ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the limitations of the most popular biometric authentication systems. It is thus necessary to develop other biometric technologies to ensure that they there are alternatives when some solutions are no longer viable. This paper presented a stand-alone biometric authentication system for computers used in industrial applications. The accuracy metric used to assess the system was the equal error rate (EER) and this was used to calculate an overall system accuracy of 88.94%. The stand-alone device had limited processing power and this resulted in an overall authentication time of 3.966s. In general the system had an acceptable accuracy and some security measures were put into place to bolster the overall system security.
ABSTRACT
Public health and safety concerns around the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic have greatly changed human behaviour. Such shifts in behaviours, including travel patterns, consumerism, and energy use, are variously impacting biodiversity during the human-dominated geological epoch known as the Anthropocene. Indeed, the dramatic reduction in human mobility and activity has been termed the “Anthropause”. COVID-19 has highlighted the current environmental and biodiversity crisis and has provided an opportunity to redefine our relationship with nature. Here we share 10 considerations for conservation policy makers to support and rethink the development of impactful and effective policies in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are opportunities to leverage societal changes as a result of COVID-19, focus on the need for collaboration and engagement, and address lessons learned through the development of policies (including those related to public health) during the pandemic. The pandemic has had devastating impacts on humanity that should not be understated, but it is also a warning that we need to redefine our relationship with nature and restore biodiversity. The considerations presented here will support the development of robust, evidence-based, and transformative policies for biodiversity conservation in a post-COVID-19 world. © 2021, Canadian Science Publishing. All rights reserved.