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Mohammed, Basiouni and Basiouni’s father during the exhibition

Bahraini students develop bank security system

MANAMA, January 30, 2015

A voice-activated security system that automatically alerts the police when would-be bank robbers attack, has been developed by two Bahrain University (UoB) students.

The system, devised by Bahrainis Mohammed Basiouni, 22, and Kamal Mohammed, 23, uses a voice recognition chip to recognise any pre-programmed 'threatening' words said inside a bank branch, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

If one such word is recognised by the system, then the bank's vault is put under automatic lockdown and a text message is sent to the police warning them of a possible robbery attempt.

Basiouni told the GDN he had the idea for the system while watching 2007 American comedy heist film Ocean's Thirteen.

“I thought of developing a bank security system as there was a scene in the movie that showed thieves entering a locker without being detected,” he said.

“So I started to look up everything I could about security systems on the Internet and ordered some components online.

“We faced some problems while programming the microprocessor and we also had to change some parts and replace them with cheaper and easier alternatives.”

A prototype of the system was put on display at the latest edition of UoB's Information Technology Senior Projects Exhibition, where other features such as a motion detector were also shown.

An override feature was also being considered, Basiouni said, so that the vault could be opened if a person's life was in danger.

“In some cases people's lives can really be in danger and the vault has to be opened to prevent any casualties,” he said.

“Therefore we decided to programme the microprocessor to unlock the door if needed, but at the same time send a text message to the police.

“If the thieves broke into the bank after working hours and were able to enter the vault then the motion detector would automatically send a message immediately.”

Basiouni said he now hoped to raise funds to improve the system and possibly have it installed in a bank in the near future.

“This is just the beginning and hopefully we can improve it and see it implemented,” he said.

“Everyone at the exhibition liked it, as well as my relatives, which has encouraged me to work harder.”

Robberies

At the end of last year, a spate of bank robberies took place across Bahrain with thieves targeting both ATMs and cashiers.

On November 10, more than BD10,000 ($26,349) was stolen from an ATM belonging to BMI Bank in Tubli.

Then less than a week later, on November 15, gunmen injured a Nepalese security guard but fled empty-handed after targeting Bahrain Financing Company's Salmabad branch.

The following day BD13,000 was stolen at gunpoint from Al Ahli Bank on the Budaiya Highway by armed robbers who attacked in broad daylight. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Bahrain | Bank | Security | system | Student | develop | UoB |

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