- Queueing time for lunch was cut yesterday when pupils
used an eye recognition system for the first time in a British school.
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- The iris scanner, operated by dinner ladies, allows children's
individual needs to be catered for at The Venerable Bede secondary school
in Sunderland.
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- Parents can also use it to check that their children
are eating sensibly. Blocks can be put on unhealthy snacks.
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- The machine is similar to those seen in science fiction
films such as Mission Impossible. Pupils stand six inches away while it
scans the iris, reading the unique image in seconds.
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- It is linked to a database holding personal details,
including what pupils can and cannot eat. The pupils then choose a meal.
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- The system, costing a total of £60,000, is designed
to cut waiting in canteen queues and avoid pupils who qualify for free
school meals being stigmatised.
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- It has been installed at the £14 million Church
of England school which will open fully in its new buildings in September.
Ed Yeates, the headmaster, first considered a thumb scanner, but decided
on the more futuristic idea when told it was a similar price.
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- "Children pay their money into a machine at the
beginning of the week and each pupil has an account," he said.
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- "At meal times pupils can go to the canteen and
pick up their food. They go to the counter and their iris is scanned.
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- "The operator brings up their details on the screen
and punches in what they have purchased and the price is automatically
taken off their account.
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- "There is no cash, no vouchers. As a result queues
move quickly, the food is still hot when you eat it and the stigma of free
school meals is gone - therefore it cuts out any bullying element."
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- The scanner can deal with 12 children a minute and can
recognise if a person is registered with a food allergy.
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- The school, voluntarily funded in partnership with the
Diocese of Durham and Sunderland city council, has 182 pupils which will
double in September and rise to 900 by 2006.
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- Jamie Hall, a 12-year-old pupil, said the scanner was
a great idea. 'But I don't fancy my mum knowing exactly what I eat,"
he said.
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- "She's always trying to get me to eat my greens
and eat healthy and she tells me not to have chips or burgers for my lunch."
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- David Swanston, the systems manager for CRB Solutions,
said the equipment was non-intrusive and extremely reliable.
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- "This system is great for the kids because it awards
points to children who, for example, choose vegetables over pizza,"
he said. "The iris scanner is four times faster than processing cash
at the counter, which is great news for kids who are hungry and don't want
their food going cold.
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- "It takes just 10 to 12 seconds to register first
time on the machine and each and every time after that it works in an instant
to detect the pupil.
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- Another iris scanner is being planned for the library
to store information about pupils who have books on loan.
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2003.
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