Ict International

The Construction, Building and Real Estate Research Conference of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Held at Dauphine Université, Paris, 2-3 September 2010 ISBN 978-1-84219-619-9 © RICS 12 Great George Street London SW1P 3AD United Kingdom www.rics.org/cobra September 2010 The RICS COBRA Conference is held annually. The aim of COBRA is to provide a platform for the dissemination of original research and new developments within the specific disciplines, sub-disciplines or field of study of:

Management of the construction process

• Cost and value management • Building technology • Legal aspects of construction and procurement • Public private partnerships • Health and safety • Procurement • Risk management • Project management

The built asset

• Property investment theory and practice • Indirect property investment • Property market forecasting • Property pricing and appraisal • Law of property, housing and land use planning • Urban development • Planning and property markets • Financial analysis of the property market and property assets • The dynamics of residential property markets • Global comparative analysis of property markets • Building occupation • Sustainability and real estate • Sustainability and environmental law • Building performance

The property industry

• Information technology • Innovation in education and training • Human and organisational aspects of the industry • Alternative dispute resolution and conflict management • Professional education and training

Peer review process All papers submitted to COBRA were subjected to a double-blind (peer review) refereeing process. Referees were drawn from an expert panel, representing respected academics from the construction and building research community. The conference organisers wish to extend their appreciation to the following members of the panel for their work, which is invaluable to the success of COBRA. Rifat Akbiyikli Sakarya University, Turkey Rafid Al Khaddar Liverpool John Moores University, UK Ahmed Al Shamma’a Liverpool John Moores University, UK Tony Auchterlounie University of Bolton, UK Kwasi Gyau Baffour Awuah University of Wolverhampton, UK Kabir Bala Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria Juerg Bernet Danube University Krems, Austria John Boon UNITEC, New Zealand Douw Boshoff University of Pretoria, South Africa Richard Burt Auburn University, USA Judith Callanan RMIT University, Australia Kate Carter Heriot-Watt University, UK Keith Cattell University of Cape Town, South Africa Antoinette Charles Glasgow Caledonian University, UK Fiona Cheung Queensland University of Technology, Australia Sai On Cheung City University of Hong Kong Samuel Chikafalimani University of Pretoria, South Africa Ifte Choudhury Texas A and M University, USA Chris Cloete University of Pretoria, South Africa Alan Coday Anglia Ruskin University, UK Michael Coffey Anglia Ruskin University, UK Nigel Craig Glasgow Caledonian University, UK Ayirebi Dansoh KNUST, Ghana Peter Davis Curtin University, Australia Peter Defoe Calford Seaden, UK Grace Ding University of Technology Sydney, Australia Hemanta Doloi University of Melbourne, Australia John Dye TPS Consult, UK Peter Edwards RMIT, Australia Charles Egbu University of Salford, UK Ola Fagbenle Covenant University, Nigeria Ben Farrow Auburn University, USA Peter Fenn University of Manchester, UK Peter Fewings University of the West of England, UK

Peter Fisher University of Northumbria, UK Chris Fortune University of Salford, UK Valerie Francis University of Melbourne, Australia Rod Gameson University of Wolverhampton, UK Abdulkadir Ganah University of Central Lancashire, UK Seung Hon Han Yonsei University, South Korea Anthony Hatfield University of Wolverhampton, UK Theo Haupt Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa Dries Hauptfleisch University of the Free State, South Africa Paul Holley Auburn University, USA Danie Hoffman University of Pretoria, South Africa Keith Hogg University of Northumbria, UK Alan Hore Construction IT Alliance, Ireland Bon-Gang Hwang National University of Singapore Joseph Igwe University of Lagos, Nigeria Adi Irfan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia Javier Irizarry Georgia Institute of Technology, USA Usman Isah University of Manchester, UK David Jenkins University of Glamorgan, UK Godfaurd John University of Central Lancashire, UK Keith Jones University of Greenwich, UK Dean Kashiwagi Arizona State University, USA Nthatisi Khatleli University of Cape Town, South Africa Mohammed Kishk Robert Gordon’s University, UK Andrew Knight Nottingham Trent University, UK Scott Kramer Auburn University, USA Esra Kurul Oxford Brookes University, UK Richard Laing Robert Gordon’s University, UK Terence Lam Anglia Ruskin University, UK Veerasak Likhitruangsilp Chulalongkorn University, Thailand John Littlewood University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, UK Junshan Liu Auburn University, USA Champika Liyanage University of Central Lancashire, UK Greg Lloyd University of Ulster, UK S M Lo City University of Hong Kong Mok Ken Loong Yonsei University, South Korea Martin Loosemore University of New South Wales, Australia David Manase Glasgow Caledonian University, UK Donny Mangitung Universitas Tadulako, Malaysia Patrick Manu University of Wolverhampton, UK Tinus Maritz University of Pretoria, South Africa Hendrik Marx University of the Free State. South Africa Ludwig Martin Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa Wilfred Matipa Liverpool John Moores University, UK Steven McCabe Birmingham City University, UK Annie McCartney University of Glamorgan, UK Andrew McCoy Virginia Tech, USA Enda McKenna Queen’s University Belfast, UK Kathy Michell University of Cape Town, South Africa Roy Morledge Nottingham Trent University, UK

Michael Murray University of Strathclyde, UK Saka Najimu Glasgow Caledonian University, UK Stanley Njuangang University of Central Lancashire, UK Henry Odeyinka University of Ulster, UK Ayodejo Ojo Ministry of National Development, Seychelles Michael Oladokun University of Uyo, Nigeria Alfred Olatunji Newcastle University, Australia Austin Otegbulu Beliz Ozorhon Bogazici University, Turkey Obinna Ozumba University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa Robert Pearl University of KwaZulu, Natal, South Africa Srinath Perera Northumbria University, UK Joanna Poon Nottingham Trent University, UK Keith Potts University of Wolverhampton, UK Elena de la Poza Plaza Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain Matthijs Prins Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Hendrik Prinsloo University of Pretoria, South Africa Richard Reed Deakin University, Australia Zhaomin Ren University of Glamorgan, UK Herbert Robinson London South Bank University, UK Kathryn Robson RMIT, Australia Simon Robson University of Northumbria, UK David Root University of Cape Town, South Africa Kathy Roper Georgia Institute of Technology, USA Steve Rowlinson University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Paul Royston Nottingham Trent University, UK Paul Ryall University of Glamorgan, UK Amrit Sagoo Coventry University, UK Alfredo Serpell Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile Winston Shakantu Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa Yvonne Simpson University of Greenwich, UK John Smallwood Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa Heather Smeaton-Webb MUJV Ltd. UK Bruce Smith Auburn University, USA Melanie Smith Leeds Metropolitan University, UK Hedley Smyth University College London, UK John Spillane Queen’s University Belfast, UK Suresh Subashini University of Wolverhampton, UK Kenneth Sullivan Arizona State University, USA Joe Tah Oxford Brookes University, UK Derek Thomson Heriot-Watt University, UK Matthew Tucker Liverpool John Moores University, UK Chika Udeaja Northumbria University, UK Basie Verster University of the Free State, South Africa Francois Viruly University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa John Wall Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland Sara Wilkinson Deakin University, Australia Trefor Williams University of Glamorgan, UK

Bimbo Windapo University of Cape Town, South Africa Francis Wong Hong Kong Polytechnic University Ing Liang Wong Glasgow Caledonian University, UK Andrew Wright De Montfort University, UK Peter Wyatt University of Reading, UK Junli Yang University of Westminster, UK Wan Zahari Wan Yusoff Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Malaysia George Zillante University of South Australia Benita Zulch University of the Free State, South Africa Sam Zulu Leeds Metropolitan University, UK

In addition to this, the following specialist panel of peer-review experts assessed papers for the COBRA session arranged by CIB W113 John Adriaanse London South Bank University, UK Julie Adshead University of Salford, UK Alison Ahearn Imperial College London, UK Rachelle Alterman Technion, Israel Deniz Artan Ilter Istanbul Technical University, Turkey Jane Ball University of Sheffield, UK Luke Bennett Sheffield Hallam University, UK Michael Brand University of New South Wales, Australia Penny Brooker University of Wolverhampton, UK Alice Christudason National University of Singapore Paul Chynoweth University of Salford, UK Sai On Cheung City University of Hong Kong Julie Cross University of Salford, UK Melissa Daigneault Texas A&M University, USA Steve Donohoe University of Plymouth, UK Ari Ekroos University of Helsinki, Finland Tilak Ginige Bournemouth University, UK Martin Green Leeds Metropolitan University, UK David Greenwood Northumbria University, UK Asanga Gunawansa National University of Singapore Jan-Bertram Hillig University of Reading, UK Rob Home Anglia Ruskin University, UK Peter Kennedy Glasgow Caledonian University, UK Anthony Lavers Keating Chambers, UK Wayne Lord Loughborough University, UK Sarah Lupton Cardiff University Tim McLernon University of Ulster, UK Frits Meijer TU Delft, The Netherlands Jim Mason University of the West of England, UK Brodie McAdam University of Salford, UK Tinus Maritz University of Pretoria, South Africa

Francis Moor University of Salford, UK Issaka Ndekugri University of Wolverhampton, UK John Pointing Kingston University, UK Razani Abdul Rahim Universiti Technologi, Malaysia Linda Thomas-Mobley Georgia Tech, USA Paul Tracey University of Salford, UK Yvonne Scannell Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Cathy Sherry University of New South Wales, Australia Julian Sidoli del Ceno Birmingham City University, UK Keren Tweeddale London South Bank University, UK Henk Visscher TU Delft, The Netherlands Peter Ward University of Newcastle, Australia

CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY FOR CONSTRUCTION

ICT IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY

Ozumba AOU 1 School of Construction Economics and Management, EBE Faculty, University of the Witwatersrand, Braamfontein, Johannesburg. [email protected]

Ata ON 2 Department of Electronic Engineering, Engineering Faculty, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria. [email protected]

Oburo NC 3 Department of Electronic Engineering, Engineering Faculty, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria. [email protected]

David N 4 Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria.

[email protected]

Abstract: The construction industry in developing countries struggles with the diffusion of Information

and Communication Technology. Among many hindering factors are Negative notions on the

part of the local industry and society at large. These perceptions concern the availability of

relevant latest technologies, necessary skills and capacity of the local technology to support

advancement in Construction ICT in various areas of need. The growing need for improved site

security presents a good opportunity for greater integration of ICT in the local industry; despite

attendant constraints and negative perceptions. The paper presents an attempt to address some of

these notions by demonstrating the existence of cutting edge technology that is relevant to a

need area in construction. The findings add value to the local body of knowledge on

technology (ICT) generally, and Construction ICT (CICT) in particular with regards to

possibilities and advantages.

Keywords: Construction ICT, Technology Transfer, Site Security Management,

Biometrics, Iris Recognition.

Definition of terms:

Hamming Distance :To calculate the similarity of two iris codes, Hamming distance is used. A

lower Hamming distance indicates higher similarity. The Hamming distance operator performs

this function.

Circular Hough Transform: A feature extracting technique used in detecting the pupil of the eye.

The basic idea of this technique is to find curves that can be parameterized like straight lines,

polynomials, circles, etc., in a suitable parameter space.

Biometrics: Automatic recognition of individuals based on their physiological and/or behavioral

characteristics.

Matlab (MATrix LABoratory): A programming language for technical computing from The

MathWorks, (www.mathworks.com). Used for a wide variety of scientific and engineering

calculations, especially for automatic control and signal processing.

Canny edge operator: An edge detection operator used as a multiple stage algorithm to detect a

wide range of edges.

CASIA Iris database: Chinese Academy of Sciences Iris database of iris images released for

research and educational purposes.

Haar wavelet: The haar wavelet allows information to be encoded according to levels of detail.

Pentium M processor: A family of CPUs from Intel that are part of its Centrino brand for mobile

computing; successor of Pentium III M and Pentium 4 M.

Bilinear transformation: This is a useful approximation for converting continuous time filters

(represented in Laplace space) into discrete time filters (represented in z space).

Downsampling (an image): Creating an access image that is a miniaturized duplicate of your

optical resolution master scan. That is, compressing the image so it does not take as much hard

memmory space.

1 Introduction

Construction Information and Communication Technology (CICT) makes reference to ICT

development for construction; the integration of ICT in construction. This could mean from first

principles / ideas, components or from existing finished products (Ozumba & Shakantu, 2008a;

2008b). Though a trend which started after the Second World War with the advent of

computers, it is still a growing field today (Howard, 1998). Construction is said to be lagging

behind in the uptake of ICT, compared to other industrial sectors (Koskela, 1992). Nevertheless

major advancements have been made in this field especially in highly industrialised nations of

the world (FIATECH, 2009; Ozumba & Shakantu, 2008b; Howard, 1998).

However, the so called „developing countries‟ do not seem to be faring well in this regard.

Developing countries generally struggle with the pressures of globalisation, culture and the dire

need for physical development (Ofori, 2000). This puts an even greater pressure on these

countries to incorporate global industry trends, in the presence of obvious limitations. Thus the

so called „developing countries‟ seem to struggle with advancing beyond basic usage of

computers with regards to CICT. A case in point is Nigeria in Western Africa. Though the local

Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector has experienced a lot of activity in

recent times, the CICT is still basic (Oladapo, 2005). Beyond design, estimation and basic

programming of projects there does not seem to be any more / serious integration of ICT in

construction as it is occurring in the wider world today. Apart from obvious factors and most

advanced reasons, other barriers to CICT growth seem to exist within the industry community

and society at large. Such barriers would include perceptions and notions about their capacity to

sustain such technological growth. More grave is the perceptible general negative notions about

availability of ICT and ICT skills locally to power advancement in CICT. In light of inadequate

infrastructure, power supply, and other essential public services, socio-economic and political

upheavals, it seems that negative perceptions are justified. Negative notions or perceptions of

stakeholders in this aspect of construction, especially in developing areas; influence their

willingness to invest in CICT. As such attainable benefits are not realised.

However with the fast paced development of the ICT sector, more opportunities exist for the

built environment. Consequently there are benefits that could accrue even to the local industry

from investment in ICT. This could come about from adapting existing / latest ICT to use in

construction, within the constraints already discussed (Ozumba and Shakantu, 2008a; 2008b;

2009a). The capacity to adapt technology to local use and support that usage efficiently within

the local environment would be of prime importance in this regard. To achieve the above, the

technology and adequate level of requisite skills base ought to be locally available. Therefore

the existence of these two would also partly serve as indicators of a locally sustainable CICT.

Thus it is possible to address some of the suggested negative notions, by demonstrating

indicators of available adequate local ICT and the essential skills. Moreover if local availability

of adequate technologies could be established, it will encourage more interest in ICT investment

within the local industry. Presently it is not possible to employ all current / latest ICT in the

local construction environment. Nevertheless it is possible to integrate some of the high level

technologies through adaptations that make them operable; bearing in mind the constraints

within the local environment. Achieving that within reasonable cost will still depend on local

availability of human and material resources. Thus the general line of enquiry would seek to

determine what relevant latest information and communication technologies, and ICT skills,

exist within the local context.

Obvious constraints within the local environment suggest a negative response to the above

general line of questioning. However within specific need areas in construction such as site

security; there are indicators of locally available ICT and required skills, which are relevant and

accessible to the industry. As stated in the abstract, site security has become quite important

among growing need areas in the construction process. Site security management falls within

the site management process (SMP). In the „new construction site environment‟ the stretching of

site management capacity results in lapses occasioned by „site management blind spots‟

(Ozumba and Shakantu, 2008a). The rising cases of theft and massive financial losses due to

extra costs incurred as a result of site theft all point to the current critical status of site security.

As businesses incur heavy losses, issues such as monitoring movement and access into and

within specific areas on site have become critical to the success of the SMP. Project and site

level management personnel are under pressure to deliver in this area (The Chartered Institute of

Building (CIOB), 2009). However on the general local industry landscape, there is not much

investment in ICT for site security beyond two-way radios and manual communication systems.

Inefficiencies, increase in expense and communication bottlenecks, make dependence on

manual monitoring a poor solution (Sacks & Novon & Goldscmidt, 2002). This is especially

with regards to remote areas with minimal infrastructural development; due to obvious

constraints and notions, which are supported by less impressive facts about skills, infrastructure

and sustainability of available technologies.

The questions arising from the above deliberation are:

(a) What latest ICT and requisite ICT skills, which are sustainable and relevant to site security

management, exist locally?

Thus the aim of the paper is to present a report on identification and implementation of research

in cutting edge technology, for adaptation to construction within the context of a developing

country; the paper showcases an example of „local independent technology‟ (Ozumba, 93),

focusing on the Nigeria context. Findings suggest that there is growing room for the

development and adaptation of cutting edge technology to construction within the context of

developing countries that are underprovided for in infrastructure and power. It is also suggested

here that technology transferred, could over time, become truly independent and local through

adaptation. Thus the technology becomes sustainable locally (Ozumba, 1993). Hence it is

possible to partly address underlying technology and capacity factors which act as barriers to

ICT investment.

2 Barriers to CICT

Barriers to the uptake of ICT in construction are many and they vary depending on the project,

the area and the people involved, among other factors. The field-oriented nature of construction

is a major factor. This brings into view the fragmentation of the industry; complex production /

procurement system; ad hoc / project method used, and geographical distribution of participants.

Also there is the high rate of development and obsolescence of ICT; poor implementation

processes adopted; introduction of varying ICT standards and the requirements for installation

and setting up ICT on site (Arayici et. al., 2005; Oladapo, 2005; Cabarello, 2002; Begh and

Kagioglou, 2004; Svidt and Christiansson, 2006).

Generally, the cost of implementation is one major barrier to increase in CICT. Also the

complexity in assessing real cost savings, encourages unwillingness on the part of industry

practitioners (Svidt and Christiansson, 2006; Ozumba and Shakantu, 2008b). Moreover, apart

from natural resistance to change, there is fear of redundancy; which stems from poor and

negative information (Svidt and Christiansson, 2006; Oladapo, 2005). Besides the above

mentioned there are also human resource factors such as competence of the staff, usability

factors and perceptions of the technologies (Ugwu and Kumaraswamy, 2007).

Many of the factors discussed above impact CICT progress more in developing countries. There

are other equally serious issues such as Competence of the CICT development team,

standardization of products and processes, local availability of appropriate software and

appropriate hardware technology. Moreover within the context of a developing country, external

influences from the immediate geo-political and socio-economic environment would constitute

barriers or enablers. Such factors would include governmental control through regulations and

guidelines (Ugwu and Kumaraswamy, 2007).

Within countries struggling with development, the factors discussed above are combined with

the daily realities of life. In such instances, much more negative perceptions of CICT would be

most likely generated. Nigeria from experience struggles with provision of basic services, power

supply, general infrastructure and ICT enabling infrastructure. These necessities are still at

developmental stages. The situation is exacerbated by the lasting effects of a high degree of

economic stress.

Technology diffusion in construction continues to face many of the above mentioned barriers in

places such as Nigeria. CICT in essence is the movement of technology from ICT sector,

directly or indirectly, to construction. That in essence is Technology Transfer (TT). Issues

concerning CICT in developing countries such as Nigeria are therefore not divorced from

known challenges of TT. These issues could be addressed from the sub concepts within

Technology Transfer.

2.1 Technology Transfer

Firstly the theory of innovation diffusion describes technology adaptation as a sequential

process (Wu and Ho, 2005). Secondly the implementation of new technology is viewed as

innovative and a two-way adaptation process between technology and the group or society it is

entering (Leonard-Barton 1988 in Wu and Ho, 2005). Wilson, (2004) in Turpin and Cooper,

(2005) argues that indigenous local cultures could be influenced to support innovation and

diffusion. This could happen over time. Technology transfer has a broad range of meanings. It

also involves transfer between groups and within groups. Eventually, over time enough local

technology is grown that becomes independent for the most part (Ozumba, 1993). Globalisation

and the current capacity of latest ICT itself have created enormous opportunities for the growth

of local technology.

Arguments advanced above are indicative of CICT possibilities worth exploring for the local

industry. It would therefore be erroneous to underestimate the degree of locally available ICT

and ICT skills in so called „developing countries‟.

By extrapolation from the above, there are possibilities of locally available high level

technologies; and the requisite skills to adapt such technologies into operable / usable artefacts;

that can function and improve site security management optimally within constraints of the local

environment. Thus it is possible to partly address the challenge of negative notions about local

CICT, in a specific aspect of construction; namely site security management. Establishment of

relevant technology and skills locally would indicate the existence of local technology with a

good measure of independence, specific to the area of study. The objectives so derived, are to

identify and implement locally, a research in cutting edge technology for site security

management; with the aid of locally available skills as described; and assess the adaptability of

such technology to construction within the local context.

3 Research Methodology

Following the objectives above the general research design was as follows:

(a) Identification of an area of research in cutting edge technology, relevant to site security

management. In this case Iris Recognition, under Biometrics technologies was identified based

on descriptions given earlier on the term „locally independent technology‟. The research had to

be carried out within the geographical scope of Nigeria, by people who are trained in, and are

still living in Nigeria. In addition, sourcing had to be from locally available materials and

technologies. The essence is to implement such an advanced research with a good measure of

success within the limitations imposed by the realities of infrastructure, power, funding and

spatial needs, among others. Moreover to assess the adaptability of the technology into a

functional entity that provides the desired services within already described constraints.

(b) Findings of the research are assessed for potential utility adaptable to construction, based on

previous and ongoing research work in Construction ICT. Inferences are then made on

possibilities for Construction ICT growth in the developing country and by extension, other

developing countries.

Besides being a high level technology, locally available and independent, and suitable to site

security management; biometric systems offer great benefits with respect to other authentication

techniques. In particular, they are often more user friendly and can guarantee the physical

presence of the user. Iris recognition ranks as one of the best in performance in terms of

identification and verification. Iris recognition has been practised since the eighteenth century,

in Paris prisons in where police discriminated criminals by inspecting colour variations of their

individual irises. The purpose of „Iris Recognition‟, a biometrics based technology for personal

identification and verification, is to recognize a person from his / her iris prints. Iris patterns are

characterized by high level stability and distinctiveness. The human iris has a very high level of

uniqueness, which could be noticed between both eyes of the same individuals and between

identical twins (Daugman, 1993; Daugman, ud; Wildes, 1997).

3.1 Design and Implementation of PC – Based Iris – Authentication System

Contemporary research in iris-based authentication can coarsely be divided into two categories.

The first is the „Iris Pattern Recognition’, which studies and implements algorithm and more

accurate extraction and matching of iris templates. The second type is „Iris Biometrics

Integration‟, which makes inquest into possible areas of iris biometric applications; focusing on

seamlessly integrating iris-based authentication into various usage environment. The research

work reported here comprises iris image acquisition, iris processing algorithms, database storage

and utility, authentication application development, and access control hardware actuation (the

modules, interfaces, and alternatives).

The project involved designing and carrying out a setup of the component parts of the system,

which was then implemented. The design included software for data collection, processing and

decision making and hardware design implementation for granting or denying access. The actual

implementation of „Iris Recognition‟ involved the following steps: image acquisition, image

manipulation, iris localisation, mapping of the iris and, feature extraction using wavelet

applications, decision making process through comparison of newly coded image with the already

coded iris of the user. The comparison determines a match or an impostor. Finally, the user is

either granted or denied ingress through a door by, activating the hardware phase.

3.1.1 Image acquisition; manipulation; and localisation

Firstly, the most critical step of image acquisition was performed; using a closed circuit digital

(CCD) with the resolution set to 640x480 pixels, the image set to „jpeg‟, and the „mode‟ set to

white and black for greater details. This step determines the image quality. Appropriate settings

for lighting and distance to camera where taken into consideration for the Eye images‟

acquisition. Secondly, for pre-processing manipulation, the images were transformed from RGB

to gray level and from eight-bit to double precision thus facilitating further manipulations in

subsequent steps. Thirdly, a necessary step required that boundaries of the iris be located by

performing full iris image detection (Wildes, 1997). This was performed by a series of steps

involving downsampling of the images using a Gaussian Pyramid; applying the Canny operator

with the default threshold value given by Matlab, in order to obtain the gradient image;

application of a Circular summation for the intensities over all circles; and rescaling of the results

obtained. The centre and radius of the iris in the original image are thus determined. Further

processing is used to address circumstances beyond the capacity of the Canny operator; such as

finding the inner edge, especially for dark and coloured irises (blue or green). Thus the

boundaries of the iris were determined, as shown in Figure 1.

3.1.2 Mapping; feature extraction using wavelet application; and binary coding

The possibility of the pupil dilating and appearing of different size in different images is also

addressed; by mapping of all the points within the boundary of the iris into their polar equivalent

(Figures 2 & 3). This done after unwrapping of the lower part of the iris (lower 180 degrees); with

the size of the mapped image fixed at 100x402 pixels; ensuring that equal amount of points were

taken at every angle. The process so designed addressed pupil dilation as well (Gonzalez, 2002).

The feature extraction step is responsible for obtaining the iris patterns taking into account the

correlation between adjacent pixels. Based on extensive research, wavelets transform was chosen

and more specifically the “Haar Transform” (Gonzalez, 2002). This approach was considered

more appropriate than Gabor wavelets, which has been used in most previous implementations.

Figure 1: Localized Iris

(Source: Ata, Oburo and David, 2010)

Figure 2: Original image

(Source: Ata, Oburo and David, 2010)

Figure 3: Iris isolated image

(Source: Ata, Oburo and David, 2010)

Further reasons were based on the overall research design for the paper; bearing in mind the

constraints in the local work environment of the implementation. Decisions were also based on

the need to keep total computation time as low as possible. Thus building a neural network for

this task was considered time consuming.

By using the Haar Transform, the mapped image is processed; coefficients that represent the core

of the iris pattern are selected; and redundant information revealed is eliminated. Through this

process each image applied to the Haar wavelet can be represented as the combination of six

matrices. A combination of all matrices results in the feature vector, which is a singular vector

that defines the iris patterns. The vector information is used in the binary coding (Lim, Lee,

Byeon and Kim, 2001). The vector generated in the research implementation has a size of 702

elements; due to the approach of mapping only the lower part of the iris. This is a success in

reducing the feature vector with regards to previous implementations. Daugman‟s implementation

uses a vector of 1024 elements (Daugman, 1993).

3.1.3 Binary Coding Scheme and test of statistical independence

The next important step was to perform binary coding on the results for the decision

making process. This required observation of some of the characteristics of the feature

vector; and utilisation of a quantization scheme to convert the feature vector to its

equivalent code-word:

· If Coef( i ) >= 0 then Coef( i ) = 1 · If Coef( i ) < 0 then Coef( i ) = 0

“Coef” is the feature vector of an image. The two code-words are then compared to determine if

they represent the same person or not, using a test of statistical independence. The test is based on

Daugman‟s matching scheme, which uses the binary Hamming distance (HD) and similarities

between two feature vectors. The test enables the comparison of two iris patterns. Any two

different irises are statistically “guaranteed” to pass this test as already proven. In reverse, similar

irises will fail this test since the distance between them will be small. A maximum HD of 0.32 for

the same person has been determined from John Daugman‟s extensive research on a large number

of iris patterns (up to 3 million iris images), (Daugman, 2004). Thus, for the test two iris images

are compared by applying a Hamming distance (HD) calculating function on their

corresponding binary feature vectors. The decision of whether these two images belong to

the same person depends upon the following result:

· If HD <= 0.32 decide that it is same person · If HD > 0.32 decide that it is different person

...................................equation 1

(or left and right eyes of the same person)

3.2 System hardware Implementation

The next step was the design and implementation of the hardware for the system. This

involved the development of a door access control circuitry, which receives and executes

the decisions of the iris recognition phase. The door access control circuitry refers to the

hardware components used for locking or unlocking of the door. The door access control

unit has two parts; namely the door lock circuit; and the parallel port interface circuit. The

interface circuit responds to the application software‟s request for lock or release. It

generates an actuating signal which drives a stepper motor lock setup.

3.2.1 Door Lock Unit

The Door Lock Unit was designed using basic standard logic and a stepper motor control

circuitry. The circuitry was designed to use the stepper motor to open a door in three

seconds, leave it open for three seconds, and close it in three seconds. Thus the sequence

lasts a total of nine seconds. Fig 5 shows the circuit diagram of the stepping motor

controller.

Fig 5: Circuit Diagram of Stepping Motor Controller

(Source: Ata, Oburo and David, 2010)

3.2.2 Results and Performance

The next step was performance testing, which required an evaluation of the accuracy of the hybrid

system (hardware and software). After design and setup, the project was tested on CASIA Iris

Image Database, using a Pentium M processor. Failures encountered in the running of the system

were due to a number of limiting factors which occurred at those instances. The factors were

instances of poor lighting, occlusion by eyelids, noises or inappropriate eye positioning due to

human error.

Table 1: Efficiencies of the different parts

(Source: Ata, Oburo and David, 2010)

Edge Detection Mapping Feature

Extraction

Binary Code

Generation

Efficiency % 73 70 73 75

A 93% correct recognition average was obtained. Table 1 gives the efficiency of each part of the system. Moreover an overall 73% average of efficiency was demonstrated by the system.

4 Findings and Discussion

Based on previous research work in (Ozumba and Shakantu, 2008b; Ozumba and Shakantu,

2009a; 2009b; 2009c) and current efforts, inferences are drawn. These deductions are made with

regards to the adaptability of technologies discussed above, to construction. The research design

and implementation is for a physical access control system, incorporating iris-based

authentication. The hardware, software and process have direct potential for use in construction as

one system or component technologies. Access control is a major aspect of security management

in construction. Security management is essential both on and off the site. The present use of

smart cards can be fooled even with the presence of surveillance cameras. However the use of a

biometric technologies system will increase the security rating of any access control system

appreciably. Moreover, secure iris recognition could be advanced to assist on site with health and

safety management. Dilation states of the pupil could help determine alertness, with regards to

concussion, fatigue or use of alcohol and narcotics. Furthermore, there are possibilities generally,

for the area of intelligent construction site environments. While some of the inferences might

sound somewhat advanced for developing countries as described in the paper, the improvements

on previous research, performance testing results and findings cannot be ignored.

5 Conclusion and Further Research

From indications, the future of authentication lies with biometrics. Though a cutting edge

technology, it is available in the context of a developing nation such as Nigeria; with all the

limitations that should hinder the existence of such technologies, in sustainable form. Thus in

response to the questions raised earlier the paper states the following:

Generally speaking, implementation of research on cutting edge technology within the Nigerian

local context; with complete local sourcing of both human and material resources, shows local

availability of latest ICT and ICT skills. Specifically, the results demonstrate the local existence

of appreciable potential, for the enhancement of site security management through ICT.

Furthermore, the implementation of such research locally that has potential for construction

indicates that possibilities exist currently, even for advanced CICT within the local context.

However there are other areas of further research emerging from the project. Firstly the research

should be taken to the next stage which is the actual design and execution of a site deployable

prototype, which should be self-sustaining to a high degree. This would test the robustness of

the system with regards to the limitations highlighted in the paper. Secondly further

investigations should be conducted with a view to identifying and implementing latest

technologies within the local context. It is also necessary to investigate the local ICT sector in

order to ascertain the nature, quality and sophistication of knowledge and skills available. Very

important also is the need to investigate the possibility of developing local construction ICT

body of knowledge from locally available technologies in developing countries of Africa.

Increase in research output along these paths would increase local awareness of the availability

of enough ICT locally, to sustain initial growth in Construction ICT. Thus impetus could be

increased within the local industry to engage in more adoption of ICT, in line with international

trends. In concluding the research constitutes valuable contribution to the local body of

knowledge on technology (ICT) generally, and Construction ICT (CICT) in particular. It

highlights the overlooked possibilities and advantages that are coming into existence locally for

CICT in Africa as a whole.

6 Acknowledgement

This paper is a part of a larger research collaboration effort by researchers based in South Africa

and Nigeria. The research implementation for a PC Based Iris Recognition System research

project was completed and submitted as unpublished works at the Department of Electronic

Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in February of 2010. The implementation project

was supervised by Nathan David, co-author of the paper.

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