Automatic Detection and Characterization of Human Veins Using Infra-Red Image Processing

The detection and characterization of human veins using infrared (IR) image processing have gained significant attention due to its potential applications in biometric identification, medical diagnostics, and vein-based authentication systems. This paper presents a low-cost approach for automatic detection and characterization of human veins from IR images. The proposed method uses image processing techniques including segmentation, feature extraction, and, pattern recognition algorithms. Initially, the IR images are preprocessed to enhance vein structures and reduce noise. Subsequently, a CLAHE algorithm is employed to extract vein regions based on their unique IR absorption properties. Features such as vein thickness, orientation, and branching patterns are extracted using mathematical morphology and directional filters. Finally, a classification framework is implemented to categorize veins and distinguish them from surrounding tissues or artifacts. A setup based on Raspberry Pi was used. Experimental results of IR images demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed approach in accurately detecting and characterizing human. The developed system shows promising for integration into applications requiring reliable and secure identification based on vein patterns. Our work provides an effective and low-cost solution for nursing staff in low and middle-income countries to perform a safe and accurate venipuncture.

Towards a New Model for the Production of Civil Status Records Using Blockchain

The work presented in this article focuses on document forgery. Document fraud is a generic term used to designate a fraud, a falsification of a document. The said falsification can be observed in several sectors of everyday life. For a better illustration, let’s consider a system for producing civil status forms. The birth certificate is generally the basis of any individual’s life, and if this document is falsified, it can have repercussions at several levels, particularly in the academic field, where false diplomas, false national identity cards, false passports, false marriage certificates, etc. are obtained. It is therefore demonstrated that a secure production unit for civil status forms can be beneficial to both developed and developing countries. In addition, smart contract is proposed using a private Hyperledger fabric blockchain for validation of civil status documents, and a non-state public key management infrastructure is also proposed to authenticate the nodes that will validate the transactions. This improved blockchain solves the problem of falsification of civil status documents, as false nodes can contribute to the validation of a transaction. The contribution of such a hybrid system is of paramount importance for the identity of civil status documents on the one hand and for the identity of documents in general, and the blockchain to guarantee the distributed, unforgeable, non-repudiation, transparency and disintermediation character.

Variability of Performance Indices of Photovoltaic Solar Panels in Operating Conditions in the Littoral Zone of Cameroon

Photovoltaic cells are generally manufactured under standard test conditions. The operating conditions, very often induce performance losses different from those initially given by the manufacturer. This article presents an experimental acquisition and analysis system that integrates the synthetic efficiency ratio (SER) as a hybrid analysis tool to evaluate the performance of a monocrystalline photovoltaic solar panel, in this case the LW-MS90 panel in the city of Douala. The meteorological data obtained experimentally was used to evaluate these performances according to the manufacturer’s model in MATLAB/Simulink. By comparison with the experimental performances, the results quantify through a certain number of indices, a minimal power drop according to the acquired irradiance estimated at 3.45%. The interest of this approach is to contribute to the prediction of the operating performance of PV panels in the installation phase in non-standard areas.