Updated on June 5, 2024

·

Created on August 1, 2017

Simprints

Simprints is a nonprofit tech company from the University of Cambridge that seeks to break the identification bottleneck. Simprints is building an affordable, secure, rugged, open-source fingerprint system that works in the world’s toughest settings.

Developed By
  1. Simprints
Tested By
  • University of Cambridge
Content Partners
Unknown

Author

Product Description

Simprints has built out a framework consisting of a Bluetooth finger print scanner, an android application and a SaaS application to collect and store biometric information for development solutions.

Target SDGs

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Market Suggested Retail Price

$50.00

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Public Sector Agencies, NGOs

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

Simprints has several partners to distribute the fingerprint scanner: - BRAC - Johns Hopkins University - Possible in Nepal - Impact Network - Cohesu - Many more

Manufacturing/Building Method

Simprints publishes their API codebase on GitHub.

Intellectural Property Type

Copyright

User Provision Model

Information on partnering with Simprints is available on their contact page.

Distributions to Date Status

According to the Google Play store the Simprints application has 100-500 installs.

Mobile service required

Mobile internet, SMS

Device(s) required

Android smartphone or tablet

Additional features required

Bluetooth

Permanent network connectivity required

No

Type of applications for data collection

Tablet or smartphone application

Level of mobile data coverage needed

2G

Type of data collected

Biometric scans used for identification

Usage rate (%)

Unknown.

Literacy support

No

Languages available

English, Nepali, Bengali

Operating system and version

Android 4.0 or greater

Power Requirements

Occasional power required by end user

Application of mobile data collection

Health (Immunizations, Maternal health), Education, Micro-finance, Aid distribution

Design Specifications

Simprints' framework consists of three primary parts, the fingerprint scanner, Android application, and the SaaS back end. The developers page has detailed information on the integration of the platform with other applications. - The fingerprint scanner is designed to be water and shock resistant. It has Bluetooth connectivity with 64-bit encryption for communication and has ~72 hours of battery life (BL-5C Nokia battery) which is about 200 scans. It also has a two year warranty on the scanner with the option to extend it to four years. - The Simprints Android application is supported on Android 4.0 and up. It uses SSL encryption between the phone application and the cloud. It supports offline mode and will store information locally until it can sync up with the cloud. The application will also utilized the GPS of the phone to determine location and time stamp of a a visit or procedure. - The cloud back end runs in Azure and utilizes a RESTful API, making it easy to integrate with other applications, such as OpenMRS, ODK, CommCare, etc. In addition to the in transit encryption, personal data are not stored with the fingerprints, limiting privacy concerns.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

From the product menu technical support is provided by Simprints. Purchase of product includes either a two or four year warranty.

Replacement Components

BL-5C Nokia battery.

Lifecycle

From the product menu, the product has a 4 year warranty available, so that is a reasonable number for a life cycle.

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

To provide a low cost biometric identification framework to enable development projects to better mange identities of the populations they serve

Vetted Performance Status

From their technology page: "We have tested Simprints with 125,000 fingerprints across Zambia, Benin, Nepal, and Bangladesh in both urban and rural contexts. We pitted a wide range of sensors, templates, and matching algorithms against the toughest fingerprints we could find to optimize our system in terms of power, speed, ruggedness, and affordability."

Safety

N/A

Complementary Technical Systems

- CommCare - Salesforce - Magpi - Open Data Kit - Medic Mobile

Academic Research and References

Storisteanu DML, Norman TL, Grigore A, Norman TL. Biometric Fingerprint System to Enable Rapid and Accurate Identification of Beneficiaries. Global Health: Science and Practice. 2015;3(1):135–137.

Storisteanu DM, Norman TL, Grigore A, Labrique AB. Can biometrics beat the developing worlds challenges? Biometric Technology Today. 2016;2016(11):5–9.

“Simprints Technology – Our Partners.” n.d. Simprints.Com. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://www.simprints.com/partners 

“Biometrics.” n.d. Necam.Com. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://www.necam.com/biometrics/

“RightPatient – Biometric Patient Identification Platform.” 2019. RightPatient. January 11, 2019. https://www.rightpatient.com/

“Simprints Technology – Impact.” n.d. Simprints.Com. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://www.simprints.com/impact

“THE 17 GOALS.” n.d. Sdgs.Un.Org. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://sdgs.un.org/goals

Simprints. n.d. Accessed June 5, 2024.  https://github.com/SimPrints 

“Simprints Technology – Contact.” n.d. Simprints.Com. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://www.simprints.com/contact?your-subject=I%27d+like+to+support+Simprints 

“Simprints ID.” n.d. Google.Com. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simprints.id&hl=en 

“Simprints for Developers.” n.d. Google.Com. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://sites.google.com/simprints.com/simprints-for-developers/product-overview

“Simprints Technology – Our Solution.” n.d. Simprints.Com. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://www.simprints.com/solution

Compliance with regulations

Simprints ID complies with local data regulation and EU data privacy and security regulations.

Evaluation methods

Field trials and academic research

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