Mttendance Demo Video

Mtenndance Web App Design

I have recently been sketching out the web app component for my attendance tracking system. Here's some ideas of what I'm thinking.

Proof of Concept Reflection

My proof of concept is a solid indication that my project is technically feasible to complete under the time restrictions that I have. The core functionality of scanning RFID chips and uploading to the cloud is working, along with a fully-fledged web app for viewing the results. 

The web app is one of the key parts, and it is coming along really well. The design is almost finalized and many of the screens are coming together. The live feed is complete, and it automatically updates whenever a chip is scanned (without refreshing the page). I'm currently working on ways to associate scans with specific events (class meetings) and tracking how many people attend each event. This is where the real value in the product will become apparent. 

On the hardware side of things, I have put everything onto a perf board. It now buzzes and flashes an LED when you scan a chip to give you some positive feedback. I'm planning on making the device battery powered. I'm also working on storing the scans in EEPROM memory in the case that the photon is not connected to wifi when scans are recorded. The scans would then be uploaded to the cloud upon reconnection to wifi. I would also like to design an enclosure for the product, but this is on the back burner and we'll see if I have enough time to. 

Once I have a working system that I can demonstrate, I would like to show the University in hopes of getting access to the encryption keys for the RFID in MCards. This would allow my system to function with actual MCards instead of generic RFID chips like it's supposed to. 

I'm on track to finish my project in time, and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product!

Attendance System - Proof of Concept

Attendance Reader - Project Update

I have gotten the RFID reader to work with the Photon. Currently, the Photon reads the RFID unique identifier of a card and sends it to my server that is running a Node.js app. The server stores the timestamp that the card was scanned into a database. I then access this database using on the front end through a client-side web app using Backbone.js. I am currently working on the functionality of this front end website. It will eventually display the attendance records for all classes and allow exporting of the information to other formats.

The biggest challenge I have run into is that Mcards use a secure RFID protocol. The RFID chip in them is the MIFARE DESfire EV1 configured in Random identifier mode. This means that each time an Mcard is scanned it produces a completely random unique identifier. In order to access the actual unique identifier of the card, you need access to the encryption keys. Obviously only the university has access to these keys. Because of this, I'm going to have to build my proof of concept using the cards that came with the RFID reader. I will then pitch it as something that the university could incorporate into their classrooms if they want to, since only they have access to the encryption keys.

Project Timeline

Cloud Connected Attendance RFID Reader

The key technological aspects for demonstrating my idea are:

- Working RFID reader

- Functional website with backend database

My rough timeline looks like the following:

11/2 - Working RFID reader with upload to the cloud

11/9 - Fully functional backend database with REST API

11/23 - Polished and fully functional website

11/30 - Portable unit (battery powered) with enclosure

Project Idea Refinement

I'm looking to solve the problem of recording class attendance. The current solutions are slow, cumbersome, and inefficient. My idea is to take advantage of the RFID chip in Mcards by having an internet connected device by the door that you just tap your Mcard to when you enter. The device then uploads to the cloud and presents the professor with a nice web interface of who was in class, along with a historical record of all classes.