By John Leonard and Margaret Hawryluk

Students living in the Netherlands will be the first to enter a new age in campus security.

The new high-tech additions installed at the back entrance of the Netherlands are biometric hand-scanners that use an algorithm to identify students living in the dorm. The move is the University’s latest attempt to improve security and convenience.

“Since we added a parking lot behind the Netherlands, it’s for the convenience of the people parking back there,” Ed Bracht, director of public safety, said. “They don’t have to walk around to the front.”

Approximately 100 campuses, including the University of Georgia, University of New Hampshire and San Diego State, have the device, which uses hand geometry to determine identity by measuring the length, width and depth of a person’s hand, said Tom Brigham, a spokesperson for IR Recognition Systems, the company that manufactures the scanners.

The machines record 90 measurements that are referenced every time a person attempts to enter the building.

Bracht said the location of the new devices is perfect for a “trial period,” since the Netherlands has an alternative entrance in case the machines malfunction.

He added that the University would consider installing the machines in other locations on campus if the scanners are more efficient than card swipes.

Although the devices were installed last month, the majority of students are still in the dark as to how they work.

“I didn’t know what it was, so I just walked around front,” Melissa Delcastillo, a freshman living in the Netherlands, said.

Residential Life has issued brochures to students living in the Netherlands describing how the technology works and where it has been implemented, Chris Westby, director of Card Services, said. 

They also placed several signs around the area informing students how to set up their accounts.

Netherlands residents should go to Card Services, on the main floor of the Student Center, to get their hands scanned, Westby said.

The machines, which cost $4,000, will record the dimensions. Then, all students have to do is place their hand in the machine and type in their 700-number, he added.

Since the scanners recognize a person through the dimensions of his or her hand rather than fingerprints, a student’s personal identity is not jeopardized, Brigham said.

“A lot of people get it confused with palm printing, which it’s not,” he added.

Hand Recognition is a division of Ingersoll-Rand, a corporation that describes itself as, “the worldwide leader in biometric access control, time and attendance and personal identification products.”

The IRRS scanners are new to the University, but have achieved worldwide acknowledgement over its 20-year run.

The scanners, for example, have been in use at the San Francisco Airport since 1993 and were used in the Olympic Village during the 1996 Olympics.

For the most part, students seem to be adjusting well to the new security.

I haven’t really heard any complaints,” John O’Malley, the assistant director of public safety, said.

Not all students are thrilled with the new technology, however.

“I don’t see how it makes anyone safer, and I find it a waste of money,” said Elisa Gouveia, a senior drama major.

Kristen Carter, a senior TV production major, saw no problem with current security measures on campus.

“I don’t see why they didn’t just put in new card readers,” she said.

Outside the Netherlands complex parking lot students can gain access with their hands and special pin code. (E.W. Blankenbaker/The Chronicle)

University installs space-age security technology. (Courtesy Recognition Systems, Digitally altered by The Chronicle)