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Development of Microcontroller-Based Biometric Locker System with Short

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Article in Lecture Notes on Software Engineering · May 2016

DOI: 10.7763/LNSE.2016.V4.233

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 Lecture Notes on Software Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 2, May 2016

Development of Microcontroller-Based Biometric Locker

System with Short Message Service
Crystalynne D. Cortez, Jaswinder S. Badwal, Jocelyn R. Hipolito, Ditche Jane C. Astillero, Melvie S.
Dela Cruz, and Jaira C. Inalao

 pattern which includes the ridges and minutia points. These

Abstract—The study was a development of a microcontroller patterns are unique to every individual [2].
based biometric locker system with short message system (SMS) Several studies using fingerprint biometric recognition
which ensures the security of personal and confidential were conducted to improve locker systems. One among them
belongings of a person. Developmental research method which
was comprised of hardware development and software
was the study of Lay, Yang and Tsai (2011) entitled
development were utilized in the study. The system was able to “Biometric Locker System” wherein fingerprint recognition
scan finger, match it with the saved pattern and unlock the technique was used to open and close the lock of a storage
locker. Global system for mobile (GSM) module was able to send locker system. The system first captured the fingerprint of the
text message containing the auto-generated passcode of the locker renter and matched the fingerprint to reopen the locker
locker when an unrecognized fingerprint was encountered. As a door. This was done to reduce troubles about keys and to
result, all the hardware components functioned normally and
efficiently. The program uploaded to the system run consistently ensure the security of the renter [3].
as the device performed its functions. Similarly the study conducted by Gangi and Gollapudi
(2013) entitled “Locker Opening and Closing System Using
Index Terms—Biometric locker, SMS technology, RFID, Fingerprint, Password and GSM,” had designed and
microcontroller project, biometric system. implemented a locker security system based on the integration
of radio frequency identification (RFID), fingerprint,
password and global system for mobile (GSM) technologies
I. INTRODUCTION that can activate, authenticate, and validate the user to unlock
Theft is one of the major problems in schools and offices. the door for secure access. In this system, the RFID reader
To minimize these incidents, different ways to secure reads the ID number first and determines if it is valid. If the id
belongings and documents were done. Most universities and number is valid, that is the time that the system gives access to
offices use lockers and cabinets for storing files, securing the fingerprint scanner. Then it will scan the fingerprint, and if
belongings and keeping of important documents for privacy matched, the microcontroller sends the password to the
and security purposes. However, some lockers used ordinary authenticated person mobile number. The person then has to
padlocks and were shared by two or more users. Common enter the passwords to the system [2].
lockers do not guarantee full safety and security of property Another study entitled “Fingerprint Based Bank Locker
because ordinary padlocks can be opened by force. System Using Microcontroller” which was conducted
Biometric is considered as one of the most effective Pavithra, Myna and Kavyashree, designed and implemented a
method when it comes to security. Biometric is an automated fingerprint based bank locker system using microcontroller
technique of recognizing a person based on his physical that provide a perfect security to the bank lockers and to make
attributes which includes face, fingerprint, hand geometry, the work easier [4].
handwriting, iris, retinal, vein, and voice. Biometric data are Although there were existing studies about biometric
considered as different and distinct from personal information lockers, the study aimed to develop an improved prototype.
because it cannot be reverse-engineered to recreate any After the third attempt, the system will send a notification
personal information and cannot be stolen to attempt theft [1]. short message service (SMS) to the owner when an
Fingerprints are the most common biometric technology unrecognized fingerprint was detected by the biometric
used in many applications. The fingerprints recognition and sensor, as innovation to the study. The SMS contains the
matching is one of the simplest ways of verifying a person’s auto-generated passcode which will be used to unlock the
identity. It requires the imaging and comparison of the print locker. To enter the passcode, the system included a built-in
keypad in the design. These were done to increase safety of
the stored belongings in the locker.
Manuscript received September 20, 2014; revised December 29, 2014.
C. D. Cortez is with the Computer Education Department of Centro
Escolar University, Mendiola, Manila, Philippines (e-mail:
[email protected]). II. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
J. S. Badwal, J. R. Hipolito, D. C. Astillero, and M. S. Dela Cruz were
The study aimed to develop a prototype of a
with Computer Engineering in Centro Escolar University, Mendiola, Manila,
Philippines (e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], microcontroller-based locker system that can:
[email protected], [email protected]). 1) Enroll fingerprints of the thumb and index fingers, and
J. C. Inalao was with Computer Engineering in Centro Escolar University, saves these patterns in the system.
Mendiola, Manila, Philippines. She is now with Ocwen Financial
Corporation, Manila, Philippines (e-mail: [email protected]). 2) Unlock the locker using fingerprint or auto-generated

DOI: 10.7763/LNSE.2016.V4.233 103

 Lecture Notes on Software Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 2, May 2016

passcode. the finger surface and converts the analog reading into digital
3) Send text message of the passcode when an unrecognized codes using an analog to digital converter. An interface
fingerprint is encountered during the third attempt. module like microcontroller is responsible for communicating
with external devices [6].
Fingerprint recognition is the main function of a scanner
III. MATERIALS AND METHODS wherein in it comprised of two stages, enrollment and
Developmental method was used in this study that involved verification. During enrollment, fingerprints are scanned,
the systematized use of the concepts of an existing device to analyzed and matched, then stored in a coded form. Once the
develop a new system. Prototyping technique was also used to fingerprint is enrolled, verification takes place wherein the
assemble a working model of the system. The study involved user will check if the fingerprint matched the saved patterns.
hardware development wherein the system was created using These patterns were analyzed using minutiae where the lines
components available in the market; and software of the fingerprint are terminated into two. The distance and
development wherein programs were created using available angles of the minutiae are used as algorithm in turning the
programming language for the microcontroller unit. information with unique numeric code [7].
Fig. 1 shows the block diagram of the biometric locker Keypad is used to input the passcode of the locker. A 12
system. A 9-12Vdc was used to supply power to the system. key-keypad is arranged in a 3 × 4 format requiring seven
The microcontroller ATMEGA 644 housed in Arduino board connections and usually arranged in a matrix format to reduce
was utilized to interface the input and output hardware the number of input/output (I/O) connections [8].
devices. Input devices include the fingerprint sensor for GSM module is incorporated in the design to enable the
biometric recognition, keypad was for the encoding of system send notification message to the locker user. Cheap
passcode and real time clock for display of current date and GSM module known as SIMCOM900D was embedded to the
time. The output devices include GSM module for sending of system.
SMS that contains the passcode, solenoid lock and 2 × 16
LCD for display of the locker’s operations. The
microcontroller was programmed using Arduino Integrated IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Development Environment (IDE). A. Fingerprint Enrollment
Fingerprint enrollment and recognitions were conducted to
ensure that the biometric sensor was properly interfaced to the
microcontroller unit. For security purposes, enrollment of
fingerprints was done using a third party software. The
patterns of the index and thumb fingers were saved in the
system to be used for unlocking the locker. The system
successfully enrolled the fingerprints of the user as shown in
Fig. 2.

Fig. 1. Block diagram of the biometric locker system with SMS.

ATmega644 housed in Arduino board, was the

microcontroller unit used in the system. It controlled the
functions of the biometric locker system. The ATmega644 is
a 40 pins, low-power complementary metal oxide
semiconductor (CMOS), 8-bit microcontroller based on the
AVR enhanced reduced instruction set computer (RISC)
architecture. ATmega644 can achieve throughputs
Fig. 2. Fingerprint enrollment.
approaching 1 million instructions per second per MHz
through the execution of powerful instructions in a single
clock cycle. This allowed the optimization of power
consumption versus processing speed in system designs [5]. It
can store up to 64 kbytes of program instructions. The
Arduino board of the ATmega644 was compatible to other
input and output hardware devices used in the biometric
locker system.
Fingerprint scanner or fingerprint reader is used to detect
the user’s identification. It is an electronic device used to
live-scan digital images. This inkless process is acquired by
directly sensing the finger surface. The general procedure of a
fingerprint scanner is that a sensor reads the ridge pattern on Fig. 3. Initialization of the system.

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 Lecture Notes on Software Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 2, May 2016

After enrollment the system was ready to be used. During automatically sent the passcode via a text message to the
start-up, the microcontroller initially checked the connections owner. The message should was sent to and received by the
of the real-time clock, GSM module and fingerprint sensor. mobile number as shown in Fig. 7.
Fig. 3 shows that the system successfully initialized the
hardware devices connected to it. “Found sensor” message
displayed to the 2 × 16 LCD monitor indicated that the locker
was on its ready state.
After initialization or if the locker is idle, the system
displayed the current date and time. Fig. 4 shows this
operation. Current date and time fetched from the real time
clock was displayed in the 2 × 116 LCD.

Fig. 6. System failed to recognize the fingerprint.

Fig. 4. Idle operation of the locker.

B. Fingerprint Recognition
If the locker will be used by the user, he needed to scan his
fingerprint, either the thumb or index finger. The fingerprint
of the user should match the pre-enrolled fingerprints. Fig. 5
shows that the system was able to detect the enrolled
fingerprint of the user. The ID number of the fingerprint was
displayed and the locker was unlocked or opened.

Fig. 7. Passcode sent to the programmed mobile number of the user.

D. Passcode Recognition
The received passcode was entered to the system as shown
in Fig. 8. To denote that the entered passcode matched the
system’s generated passcode, LCD displayed “Door
Unlocked!” The code was accepted and the locker had been
unlocked.
Fig. 5. Found fingerprint ID displayed on LCD.

C. Passcode Generation
Passcode was generated once the system encountered the
third attempt of an unrecognized fingerprint. The
microcontroller unit will immediate trigger the GSM module
to send the passcode to the pre-enrolled mobile number of the
user. Fig. 6 shows the attempts to unlock the locker. If the
fingerprint was not recognized, error message “ID NOT
FOUND! Try Again!” was displayed in the LCD. On the third
attempt, “INVALID” error message was displayed. GSM
module was triggered by the microcontroller unit to send text
message to the mobile number of the user.
Fig. 7. Entering of auto-passcode to the locker.
After the third attempt of unmatched fingerprint, the system

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 Lecture Notes on Software Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 2, May 2016

V. CONCLUSION information technology courses. She, together with her colleagues had won
2nd place in poster presentation for the paper, “Development of
Based from results of the developed biometric locker microcontroller-based biometric locker system” during CEU Search for the
system, the programs uploaded to the microcontroller Best Undergraduate Research 2014. Her recent paper publication is entitled
“Validation of the developed multi-gas monitoring system,” Periodical on
successfully facilitated its operations. The components used
Applied Mechanics and Materials, vol. 666, pp. 245-250, October 2014.
for the system were compatible with the microcontroller unit. Her major field of researches falls with microcontroller projects,
It had executed the following functions effectively: environmental engineering and biosensors.
1) Proper enrollment, saving and scanning of the thumb and Engr. Cortez is a member of IACSIT since May, 2014.
index fingerprints of the user; Jaswinder S. Badwal was born on October 25, 1993.
2) Correct fingerprint and passcode recognition and He obtained his bachelor of science in computer
detection to open the solenoid lock of the locker. engineering in Centro Escolar University in April,
2014.
3) Proper establishment of the connection between the He had been a finalist for CEU Search for the Best
microcontroller unit and GSM module enabling the Undergraduate Research 2014 and won 2 nd place in
sending of text message for the auto-generated passcode poster presentation for the paper, “Development of
microcontroller-based biometric locker system.” His
to the user, when an unrecognized fingerprint was major field of research interest falls with
detected. The system had accepted the auto-passcode microcontroller projects.
entered to the system.
Jocelyn R. Hipolito was born on November 1, 1992.
She obtained her bachelor of science in computer
ACKNOWLEDGMENT engineering in Centro Escolar University in April,
The researchers would like to acknowledge the support of 2014.
She had been a finalist for CEU Search for the Best
Computer Education Department and Research and Undergraduate Research 2014 and won 2 nd place in
Evaluation Office of Centro Escolar University, Manila. poster presentation for the paper, “Development of
microcontroller-based biometric locker system.” Her
REFERENCES major field of research interest falls with microcontroller projects.

[1] (2013). What is biometric? Easy Clocking. [Online]. Available: Ditche Jane C. Astillero was born on February 10,
http://www.bioelectronix.com/what_is_biometrics.html 1993. She obtained her bachelor of science in
[2] R. R. Gangi and S. S. Gollapudi, “Locker opening and closing system computer engineering in Centro Escolar University
using RFID, fingerprint, password and GSM,” International Journal in April, 2014.
of Emerging Trends & Technology in Computer Science, vol. 2, issue She had been a finalist for CEU Search for the
2, March-April 2013. Best Undergraduate Research 2014 and won 2 nd
[3] Y. L. Lay, H. J. Yang, and C. H. Tsai, “Biometric locker system,” in place in poster presentation for the paper,
Proc. the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science, vol. “Development of microcontroller-based biometric
1, San Francisco, USA, October 2011.
locker system.” Her major field of research interest falls with microcontroller
[4] B. C. Pavithra, B. C. Myna, and E. M. Kavyashre, “Fingerprint based
projects.
bank locker system using microcontroller,” in Proc. IRF International
Conference, Pondicherry, India, April 5, 2014, pp. 155-160.
Melvie S. Dela Cruz was born on February 20, 1993.
[5] Atmel Corporation, ATmega644 datasheet.
She obtained her bachelor of science in computer
[6] D. Matoni, D. Maio, A. K. Jain, and S. Prabhakar, Handbook of
engineering in Centro Escolar University in April,
Fingerprint Recognition, 2nd ed., London: Springer Verlay London
2014.
Limited, 2009, ch. 2, pp. 57-58.
She had been a finalist for CEU Search for the Best
[7] C. Woodford. (June 3, 2014). Biometric fingerprint scanners. Explain
Undergraduate Research 2014 and won 2 nd place in
That Stuff. [Online]. Available:
poster presentation for the paper, “Development of
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/fingerprintscanners.html.
microcontroller-based biometric locker system.” Her
[8] A. O. Oke, A. A. Adigun, A. S. Falohun, and F. O. Alamu,
“Development of a programmable electronic digital code lock system,” major field of research interest falls with microcontroller projects.
International Journal of Computer and Information Technology, vol.
2, issue 1, pp. 127-131, January 2013. Jaira C. Inalao was born on May 30, 1993. She
obtained her bachelor of science in computer
Crystalynne D. Cortez was born on September 10, engineering in Centro Escolar University in April,
1985. She obtained her master of science in electrical 2014.
engineering in Technological University of the She had been a finalist for CEU Search for the Best
Philippines in April, 2014. She graduated the Undergraduate Research 2014 and won 2 nd place in
bachelor of science in electronics and poster presentation for the paper, “Development of
communications engineering at University of the City microcontroller-based biometric locker system.” Her
of Manila in April, 2006. major field of research interest falls with microcontroller projects.
She is a full-time faculty member of Computer
Education Department of Centro Escolar University
(CEU), Manila, Philippines from 2009 until present, handling professional
and research subjects in computer engineering, computer science and

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