Hyderabad: Face recognition system registers 80 pc success

Hyderabad: In a first-of-its-kind in the country, Face Recognition app was used in municipal polls in Telangana. On a pilot basis, the system was used in 10 polling stations in Kompally municipality in a bid to prevent impersonation of voters.

Voters coming to cast vote in polling station numbered 13 (Ward 7), 15 and 16 ( Ward 8), 21 and 22 ( Ward 11), 23 and 24 ( in Ward 12), 27 (Ward 14) and Polling stations 31 and 32 ( Ward 16) in Kompally were surprised when informed about the new system.

The polling officer in the station, with the smartphone, first verifies the identity proof of the voter and then takes photograph and uploads them to the server using Face Recognition app installed in the phone so as to compare it with photographs of the voters of the polling station concerned.

The app displays results of the verification with an appropriate message.

Voter photograph was captured in the app and cross checked with the list in the polling station. This system was followed in addition to the regular practice of checking voter ID cards or those ID cards allowed by Election Commission manually before being allowed to cast vote.

Medchal Collector MV Reddy inspected a few polling stations where this new system was followed in addition to other polling stations.

Kompally Municipal Commissioner Mylavarapu Jyothy stated that the app initiative was nearly 80 percent success and they tested it on 7,000 voters in 10 polling stations. Due to lighting problems or technical problem, the app could not recognise images of some voters. However, they had their voter ID cards and they were allowed to exercise their franchise.

Election authorities already explained that captured images will be erased from the memory of the mobile phone used in the polling station and also from the server of TSTS (Telangana State Technology Services).