Soon it may not even require the swipe of a Husky Card to enter buildings on campus.
Following the distribution of the new Smart Cards, which have the U-PASS chip embedded in the card itself, HFS together with UW Transportation Services, plans to explore the possible additional uses of the technology in other aspects of campus life. The change would include new proximity card readers that wouldn’t even require taking the Husky Card out, similar to the new U-PASS system.
Ann Gigli, HFS administrator, said the opportunities could extend to include residence-hall and university-building access, food services, and records of attendance in classes and tutoring sessions.
The smartchip embedded in the new Husky Cards is only the first step toward the possibility of a campus-wide technological advancement, Gigli said.
Gigli said the change in swipe card readers would be due to replacement costs rather than consistent problems with the current system. Swipe readers are worn down from frequent use, and the replacement expense would be significantly lower with the new proximity readers, she said.
“I think it’s safe to say [the technology] has a lot of potential on campus. … HFS has a lot of work to do in investigating; we haven’t even looked at [all the possibilities] yet,” Gigli said.
HFS and Transportation Services are still focused on the distribution of the new smartchip Husky Card that will provide more efficient use of the U-PASS system.
Following the distribution of Smart Cards, exploration of additional uses of the new technology will begin in the fall, while results are expected to be seen as early as next spring.
“We’re going to start answering some of the technological questions in late fall, and sometime during 2012 is the first time that I can imagine seeing any of these — what we’ve been calling secondary uses — starting to crop up on campus,” Josh Kavanagh, director of Transportation Services, said.
Kavanagh explained that the technological questions include the compatibility of the smartchip with the forms of technology that would be used to make possible the secondary uses, such as the proximity card reader, as well as the efficiency of the university’s computer system working with the new technology. He said these uncertainties need to be verified through research before any action can be taken.
“[The change] may not be something where we go back and retrofit all the halls,” Gigli said. “It may be something we introduce as we build new halls at the same time, or as [old technology] dies.”
The current swipe system has posed few technological problems. Gursharn Bagri, Stevens Court Hall Council director and hall resident, said she has experienced a faulty swipe reader on the exterior entrance to Lander Hall. She brought the problem to attention in a Resident Hall Student Association (RHSA) meeting while standing in for the Stevens Court representative.
Despite bringing the problem to RHSA, Bagri said it was the first problem she has ever encountered with the current system and is happy with it in general.
“The swipe system as it is right now is actually really good,” Bagri said. “We just went to a conference at Western Illinois University, and they don’t even use the swipe system, they use manual keys.”
Bagri said she has had little problem with the swipe system, and she expects that any similar system would have technological faults on occasion. To her, the change is not incredibly significant.
“As much as the new system will improve everything, I don’t think there’s much of a difference. … [It may be] convenient, but as far as security goes, they are almost exactly the same,” Bagri said.
In light of recent budget cuts, Kavanagh said that there is no specific budget set aside for the project itself. Rather, departments may be able to update the technology on their own time.
“Each business system on campus is going to be able to make their own decision about whether or not this is a resource that makes sense for them, and be able to begin to use that on their own timeline,” Kavanagh said. “So there’s not a big central pot of money that’s going to be required for the university to start using this technology.”
The changes will take place over time, and Kavanagh expects they will be almost unnoticeable in comparison with the new Husky Card with the embedded U-PASS. However, he sees the changes as having an overall positive effect in the long run.
“For the same reasons that were convenient on a bus, you don’t have to fumble through your wallet or your purse to find the right card and present it the right way,” Kavanagh said. “Life can be faster and easier, and who doesn’t like that?”
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