
