Time-Based Door Access Control System Capstone Senior Design Project

The goal of this project is to create a competitive alternative to the current Door access system utilized by the Ohio Northern Engineering building. We are creating a time-based access system and a reservation software to enable authorized users to reserve rooms. This system will allow for more privacy within classrooms and conference rooms because authorized users can no longer enter a room currently being used that they should not access(at a specific time). Key competitors were identified and researched in order to improve upon their designs and introduce time-based granular permissions. We also identified the project's stakeholders: Ohio Northern University and their public safety, information technology, and engineering buildings, allowing for alternative viable solutions to be drafted using constraints provided by our client. Our first viable solution consists of integrating a reservation system with the Pro-watch system installed at ONU, the second consists of creating our own software and using similar hardware to what is installed at ONU, and the third consists of creating our own software and purchasing cheaper alternatives to create a prototype using Raspberry Pis. After applying evaluation metrics, we decided to continue our project using viable solution 3. To create this viable solution, we are purchasing hardware components to integrate with a server and database. Our hardware includes raspberry pis, identification cards, RFID readers, door locks, and power supplies. We will also be creating our own software using the LAMP Stack, including the server, database, and webpages. The hardware and software will then be linked over a local network, creating a prototype time-based door access system for Ohio Northern University's Engineering Building.