Hamilton to try out hand portal

This is the second trial for a high-tech scanner in the dormitory. Students living in Hamilton College House are going to have the opportunity to go "back to the future" once again in just a few weeks. That's when a new geometric hand portal system will become operational for access to the 800-plus-resident facility formerly known as High Rise North. The new unit -- called RAPOR, for "Rapid Access Portal" -- replaces a previous biometric hand scanner which was operational for an eight-month trial period that ended last September. Housing officials said that while they hope the majority of Hamilton residents will make use of the new device, Spectaguards will still be available to scan PennCards. According to Housing Services Marketing Coordinator Lynn Rotoli, the scanner is being installed to test the possibility of using the new technology to provide additional safety to residence entrances. "[Housing Services] is researching the system for Public Safety so we can see if it's a feasible means of entrance to our residences," Rotoli said. "We're really looking into the best means of safety at all our residences." Unlike the previous system -- which featured an enclosed chamber large enough to accommodate only one resident -- the new portal will rely on a totally different design to admit building residents. "The first portal was a two-door vestibule-type enclosure that used the card reader to unlock the first door and the hand geometry reader to unlock the second door," said Stratis Skoufalos, Penn's director of security services. "The RAPOR is quite different in that (a) the two readers will be located in proximity to one another and (b) the doors are open, and remain so, for valid access requests," he wrote in an e-mail yesterday. In addition, funding for the first run of the RAPOR will come from the machine's builder, who is providing the device to the University on a trial basis, Skoufalos said. With a projected ribbon-cutting date of February 10, Hamilton residents will soon be asked to register to use the new device, which establishes identification by measuring the size of an individual's hand, rather than reading their handprint. No time period has yet been established for the length of the RAPOR trial period, Rotoli said, adding that officials would like to collect as much feedback as possible before deciding the ultimate fate of hand portals on the Penn campus. "We're going to try to enroll as many people as we can," Rotoli said. "We'd like to produce some real data and suggestions by the end of the term." Hamilton's first hand portal system was plagued by technical glitches and complaints by residents who often griped that the system did not work. Safety and housing officials are confident that such problems will be avoided with the introduction of the RAPOR. "The feedback we received regarding the first prototype included the perception by some that it was too enclosed [or] too confining," Skoufalos said. "We believe that the RAPOR provides the opposite -- an open, more user-friendly system that provides a high level of security."

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