Radio Frequency Identification Based Students' Data Documentation

Radio Frequency Identification Based Students’ Data Documentation & Laboratory Security System Tuhin Dev 1 , Jibesh Kanti Saha 2 , Anik Hossain 3 , Muntasir Mahdi4 Abstract— The typical method of manual attendance documentation is very time consuming, inefficient and unable to ensure security. Laboratory access is hard to manage by traditional processes. In this report, we proposed a system that resolves recurrent lecture attendance monitoring problems and tracks laboratory entrance using Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. In this research, an RFID based system has been developed to produce an attendance management system incorporated with proper security measures to prevent unauthorized access and proxy attendances. The hardware part comprises of an embedded device installed near the classrooms which incorporate an RFID module interfaced with a microcontroller. Data has been stored to a MicroSD Card as well as in the database. A user-friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) was developed to gain access to the attendance data by the administrator. Keywords- Radio-frequency Identification, RFID Tags, GUI, MicroSD card

I. I NTRODUCTION Monitoring attendance and calculating students attendance percentage manually is a time consuming and monotonous job for professors. This eliminates important lecture time. Also, marginal errors can occur while manually counting attendance percentage. Laboratories should be secured and access to the laboratories must be tracked. Without proper documentation, it’s hard to keep track of laboratory access and components’ usage. So, to resolve these nagging problems; a user-friendly RF-ID structured university automation system is necessary. The identification(ID) cards of the students are constructed with an RFID passive tag[11] embedded which can be read by an RFID reader. The operational system will allow the students to punch their ID cards to record attendance and laboratory entry data. This RFID system is interfaced with a database through a local network. This technique works more effectively to avoid problems encountered for manual input of attendances and laboratory usage. II. BACKGROUND R ESEARCH Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses radio waves to transfer data from an electronic tag, called RFID tag or label, mounted on an object, through a reader for identifying and tracking the object. This operational system consists of two main parts which include the hardware and the software implementation. This RFID based students’ attendance and laboratory security system provides the functionalities of exhibiting live ID tags transactions, registering ID, deleting ID, documenting attendance and other minimal functions like calculating

the percentage of presence, displaying attendances recorded for a particular student in designated courses & laboratory entrance and exit information. The database can be stored on a host server that can be accessed from any computer connected to the same network with this developed system. Username and security password protected authentication process is implemented for security measures. Finally, outline for even more development of the operational system has been provided. In the research of Ting et. al. provided comparison between traditional active and highcost solutions and studied the feasibility of using passive RFID tags for indoor positioning and object location detection to provide real-time information for tracking movement[1]. Consequences of the investigation demonstrates that lucidness of the passive RFID positioning framework is attractive, and it is a much more savvy arrangement in contrast with other situating advancements. In a research of Nguyen, H. K. and M. T. Chew, an RFID-based attendance management system demonstrated an automated attendance management that can be utilized at proficient social occasions of various sorts and scales[2]. Research done by A.A. Olanipekun and O.K. Boyinbode, A RFID Based Automatic Attendance System in Educational Institutions of Nigeria proposed a system that document attendances using RFID tags and access the recorded information using a developed user interface[3]. In the research of Arulogun O. T., RFID-Based Students Attendance Management System, proposed a system that interfaced the RFID reader with computer using serial communication and also stored the recorded data on the database[4]. Mohankumar, S., et al. proposed a Design of Employee Attendance Monitoring System using RFID and monitored attendances of the employees and stored the attendance data to the computer and developed a Graphical User Interface(GUI) using vb.net/C# [5] while we’ve used python programming language. Anjum, Rumana, and Vijaya Kamble provided a Student Tracking and Attendance Monitoring System Using RFID that can also track and monitor student attendances and record data to the database[6]. Hanafi, Aafiya, Sana Pathan, Shraddha Malik, and Ruhisana Ali, Akbar Nagani proposed School Children Transportation Safety Enhancement with Attendance System by using GPS module and GSM Modem rather than storing on the MicroSD card[7]. Siddique, Tufail Ahmed M., Priyanka G. Shelake, and H. B. Sale. proposed Smart Attendance Management and Learning System where an android application is developed to take attendance data from a RFID based and Bluetooth based system[8]. Dwivedi, J. K. showed RFID Technology Based Attendance Management

System where RFID technology is used data has been saved to the server.[9] In these researches, RFID tags are used to document students’ data. And some of them demonstrated computer as the data storing system. As there is a possibility of computer power failure and the systems weren’t compact implies not user-friendly. There is no demonstration or implementation of a compact off-line data storing system that we implemented here by using MicroSD card. We stored attendance data instantaneously to the Micro SD card as well as in the database to access this data when needed. So this RFID based attendance and laboratory security system is compact, robust, cost-effective and more user-friendly than other systems.

•

•

Students’ data stored in the MicroSD card will also be sent to the online database. Administrator would be able to manage the database system as per his/her requirement. By using Python 3.0 programming language, a user interface for computer platform is developed. By which, the administrator can send necessary queries and have a response from the database stored on the local server.

III. H ARDWARE I MPLEMENTATION Complete implementation of hardware is split into three subsystems for convenience. Following paragraphs outline very brief overview of each subsystem. • Reading ID Card: ID Read System reads the ID Cards and extracts card data from the students’ ID Card. This system consists of an RFID module that sends the data to the microcontroller. • Central Processing System: This System contains Microcontroller (ATMega2560), Ethernet Shield(W5100), Micro SD Card. The microcontroller processes the complete system logic. The Ethernet Shield (W5100) saves data to the Micro SD card and sends data to the server database. The microcontroller takes input from the Input System and shows output to the Display System. • Input & Display System: Display and Input system is the system to take input and display on the screen. A 4x4 matrix membrane keypad is used to give input data e.g: course code, administrator password. In the display system, a 16x2 Liquid Crystal Display is used to display data.

Fig. 1.

RFID Based Class Attendance System Processes

B. Reading ID Cards The RFID module is a Universal Asynchronous ReceiverTransmitter (UART) that’s functional for 125kHz radio signals. We used 9600 bits per second as the baud rate to receive and transmit data to and from the ATMega2560 Microcontroller. Transistor-Transistor Logic (TTL) is used during this process. Thus logic level 1 is represented as Vcc .

A. Block Diagram The system is implemented and assembled by following some systematic procedures and hardware interfacing. • Prior to the system is preparing to take ID Card inputs, administrator will give input to the 4x4 Matrix membrane keypad that sends data to the microcontroller. • The data logging process will start by firmly taking the ID Card data from the students by the RFID module. Students will place their ID card adjacent to the specified area marked as, ”Place your ID Card Here” • The data will be sent to the ATMega2560 microcontroller for further action. • The 16x2 alphanumeric display is connected to the microcontroller will show that the data has been recorded successfully. • Students’ data will be stored on the MicroSD card placed in the W5100 ethernet shield. • The ethernet shield is also connected to the local web server so that administrator can gain access to the database of the class records easily.

Fig. 2.

RDM6300 RFID Reader

C. Microcontroller The ATMega2560 microcontroller is used as the central processing system of this project. The microcontroller is interfaced by using Arduino Mega Board. The microcontroller is programmed by Arduino programming language. The power of the Arduino Board is supplied using a 220V AC to 5V DC power adapter. 1) Frontend Algorithm: The frontend algorithm for a fully functional system is the following: • Firstly, Administrator will enter the security password by pressing the keys of 4X4 Matrix membrane Keypad.

Fig. 3.

Attendance Logging Device

Then the microcontroller will check if the password is matched up with the predefined one. • After a successful password input, microcontroller will prompt for a course Code. The system will be ready to take data from students’ ID cards after the course code input by the administrator. • Students will place their ID Card before the RFID Reader. The RFID passive tag has already been installed into the ID Cards of the students. The RFID module will browse the passive RFID tag and send the ID Card data to the microcontroller. • The microcontroller will send the ID card data received from the RFID module to the MicroSD Card to save offline by the ethernet shield. The W5100 ethernet shield also allows to send the data to the server by an ethernet cable. • Student Name, registration number, and attendance for corresponding courses will be documented in the database stored on the local server. 2) Backend Algorithm: The backend algorithm functions in a robust manner. The functions and system procedures are following: • When the administrator wants to retrieve data from the server, he/she will send a query utilizing the User Interface (UI) as per his/her demand. • Server will send the desired data back again to the administrator user interface from the database. • Administrator will be able to download desired data to store for any kind of offline use. There is a button labeled as ”Download Data” should be pressed to download data in .xlsx format for later use. D. Input and Output Processes Input and output devices are accustomed to take data to process and display the output on the screen. 4X4 Keypad,

16X2 LCD screen, RFID reader module are the input and output devices. 1) Input Devices: A 4x4 matrix membrane keypad is used for alphanumeric inputs. For each key press, the keypad sends data to the microcontroller. The transmission and receive data speed for this keypad is maximum 9600 bits per second, also known as the baud rate. Password protection is implemented and so the password should be typed by using this keypad. Course codes should also be entered by employing this 4x4 matrix membrane keypad. The RDM 6300 V.2 is used as the RFID Module. This module is a universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) and used in a frequency of 125KHz. When an ID card is positioned before the specified place . The ID card passive RFID tags are compatible with RDM 6300 V.2 and respond if 125kHz radio signals are received.[10] 2) Output Processes: A 16x2 alphanumeric Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is used to display necessary instructions to the screen. Prompt for the password and course code is displayed on this LCD screen. The unique number of the card placed is also displayed on the screen after a successful card entry. The Internet Protocol (IP) address is shown here which is reserved for the ethernet shield, which is connected to the Arduino board of the system. To make the system user-friendly, a grove buzzer is used to give an alarm when an ID card is entered successfully. The working voltage for the buzzer is within 4V to 8V. The sound output is maximum 85dB. And the resonant frequency is 2300 ± 300 Hz. IV. S OFTWARE I MPLEMENTATION The system consists of some software implementation. Firstly, the attendance logging system is to take the password & course code input and to take ID card input data from the students. Secondly, the central database system is a MySQL database stored on the local server which is used to store students’ ID card information and corresponding attendance count. Finally, the user interface for the administrator is developed using Python programming language for the administrator to access the database. A. Attendance Logging System The attendance logging system is programmed by using Arduino programming language which is implemented in the ATMega 2560 microcontroller through the Arduino board. The function of this system is to take attendance from corresponding students’ ID cards. Saving data to the micro SD card and to send them to the database. And then the database send data to the administrator on the basis of requested query. Initially, the device is in web server mode. While in web server mode, the device requires a password for activation. When a teacher/ administrator enters the correct password it will prompt for the course code. After a successful entry of the course code, students will start to place their ID cards one by one. This is the attendance logging system. The unique numbers of the ID cards, current date and time along with the corresponding course name will be saved in a .txt file in the

SD card. To close a session, the teacher/administrator will again enter the password. The device will go back to the web server mode. In this mode, the device waits for an incoming query from the administrator user interface. Upon receiving any correct query, the system will open the previously saved file and send the requested data to the previously specified address via User Datagram Protocol (UDP). B. Central Database The central database is developed using MySQL. All the students’ information is stored on this database which is located in a MySQL server connected to the same local network. The attendance data which is looped back from the user interface unit is stored on a separate table. For the laboratory security system, data is also stored in different tables of the database. C. User Interface for Administrator The user interface (UI) is developed by using Python 3 programming language. The interface is a cross-platform application means it can be run on both Windows and Linux based operating system. The user interface (UI) consists of three buttons, two text fields, and a text output box. When ’Update Database’ button is pressed, it sends a User Datagram Protocol(UDP) request to the attendance logging units and receives the requested file data. Then it runs an SQL query and saves the information in a table located in an SQL database on the local server. When the administrator wants to see a specific students attendance or a particular course attendance, He/she will enter the students registration number or the course code. The user interface will generate an SQL query and send the query to the SQL database. As per the requested query, the database will return information and that will be shown in the text output field. The user can also save the data by pressing the ”Download Data” button in a Microsoft excel file as a .xlsx file format. This file can be used for further use or record. V. C ONCLUSIONS The RFID based class attendance and laboratory security system is a must to save time and to take attendances automatically rather than manually. The security system of any institution laboratory or office can be increased by using this system. Entrance and exit of a student staff from a building, laboratories, libraries or classrooms can be easily recorded for further query if needed. As there are some expensive components in laboratories, it’s important to ensure the security and preserve those components properly. If we use active RFID tags rather than passive tags inside the ID cards, the tracking system will be much easier. This developed system can also be used with the electromagnetic door lock by coupling the system with the door locks. By implementing ID card based entrance in our research laboratories, it will be much easier to keep those laboratories restricted and secured. As this system is compact, stores and sends data in a very cost-effective way, it’s a robust system and can be used in our educational institutions and can also be developed to make the tracking process easier.

Fig. 4.

User Interface(UI)

R EFERENCES [1] S.L. Ting, S.K. Kwok, Albert H.C.Tsang and George T.S. Ho, The Study on Using Passive RFID Tags for Indoor Positioning, International Journal of Engineering Business Management(2011), Vol. 3, No. 1 , pp. 915 [2] Nguyen, H. K., and M. T. Chew., ”RFID-based attendance management system”, Recent Trends in Telecommunications Research (RTTR), Workshop on. IEEE(2017). [3] A.A. Olanipekun and O.K. Boyinbode, ”A RFID Based Automatic Attendance System in Educational Institutions of Nigeria”, International Journal of Smart Home(2015), Vol. 9, No. 12, pp. 65-74. [4] Arulogun O. T., Olatunbosun, A., Fakolujo O. A., and Olaniyi, O. M., ”RFID-Based Students Attendance Management System”, International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research(2013) Volume 4, Issue 2. [5] Mohankumar, S., et al., ”Design of Employee Attendance Monitoring System by Using Radio Frequency Identity Cards”, Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR)(2017), Vol-3, Issue-3 [6] Anjum, Rumana, and Vijaya Kamble, ”Student Tracking and Attendance Monitoring System Using RFID”, International Journal of Scientific Research in Computer Science, Engineering and Information Technology(2017), Volume 2, Issue 2 [7] Hanafi, Aafiya, Sana Pathan, Shraddha Malik, and Ruhisana Ali, Akbar Nagani., ”RFID-based System for School Children Transportation Safety Enhancement with Attendance System”, International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)(2017),Volume 04,Issue 03 [8] Siddique, Tufail Ahmed M., Priyanka G. Shelake, and H. B. Sale., ”Smart Attendance Management and Learning System”, Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research 3.3 (2017). [9] Dwivedi, J. K., Anshuman Tyagi, Adarsh Pushkar, Dhirendra Kr Tiwari, Rajnish Anand, Shubham Dubey, Brijesh Kumar Dubey, Piyush Agnihotri, and Kanpur HBTU. ”RFID Technology Based Attendance Management System.” International Journal of Engineering Science 6074 (2017). [10] ”125Khz RFID module-UART” http://wiki.seeed.cc/ 125Khz_RFID_module-UART/ [11] What is RFID? http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/ view?1339, RFID Journal, Jan 16, 2005