MEKELLE UNIVERSITY

MEKELLE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Low Frequency RFID based Door Lock system

Project Members ID
Abel Kahsay MIT/0004/06
Bereket Temesgen MIT/0024/06
Getu Abebe MIT/0054/06
Abstract
This thesis is concerned with the development of a digital door lock system that can easily be made with
low cost. Door locks are means of securing our homes and property. But with global increase in crime
rates and security issues with traditional lock and key door locks vulnerabilities, there is need for more
secure doors. There are digital locks available in foreign market but we rarely see those in our country.
Most of the time they are used in hotels and large institutions. These system affordability and wide
spread availability for the average person is questionable. And we have tried to solve this problem with
our system that anyone can assemble in their home. We have used an open source board, that is Arduino,
and other powerful but low cost electronic devices to build the system. The system mainly aims and
achieves accessibility and flexibility in addition to support of up to 40 users for a single door lock. We have
implemented the system by developing code for Arduino and interfacing the hardware parts in a
simulation software. Our system is able to detect acts of breach and inform authorities of the act it also
locks the system for some time in order to block the person. Our simulation results were satisfactory and
can easily be implemented if the necessary hardware is purchased.

Good!
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank Mr. Mearig Aregawi for making us go through the process of writing this thesis
and following up with our progress in order to guide us to the right directions. This process has enabled
us to have a better insight on thesis writing. And this wouldn t have been possible if it weren t for Mr.
Maerig s invaluable guidance.
 Table of Contents
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3
2. Background ........................................................................................................................................... 4
3. System design and Implementation ..................................................................................................... 6
3.1 Hardware and software requirements ............................................................................................... 6
3.2 System Design ..................................................................................................................................... 6
4. Results and Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 8
4.1 Sample result of the system................................................................................................................ 8
4.2 System testing ................................................................................................................................... 10
4.2.1 Wrong password Input............................................................................................................... 10
4.2.2 Correct password and RFID are provided by the user ............................................................... 10
4.2.3 Admin menu working ................................................................................................................. 11
4.3 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 12
List of figures
Figure 1: System flow chart .......................................................................................................................... 7
Figure 2: System circuit in PROTEUS ............................................................................................................. 8
Figure 3Admin's options menu ..................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 4Wrong password attempt .............................................................................................................. 10
Figure 5maximum trials exceeded .............................................................................................................. 10
Figure 6Welcome message upon successful authorization ........................................................................ 10
Figure 7Admin menu................................................................................................................................... 11

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List of Abbreviation
RFID Radio Frequency Identification

LCD Liquid Crystal Display

GSM Global System for Mobile communication

SMS Short Message Service

BCD Binary Coded Decimal

IDE Integrated Development Environment

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 1. Introduction
Every night before going to bed we check if all our doors have been locked. Every morning before leaving
for work we lock all the doors in our home. We lock our office and warehouse door locks before leaving.
The main and obvious reason for keeping our doors locked is that we want to keep ourselves safe from
burglary.
of security.
to lock your doors. The Problem statement should have been more specific (it
is stated in the beginning of the background section ).
It is no secret that digital technology is in the way of replacing most traditional systems that we use in our
daily lives. And door locks are one domain for this replacement. Traditional door locks are highly
vulnerable as keys can be duplicated and some key locks can be opened using a similar key. There are
many systems in the market today that digitize door lock. RFID is a fast growing technology that can be
used for different range of applications. It aims to replace barcodes [2]. Password authentication is used
in many applications, examples are cellphones and computers.

The objective of this project is to design a system that substitutes the lock and key based door lock by
combining RFID with password authentication that can be customizable according to the users need. By
customizability we mean that the owner can make both authentications compulsory for a tighter security
or allow users to authenticate using either of the methods to make the system more accessible. Our
system aims to make door locks secure and flexible, putting less burden on the security guard.
Very good
The system meets it goals by using a microcontroller[Arduino-Uno] for monitoring the system. A LCD
display is used for displaying messages as an interface between the user and the system. Keypad input is
used for password inputs while an RFID tag reader is used for reading RFID tags. Code for the
microcontroller has been developed and has been tested in PROTEUS circuit simulation software.

This system only aims to support maximum of

passwords and RFID tags. It assumes that the microcontroller is isolated from being directly accessed by
users. As far as this assumption is satisfied the system will stay secure.

The remaining work is organized under the following chapters: Chapter 2 covers background and related
works in addition to motivation for the thesis. Chapter 3 explains in detail design and implementation of
the system. In Chapter 4 sample result of our current progress and conclusion are provided.

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 2. Background
Traditional door locks are vulnerable to security threats. The main reason behind this vulnerability is the
for
that specific door. We are aware of the existence, as well as market availability, of door lock keys that

that can be assigned to users, to the number of keys that are acquired at purchase time. This intern limits
the number of users that can access the door to, most of the time, 3 to 5. If more users need to access
the door, then keys have to be shared between users which can be source of inconvenience for the users.
Problem statement
Digital technology especially embedded systems are playing a major role in transforming traditional
systems that are used in our daily lives. Their fast growth and wide acceptance is due to their simplicity
and reliability. These systems are most of the time interfaced with other hardware devices for interacting
with users and accomplishing their tasks.

Embedded system are computer systems that are embedded as part of another system often consisting
of hardware and mechanical parts. [5]
SMS enables mobile devices to communicate with other devices through short text messages. [6]
IDE is a software that provides tools to write program, compile and debug for a certain programming
language allowing programmers to do their tasks without needing to use other tools. [7]
Arduino refers to an open-source electronics platform or board and the software used to program
it. [8]
Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) is a digital cellular technology used for transmitting
mobile voice and data services. [9]
RFID is uses radio frequency to uniquely identify objects that have an RFID tag. It can operate to
distance up to 12 meters depending on the type of RFID. [10]
In [1] an RFID based door lock system is developed in the context of Bangladesh. It sends RFID tags and
password values entered by user to a database server and opens the door lock (magnetic door) after
validating the user inputs. Umar [1] has also developed an RFID based door lock system for Punjab
University hostels that combines Low Frequency RFID (LF RFID), an embedded microcontroller and a
computer system (for image recognition) that supports ten users. Users are registered by storing their
images and corresponding RFID on the system. RFID code matching is done on the microcontroller
whereas the image recognition takes places at the computer where a neural network based algorithm is
trained to recognized faces of people. The system offers a three-layer authentication. On the detection
of unauthorized attempt, the system sends an SMS notification and turns on an alarm. And based on the

authorized a relay powered solenoid opens the door. In [2], a similar system with fewer features has been
proposed. It only uses RFID and GSM module (for SMS notification) with an embedded microcontroller.
Benjamin [3] has designed door lock system that makes use
with magnetic stripes or RFID, for controlling access to Westminster Christian Fellowship (WCF) building
that can be used to lock up to six different doors with in the building. The system needs a server in addition
to an embedded microcontroller. It is capable of generating logs for important events that are stored in a

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denies access. Focus is given to avoiding false positive. Gyanendra [4] has also proposed an RFID based
system that combines it with a database, where queries for authenticity take place. If the person is
authorized, then the timestamp is logged. The proposed system uses a general purpose computer instead
of an embedded microcontroller for processing retrieved RFID information and controlling the door
opener.

Most of the above systems require a general purpose computer for storing and accessing databases. But
such resources, most of the time, might not be available. Our system is motivated with the idea of making
door lock systems that can be easily implemented with relatively low cost and that are customizable

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 3. System design and Implementation

3.1 Hardware and software requirements

The system has the following hardware requirements:
Arduino-Uno microcontroller
16X2 LCD display
RFID tags
Servo motor
SM125 RFID tag reader
Keypad encoder
GSM module
Phone keypad
Speaker
And softwares needed to develop the system are:
Arduino IDE
Proteus 8
system has only been
simulated in PROTEUS.
Our assumption is that it is easy to implement the system using hardware if the simulated results
confirm to our expectations.

3.2 System Design

The system circuit has been designed by interfacing LCD display, RFID tag reader, servo motor,
GSM module and keypad with the microcontroller. The code needed for the operation of the
microcontroller has been written and compiled in Arduino IDE which can then be loaded to
Arduino-UNO serially.

The purpose each hardware device serves in the system can be summarized as follows.

LCD display: serves as an interface for the system user. It is used to display messages and
prompts. The user can see the messages and prompts and respond accordingly.
Phone keypad: the phone
admin also uses it to select menu items when making changes to the system.
Keypad encoder: is used to encode the key pressed to its BCD and for key debouncing.
Servo motor: the door needs to open automatically if the user authenticates successfully and
servo motor plays this role.
GSM module: whenever the maximum number of trials is exceeded the systems need to notify
the owner by sending SMS message. The GSM module serves this purpose by sending SMS to the
stored phone number when commanded by the microcontroller.
RFID tag reader: needed to send the value found in RFID tags serially to the microcontroller.

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Figure 1: System flow chart

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 4. Results and Conclusion
4.1 Sample result of the system
The circuit we have designed in PROTEUS is provided below.

Figure 2: System circuit in PROTEUS

And snippet of the code we have developed for Arduino is provided below.

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Figure 3Admin's options menu

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4.2 System testing
4.2.1 Wrong password Input

Figure 4Wrong password attempt

And when the maximum number of trials is exceeded it displays an error message and sends SMS to
authorities.

Figure 5maximum trials exceeded

4.2.2 Correct password and RFID are provided by the user

A welcome message is displayed and the servo motor opens the door.

Figure 6Welcome message upon successful authorization

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4.2.3 Admin menu working
The admin menu provides the system admin to manage different system properties including changing
password and adding new users.

Figure 7Admin menu

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4.3 Conclusion
Digital technology has taken over a lot of traditional systems in a relatively short period of time. The
system we have designed is part of this transformation. In our country digitized door locks are only
found in large institutions and hotels. This shows that we are lagging in adopting such systems that
can bring ease of access to our lives. Our system can be used in homes as well as offices with less
burden on the owner or security guard. Our aim of achieving a flexible system that can be customized
et by allowing the owner modify authentication means with
a menu driven interface. It is cost efficient compared to other digital locks and can simply be
implemented if someone purchases the components. The problem that was identified has been
solved by our system the only missing part is physical implementation due to unavailability of
hardware.

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References
[1] U. Farooq, M. ul Hasan, M. Amar et al., "RFID Based Security and Access Control System,"

IACSIT International Jornal of Engineering and Technology, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 309-314, Aug.

2014

[2] G. Kaushal, R. Mishra, N. Chaurasiya et al., "RFID based Security and Access control

system using arduino with gsm module," IJEEE, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 5-7, Apr. 2015

[3] RFID BuzzCard Access Control System. [Online]

Available:http://www2.ece.gatech.edu/academic/courses/ece4007/10spring/ECE4007L01/ws1/Fi

nal%20Report.pdf, [accessed: March 16,2017.]

[4] G.K. Verma, P. Tripathi, "A Digital Security System with Door Lock System Using RFID

Technology," International Journal of Computer Applications, vol. 5, no. 11, Aug. 2010

[5] "wikipedia," mediawiki, [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embedded_system.

[Accessed 15 5 2017].

[6] "wikipedia," mediawiki, [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS. [Accessed 15 5

2017].

[7] "wikipedia," mediawiki, [Online]. Available:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_development_environment. [Accessed 15 5 2017].

[8] "techopedia," techopedia inc., [Online]. Available:

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27874/arduino. [Accessed 15 5 2017].

[9] "tutorialspoint," [Online]. Available: http://www.tutorialspoint.com/gsm/gsm_overview.htm.

[Accessed 17 5 2017].

[10] "IOT Agenda," TechTarget, [Online]. Available:

http://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/definition/RFID-radio-frequency-identification.
[Accessed 15 5 2017].

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