IIT Madras to introduce facial recognition attendance system, app coordinating parent visits as part of suicide prevention initiative

In the forthcoming academic year starting August, IIT Madras will introduce two practices as part of its suicide prevention initiative — a face recognition attendance management system to identify students absent for prolonged periods of time and an app that will let parents have regular interactions with their children. These efforts the institute says, will be part of its larger suicide prevention approach. V Kamakoti, the director of IIT Madras, said the automated attendance system will deploy face-recognition devices and added that the data science programmes running at the institute would help in processing this data. Saying the initiatives would not “intrude on anybody’s privacy,” Kamakoti said, “Attendance in class, mess, gym among all will be maintained. AdvertisementAbout the app that will involve parents, Kamakoti said: “IITs have a competitive environment.