Feeding fingerprint data from reader to ODK Collect?

A study I'm working on would like to be able to launch a fingerprint reader in our data collection form and then feed the binary fingerprint data from the external app back into the form. A pilot version of the study had done this in a Windows based system previously (prior to my involvement), but for the new study we are transitioning to ODK Collect for a variety of reasons. We inherited wired DigitalPersona 4500 Fingerprint Readers which have an SDK available for Android.

Please note, I am a data manager/coordinator for the study so will not be doing the coding/development myself. I am looking for recommendations/resources to give our programmers a jumping off point once their effort becomes available.Thank you.

Has anyone had success with feeding binary fingerprint data into ODK Collect forms? I've seen some old threads on the ODK Forum for related topics, but no outcomes so I'm unsure if there has been success with this or if there is a solution available that I'm missing.

Thank you.

Hi @mguze! I know plenty of people would like to use fingerprint readers, but don't know of any such integrations with ODK Collect. I'd encourage your developers to join this topic and describe what the SDK enables. We could then suggest ways of how best to integrate it with ODK Collect.

Oh, and when you get a chance, please introduce yourself here. I'd also encourage you to add a real picture as your avatar because it helps build community!

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What you should be able to do is to develop a small custom app that uses the print reader's SDK to read a fingerprint and convert that print to a unique identifier according to your project's need. The actual print reading should be guarded securely for the privacy of your users.

You can then call this custom app from Collect and return the unique identifier to Collect once the print has been identified. Documentation on using external apps can be found here and there's an example project here.

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Hello @mguze, can I have more informations about the collect of the fingerprint on the windows based system