IDENTITY: Final Project BRAINSTORM

Group:

Michael Kripchack, Dorothy Lam, Nitish Wakalkar

Activity:

1: List factors that expound or comprise an identity.

2: List situations where identity is required.

3: connect problems that affect identity in various situations.

 

Discovery:

1: Birth Verification

Proof of birth is a major requirement in various situations, but birth registration is still a neglected factor in many parts of the world, that affects people's rights and access to services. There are people who don't know where and when they were born, which hampers the person's capability to prove their identity. We thought about if someone has worked on proving age based on blood samples or DNA, but couldn't find a proven technology that exists. So maybe we can tackle issues that relate to child birth registration. 

Our question to Chris, Is the biggest problem with birth certification 'educating people about documenting birth' or 'accessibility to document a birth'?

2: Unification of ID system

Due to segregation in data bases, an individual has to make sure to submit various documents like birth certificate, proof of residency, SSN, License etc. every time while availing different services like Visa, Loan or a State ID. We would like to tackle this issue by coming up with some sort of ID unification solution. Maybe the solution lies in incorporating some sort of secure block chain system verified by all countries. We did discuss about the possibilities and problems with ID unification, but think that we can create a foundational concept for future ID system. We were also considering a system for identification that included biometric data and possibly blockchain to help refugees prove their ID when they cannot bring documents with them. While not a universal system, it could help in the most extreme situations where someone is lacking proof of ID

3: Emergency Beacon

During situations like Abduction, Arrest or natural disaster, it is difficult to send out an distress signal to emergency contacts. There are three important things that need to be communicated while in trouble 1:Reason of distress 2:Location 3:Health Condition. Dorothy is working on a bracelet that sends this important info to emergency contacts of the distressed individual. Together we can work on the system for this product and find solutions for implementation of this product.

Conclusion:

The brainstorm session narrowed down to three distinctive topics, but we still couldn't conclude as to what topic would be the best to tackle for the final project.

Would be really helpful if we get some direction choosing the one final problem area, that has potential to be successful if solved.