Two men from Ekhurhuleni have teamed up with the Vaal University of Technology to create a biometric certifying machine.
Thabang Mamantsebe, Pule Maake along with VUT product developer Tebogo Kekana have created a machine that can certify personal documents using biometric technology.
"The machine is user friendly, it takes only 60 seconds to use. The product uses finger and biometric information; when you put your fingerprint it lets you know who you are and the documents you have [on the system] that can be certified. It asks you what you want to certify," said Mamantsebe.
However, the machine will only be used by people if it is approved by the government as it requires access to the population register to be able to verify people's details.
The 37-year-old Mamantsebe, who is an apprentice of Denel Technical Academy, said he thought of the idea in 2014 but it took him eight years to get it right.
"It can also be used by the private sector, especially HR [human resources], if they want to interview someone and authenticate documents," said Mamantsebe.
He believes that if the machine is at key areas in communities it will reduce queues and also prevent identity theft by removing the human element of authentication.
"The VUT design department helped us to test the machine. I took all my information and put it in the machine and tested it with my information and it worked," he said.
Mamantsebe said his biggest challenge was when his laptop was stolen with all his designs.
"Luckily I was able to recover my information from cloud. In 2017 I approached VUT because I was looking for a designer and I met Tebogo Kekana and they agreed to help us to design the product.
"While engaging with Kekana, that's when I found out about the Technology Innovation Agency and I went there and applied for funding and after that I went back to the university to proceed with the product," he said.
Kekana said they would have finished with the product earlier if it was not for Covid-19 lockdown which kept the team apart.
"One of the challenges we had was due to corona and we have had the project now for nearly a year. We couldn't work on it but as soon as things opened up a bit we continued to work on it and now it is ready," said Kekana.
Vusi Langa, spokesperson for the Technology Innovation Agency, an entity of the department of science and technology, confirmed it was funding the project.
"The project is indeed funded by TIA through the technology station programme," said Langa.
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