Smart Attendance System: A Server-Side Wi-Fi and Biometric Portal Approach presents a server-side architecture for classroom attendance management in university environments. This work revises an earlier software requirements specification for smart attendance into a browser-based and network-assisted design that removes the dependency on a dedicated mobile application or a fingerprint terminal installed in every classroom. The proposed system combines managed classroom Wi-Fi evidence with browser-based passkey confirmation to support attendance verification. A range-limited access point, configured using technologies such as OpenWrt or pfSense, reports Wi-Fi association events, lease activity, received signal strength indicator (RSSI) data, and time-window evidence to a backend service through a protected communication channel. After connecting to the classroom network, students access a captive portal, provide a roll number or student identifier, and confirm presence using a passkey through the device’s platform authenticator. The design follows a privacy-preserving approach in which raw biometric templates remain on the student’s device and are not transmitted to the server. Attendance decisions are derived from multiple forms of evidence, including router telemetry, classroom identity, registered device information, timetable or calendar state, dwell duration, and passkey-backed authentication assertions. This work contributes: A revised requirements framework for classroom attendance systems that removes mandatory application installation and dedicated in-room biometric hardware. A server-side architecture integrating classroom access points, router event agents, secure communication channels, and a centralized attendance database. A decision protocol for transforming Wi-Fi association signals and passkey portal verification into auditable attendance records. A security and privacy analysis covering MAC address randomization, proxy attendance risks, spoofing attempts, credential handling, VPN tunneling, wireless repeater misuse, and signal range containment. A comparative discussion between classroom fingerprint-terminal deployments and a router-smartphone attendance model. A prototype-oriented evaluation framework addressing latency, wireless boundary behavior, attendance accuracy, and administrative review procedures. The proposed system treats automated attendance as assistive infrastructure rather than an authoritative replacement for academic oversight. Instructor-confirmed attendance remains the primary source of authority in cases involving accessibility accommodations, device failure, absence of a mobile device, or disputed attendance outcomes. Several limitations are identified for future prototype validation, including RSSI boundary instability, multi-device proxy attendance scenarios, VPN tunneling behavior, external repeater interference, and changes in mobile operating-system privacy controls. This record may be relevant to researchers and developers studying classroom attendance automation, Wi-Fi-based presence verification, captive portal workflows, passkey or WebAuthn-based confirmation, and privacy-preserving alternatives to classroom biometric attendance systems. This work is released as an independent research preprint and architectural proposal. It does not represent a production deployment study or a validated operational implementation.
Sagnik Mukherjee (Sun,) studied this question.