(4 Dec 2021) LEAD IN:
As the requirement to show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test grows around the world, so too does the workload for those who have to check and verify the documents.
In Russia, a software firm has created an automated device to streamline the process. It's being trialed at a business center in St. Petersburg.
STORY-LINE:
It takes only a few seconds for this smart terminal to check proof of vaccination and this visitor's passport.
This device, made by Russian software firm AddReality, is being trialed at the entrance to this business center in St. Petersburg.
"I find this device very interesting. The QR code and passport check went very quickly," says visitor Elena Grigorieva.
"It is interesting that the device asked me to put on a mask before checking other data. I consider these measures are very necessary in the current conditions."
In St. Petersburg, public events, gyms, museums, cinemas, and theatres currently require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry.
Starting from 27 December, it will also be needed to step into a restaurant or shopping center.
Such QR codes are obligatory in some Russian regions to combat the country's latest deadly wave of coronavirus.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, Russia has reported over nine million new coronavirus cases, over one million in the last 28 days.
Almost 270,000 people have died from the virus.
With the introduction of mandatory vaccine passports, device that can automatically check them could become very handy to avoid long queues, says Giorgi Cheishvili, Addreality's financial director.
"The idea actually came up during the last lockdown, when everything was closed on the weekend and only museums worked," he says.
"My friends and I decided to go to the Cabinet of Curiosities on a cold November day. We stood in the line, everyone checked the QR codes. A grandmother stood in front of us, and the line passed through (the checks) very, very slowly. We stood there freezing and realized that this should be automated."
Cheishvili explains how it works:
"First of all, the device checks the presence of a mask. It detects if the mask is not on and offers to put it on. It does not go to the next step of checking the QR code (until the mask is put on), because we believe that the mask is one of the most effective tools in the fight against the pandemic," he says.
"If there is a mask, the device asks for a QR code, it asks to show the QR code, and then this device requires to show the passport in order to verify the data that the person with the QR code is the same person and that it is their QR code.
"By showing the passport, we identify the data along with the QR code. We synchronize the QR code with the data, we receive from the state services portal, 'Stopcoronavirus.'"
The automated terminal verifies the authenticity of each QR code through an official internet portal.
But developers say that visitors' personal data remains confidential.
All data is de-personalized and encrypted, making it impossible to retrieve it, says head of the technical support Artemiy Baudiz.
"All the data that this device sees is not stored anywhere, they are immediately converted into a set of numbers, after which this set of numbers is compared with the required indicators," he says.
"Also, the QR code data is verified with the state services that allows to confirm or reject the validity of this QR code."
The price of a terminal is around 100,000 rubles (approx. $1,300 USD).
They say they have some registered 1,600 terminal pre-orders.
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