Skylar Canon, scanon2, ECE 110

Sankalp Yamsani, yamsani2, ECE 120

Currently Coordinating with another group of 2 on a possible merger of our projects at the end.

Their Wiki page is:

Light Switch thingy

Introduction

Statement of Purpose

     We are currently thinking of a system using either the RFID aspect of some I-Cards, or cell phones with NFC capabilities to remotely operate a dorm room lock. This could also include an alert system sent to you and any roommates mobile phones in case your door is left unlocked, or if it is unexpectedly unlocked. We believe this would be beneficial as it would decrease the risk of becoming locked out of your room, and the risk of anything in your room being stolen if you, or any forgetful roommates, accidentally leave the door unlocked. Having the ability to remotely lock the door would be a great security addition, and alongside the alert system would be able to decrease theft greatly.

Background Research

     We had the drive to solve this problem since it is a fairly basic and widespread problem that affects many people on campus at some point, ourselves included. We checked around the wiki site in order to see what similar projects have been done in the past, as it turns out, door locks and dorm upgrades are a very popular thing for students to tackle. Some examples include; Intelligent Door Lock, Automated Door Lock with Keypad Entry using Arduino, Portable Electronic Door Security System (PEDSS), and Wireless Room Locking System. Our original idea is most like the Intelligent Door Lock, utilizing RFID and NFC, however, what we bring to this idea is the implementation of an alert system built into the lock as an added security measurement, which is also something we have not seen in other groups past attempts. The main "research" we did comes from past use with Arduino and 3D printing, giving us a decent understanding of our limits and providing a nice starting ground for any further research as things need to be figured out.

stepper driver info: https://bit.ly/2N6TqV4

Design Details

Block Diagram / Flow Chart

System Overview

     The block diagram begins with a few sensors hooked up to an Arduino board. We will have an RFID sensor, alongside a NFC sensor set up on the outside of the dorm door. The RFID scanner will interface with either an I-card, if do-able, otherwise it will use a generic RFID card and the NFC sensor will interface with a NFC capable cell phone. These will then be verified by the Arduino and, if authorized, will then output voltage to a servo or stepper motor control board which will be used to control a motor on the door's lock, either locking or unlocking it. Alongside this process we will have the Arduino hooked up to the internet through an Ethernet shield, allowing it to work with a system called Firebase. Firebase is capable of handling and maintaining a connection between Arduino and mobile phone apps, allowing us to send push notifications to the resident's phone(s). This will be used to notify the user if the door is locked or unlocked, and may be able to be used to remotely lock the door over the internet.

Parts

1. Arduino Mega w/ Shield https://amzn.to/2xHbccu
2. RFID and NFC sensor (apparently the same module) https://bit.ly/2OV87wa
3. Arduino to stepper driver board https://amzn.to/2OjbhN9
4. 12V high(er) torque stepper motor https://amzn.to/2DMP4TN
5. 12V power adapter https://amzn.to/2N6fCP1
6. Power adapter jack https://amzn.to/2xWlGEl

Possible Challenges

     The biggest challenges I foresee for our project are utilizing the RFID aspect of I-Cards, as neither of us have much experience in that, as well as attempting to get an arduino to send text alerts to our phones, and/or Wi-Fi based alerts. This will require a fair amount of additional research, as well as further testing with the hardware.

References

[1] W. Yang Ang, "Intelligent Door Lock - ECE 110/120 Honors Lab Section - Illinois Wiki", Wiki.illinois.edu, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://wiki.illinois.edu/wiki/display/ECE110HLSF15/Intelligent+Door+Lock. [Accessed: 20- Sep- 2018].

[2] J. Ni, "Portable Electronic Door Security System (PEDSS) - ECE 110/120 Honors Lab Section - Illinois Wiki", Wiki.illinois.edu, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://wiki.illinois.edu/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=609157439. [Accessed: 20- Sep- 2018].

[3] S. Wang, "Automated Door Lock with Keypad Entry using Arduino - ECE 110 Honors FA14 - Illinois Wiki", Wiki.illinois.edu, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://wiki.illinois.edu/wiki/display/ece110honors/Automated+Door+Lock+with+Keypad+Entry+using+Arduino. [Accessed: 20- Sep- 2018].

[4] S. Ray, "Wireless Room Locking System - ECE 110/120 Honors Lab Section - Illinois Wiki", Wiki.illinois.edu, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://wiki.illinois.edu/wiki/display/ECE110HLSF15/Wireless+Room+Locking+System. [Accessed: 20- Sep- 2018].