Experiment
Exam Attendance App (NFC)
Android app using NFC-enabled student ID cards for convenient exam attendance marking in exam halls.
Results and deliverables
- Prototyped faster tap-based attendance capture for large examination halls
- Removed duplicate manual entry from the proposed workflow
- Connected attendance capture to academic records
Overview
An NFC-based attendance system for examination halls. Invigilators use an Android device to scan students' NFC-enabled ID cards as they enter — the system records attendance automatically and syncs with the university's academic records.
Why NFC
Paper-based attendance sheets at examinations were error-prone and time-consuming to reconcile. The prototype explored NFC tap-to-mark as a faster path for large halls, with captured identifiers flowing directly into the academic system instead of being entered twice. The projected time saving was based on comparison with the manual process rather than a production rollout measurement.
Technical Notes
The Android app uses the standard NFC reader API with a custom PHP backend for the attendance records and sync. The ID cards contain a student identifier that the backend maps to the exam registration.