Face Recognition and 4 Cameras: Ordering Update of Systems to Pass Driving Tests for Almost UAH 34 mln

For service centers, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will purchase services and equipment to update the system for passing theoretical and practical tests to obtain driver’s licenses. Some contracts have already been signed, for others — tenders have been announced. This is reported by the DOZORRO project of TI Ukraine.

Updates to pass the theoretical exam will cost at least UAH 22.4 mln

The main service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has concluded an agreement to finalize the subsystem that identifies people during the theoretical exams to obtain driver’s licenses. Services of LLC D.I.O.-Trader International were estimated at UAH 3.9 mln.

This amount, in particular, assumes that the developer will make changes to the already existing program. They will allow controlling the fact that the theoretical exam is taken by the person planning to obtain the certificate.

For example, a computer camera will take a photo of a person five times:

1)    at the time of confirmation that it is this person who is at the place for the examination;

2)    when entering the first answer;

3)    when entering the answer to the fifth question;

4)    when entering the answer to the tenth question;

5)    at the end of the exam (when answering the last question).

The system will compare the pictures taken with each other, so that there are no proxy test takers at different stages, as well as with the photo that the person took to obtain a driver’s license. In addition, unless the system responds, the exam will not start. Photos will be stored for 35 days.

This update will be developed in three stages:

1. The mechanism for transferring photos from the cloud to the database of a single system — for UAH 1.2 mln;
2. The mechanism for transferring photos from the examination class to the database of the State Traffic Inspectorate system — for UAH 974,800;
3. The mechanism of data exchange between the State Traffic Inspectorate system and software that will identify a person by the photo — for UAH 1.8 mln.

The deadline for completing the order is October 20, 2023. 

D.I.O.-Trader International is actually the developer of the system (since 2011) and since 2016, it has received orders from the Main Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for consulting, maintainance, and its technical support for more than UAH 100 mln. One of the owners of D.I.O.-Trader International, Oleh Yerzhov, is a member of the public council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Probably, for the needs of this development, the service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ordered 10 servers and a data storage system from LLC IT Solutions for UAH 16 mln. The same company upgraded the system of recording violations on the road for the Ministry of Internal Affairs for more than UAH 100 mln.

In addition, the development of software that will photograph people during the exam is ordered separately. Such services of LLC Olli Trans were estimated at UAH 2.5 mln.

 The cost of updating practical exams is approximately UAH 11.4 mln

The updates will affect not only the theoretical, but also the practical part of the tests. The Main Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also announced a tender for the development of a software system to track records of the practical exam process — with an expected cost of UAH 3 mln.

The terms of reference provide that cars for tests are equipped with Android tablets, as well as four cameras. Two of them will shoot from the outside: the road in front and behind, and two more inside the cabin: in front and from the ceiling. Before the test starts, the examiner will select the name of the person who is to take the exam in the app and press the button to start it, then press the button to finish it.

Such tablets will have access to the Internet and immediately transmit the captured video to the servers — with data on the route of the trip and the speed. If the network connection is interrupted during the exam, the device will beep continuously, but the recording will not stop. The documents also provided for the sound in the cabin to be recorded as well.

To implement this idea, a tender for 150 sets with cameras for DVRs was also announced. The expected cost is UAH 8.4 mln.

To date, the Main Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced tenders for UAH 11.4 mln and signed contracts for UAH 22.4 mln. All of them relate to the implementation of updates in the information system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Obviously, this is not the final amount because at least the purchase of tablets mentioned in the terms of reference has not yet been announced.

Such an update was preceded by the launch of a pilot project of transparent tests in Lviv, Odesa, Vinnytsia, and Kyiv oblasts. Classes for theoretical exams in service centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in these oblasts were planned to be equipped with cameras and microphones to prevent “blind spots.” In cars of category B, during the practical exam, the cameras had to be installed in such a way as to capture the hands and feet of the candidate and the examiner; moreover, microphones to record conversations in the cabin were installed.

In May 2023, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko told Interfax-Ukraine that by the end of the year, it is planned to equip almost 150 cars with 360-degree cameras that will show the entire cabin — to show the student, the instructor, the tablet, possible violations, and giving clues.

By the way, starting from August 1, the Ministry of Internal Affairs updated and supplemented the examination sheet of the practical exam. It now clearly identifies common mistakes and criteria for assessing a candidate’s ability to obtain a driver’s license. But the main change is that now future drivers have an unlimited number of attempts for the practical exam. Earlier, after three unsuccessful attempts, the candidate was sent for retraining.

The publication was prepared with the support of USAID / UK aid project Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services/ TAPAS