Building Security System

Project Proposal

Presented By
Syed A. Ali
George Kutsaftis
Zachary J. Maura
Chuong Nguyen
Jonathan Vanase

Advisors
Dr. John Chandy
Dr. Rajeev Bansal
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Background
Due to missing equipment from the Design & Computer Labs the Administration has
decided that they would like to secure these locations by using a card swipe and
surveillance type security system. All Labs will have the card access system installed as
part of the project. .University of Connecticut currently uses a decentralized card access
security system called “Husky One Card”, the card contains students school’s identity
number and social security number. We have been assigned the task of designing a Card
Swipe based security and surveillance interface based on the “Husky One Card” system.

The security system shall be a completely operational “Door Access System” based on
authentication. It will also monitor the flow of equipment in the room.

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Overview
The Building Security System is being designed to reduce the amount of stolen
equipment from the Senior Design Labs in the Information Technologies Engineering
building. It makes use of card swipes for user authentication along with a locking system
on the doors to allow entry only to authorized students. The doors open from the inside
without authentication for compliance with fire codes and for an acceptable level of
usability. For ease of application the authentication is transmitted wirelessly throughout
the building from door unit to authentication unit. This main authentication unit is
capable of allowing entry to designated labs, logging traffic, and is easily programmable.
Residing on a Windows based PC the program to control authentication and access
logging is easily portable to most of today’s PC market.

The Building Security System also protects units in the room from thief by means of
radio frequency tracking. Small transmitter devices concealed within units trigger an
alarm when removed from the room.
The combination of these two subsystems composes the Building Security System. The
ability to track user access and protect devices at the same time should allow the labs to
operate under normal conditions while preventing the theft of expensive devices used
within the labs.

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Competitive Analysis
Door Access Interface
During our research period we looked into a complete system used by many large hotel
chains from the company “vingcard”. This product seemed to be an appropriate solution
to the project’s chief dilemma. This system included an all in one door lock, handle and
card reader. It also had a manual override (in case of power outage and emergency).
This full system also incorporated a card encoder, which would program the cards with
access to the appropriate doors. This system seemed to be a great resolution, yet it still
had several drawbacks. First, the system would not utilize the “Husky one-card” system
that the university already uses. This would force the administrators to key many cards
and attempt to distribute them to the appropriate students and cause this process to be
repeated once a card was reported stolen or lost. The other chief shortcoming was that
the cost of this system would be approximately ten thousand dollars, which does not
satisfy our prescribed budget.

The group through countless hours of research and deliberation decided to use an
independent card reader and built up the rest of the system around this card reader. A
little research revealed a myriad of card readers to choose from. Anything over the price
of two hundred dollars was removed from the running. Also only RS-232 based readers
were considered for the project. Another qualification the card readers must meet was
versatility. A card reader must read tracks 1, 2 and 3 of almost any card. Another
prerequisite for the card reader is that it must be sturdy enough to handle frequent use
while still being reasonably compact. After all was said and done we found our card
reader. Its price was only one hundred and sixty dollars, slightly under our price ceiling.
It was also a RS-232 reader that read all three tracks of the standard swipe card. It also
appears is of sturdy build and moderate proportions. Of all the card readers that were
found this was the only one to meet or exceed all of demands, hence it being our pick.

Product Security Interface

One of the goals of this project was to design a system that would protect equipment from
the lab, something that will trigger an alarm if lab equipment (such as a computer or
signal generators) was taken outside the designated area. To this point this has proven
difficult but a few possible solutions have been considered. The first was the EAS towers,
which are commonly employed in most stores. A small magnetic strip would be hidden
securely on an item; this strip can be deactivated to allow passage through the towers. If
the strip is not deactivated and one tries to pass through the towers an alarm would sound.
At first look this is a good solution; the magnetic strips are very cheap and disposable.
The system is very simple to use and effective, hence its use in stores. In retrospect this
is not a feasible due to the fact the towers themselves cost upwards of two thousand
dollars; which would not satisfy budget limitation for this project.

Another solution to this problem came by way of a company whose products seemed to
be a reasonable solution. The company claimed to equip their customer with sensors that
would create “containment fields”, and transmitters that would trigger an alarm if a piece
of equipment breeched on of these “containment fields”. The system would then transmit
an automated message to a pager or walkie-talkie telling the administrators which piece
of equipment was being stolen and from where. A very novel idea, however a minimum
purchase and a high starting price made this an impractical solution. To this date, no
affective solution has been found, but the group is confident that an affordable and
effective solution shall be found.

The most acceptable solution we found was from Texas Instruments. They make a
system call TI-Tags that operates on the principle of passive transmitters. These tags can
store a small amount of information about the device it is attached to and then transmit
this information to a reader. This system also includes an interface to communicate with
a PC, so it might be possible to incorporate the TI-Tag system into our project.
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Component Level Module

Card Reader
(MSR200-33R)
Reads dual and triple
track cards.
Conforms to ISO 7811,
ANSI x4.16.
RS-232 port interface.

Microcontroller
(PIC 16F87x)
Control System Mounted on PIC QIK-
RF Tag Detection
(PC – Windows) START board. Poles
Receives Data from RS-232 port interface The Poles Detects the
Wireless Unit (2). And Free MPLAB Software Flow of Equipment. If a
Control decisions are interface. Tagged Equipment
made by this unit. leaves the room it informs
the Microcontroller which
activates the Alarm
sequence. Also the
Microcontroller sends log
of such activity to the
Wireless Units (1) Control System
Receives Data from
Wireless Units (2) Microcontroller.
Receives Data Wirelessly Connected to via RS-232
from Wireless Unit (1). Port Interface.
Connected to the Control Sends Data Wirelessly to
System (PC) via RS-232 Wireless Unit (2)
Port Interface Alarm
Is Controlled by the
Microcontroller. And is
activated if an
unregulated flow of
Equipment is made.
Electric Lock
(S-Home 190S)
Mounted on the Door.
Receives Lock-Unlock
Instruction from the
Microcontroller.

Figure 2
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Design Components
Microcontroller
The microcontroller serves a dual purpose in this project. It will both bridge the gap
between the card reader and the wireless unit along with controlling the door lock. The
card reader is transmitting its signals to the controlling security system. However, the
RS232 output of the card reader needs a way to interface with the wireless transmitter.
The microcontroller has been chosen to bridge this gap. The RS232 communication
standard is common on many microcontrollers or is easily integrated. This will allow us
to parse the output stream of the card reader and determine which action to take. This
RS232 I/O will also allow us to communicate with the wireless transmitter/receiver. This
will ensure that the only data sent via the wireless channels are valid authentication
information.

Coming from the systems control center, the microcontroller will control the data flow in
the opposite direction. In this case the data is being taken from the wireless receiver and
needs to be communicated to the door lock. The connections between the wireless
receiver and the microcontroller will still use RS232, while the microcontroller will
communicate with the door lock through whatever type of signal the door lock receives.
If the microcontroller receives a signal from the wireless receiver designated to allow the
door to unlock, then the microcontroller will relay this information into whatever
circuitry will unlock the door. This completes the full loop of needed communications
handled by the microcontroller.
Qik Start PIC education board /w CAN
Card Reader
The Card Reader is part of the front end user interface in our design, so the challenge was
to get something rugged, reliable, compact and presentable, but at the same time
compatible with the Back-End design. We recommended the MSR200-33R Card Reader,
manufactured by Semicron Corporation. Some of the features this reader provides are

• Decoded Magnetic Stripe Reader

• Low power CMOS design
• Keyboard emulation
• Reads dual and triple track cards
• Bi-directional read capability
• Conforms to ISO 7811, ANSI x4.16 &
• AAMVA (Driver Licenses) standards
• May be mounted on a keyboard or a flat surface.
• Provides feedback by LED and buzz
• Interfaces Available are PC XT/AT, PS/2, and RS232
For our design we needed a card reader which would have a RS232 port interface
because the PIC Microcontroller we will be using as a bridge between Card Reader and
the Wireless Transmitter, is mounted on a Diversified Engineering Kit which provides
RS232 port interface. Another feature which triggered us to choose this particular card
reader was the fact that it can read dual and triple track cards and Conforms to ISO 7811
and ANSI x4.16 standards. Since we are using the Husky One Card as an Access
Interface card, these features are very flexible in that respect.
 MSR200-33R Card Reader
Electric Door Strike

The electric door strike is the electro-mechanical release mechanism that unlocks the
door when it receives a 12V signal. When no power is sent to the door strike it remains
locked. It is used in conjunction with a Schlage Lock as shown in the picture below. The
electric door strike is used in place of the strike that comes with the Schlage Lock. This
strike is reversible for left or right-handed doors. Once installed, the door can still be
operated using a key. To power the door strike we will use a 12-volt DC 500mA power
supply that can be bought with the door strike. When operating off the DC power supply
a gentle 'click' is heard when unlocked. We will also place a push button on the inside of
the room so that people can easily leave with out unlocking the Schalage Lock.

Face dimensions: 1 5/8" x 3 1/2". Case dimensions: 1" x 1 7/8" x 3".

Schlage Lock
This Schlage Lock has a keyed exterior and it has a turn button on the interior that will
lock or unlock both levers. This Schlage Lock is used the same way as the locks on your
home. Therefore, in the case of power outages the door could still be unlocked using a
key. Schalage locks work for doors between (35 mm - 48 mm) thick. A schematic of a
Schalage Lock and how it put together is given below.

Wireless Units

Wireless connectivity is quickly becoming recognized as a flexible and reliable medium

for data communications across a broad range of applications. A wireless solution in our
system eliminates the need for cabling from the central PC to the access point.

Advantages:
• Wireless interrogation speeds data collection.
• Equipments (computer, card reader, etc.) can be moved without
regard to location of network.
• Effective communication over distances of up to 500 feet indoors or several miles
line-of-sight.
• High frequency 2.4GHz or 900MHz, employing frequency hopping spread spectrum
technology, providing resistance to interference and highly reliable data
communication.
• Lowers cost, time and effort of installation.
• Ideal for retrofits in buildings not wired for electronic access.
• Proprietary protocol & FHSS for security & interference rejection.
• 2.4GHz, 900MHz and 868MHz for virtually worldwide suitability.
• Isolated collocated networks.
• Small enough to fit into virtually any enclosure.
• Low power consumption.
• Industry standard interfaces.
• Seamless integration as direct cable replacement

For low data rate applications, such as remote keyboard or mag-stripe readers, the
transceivers are ideal. They transmit up to 500 feet indoors through walls or a couple of
miles line-of-sight. Key benefits for access control are long ranges achievable from
900MHz, and incredible cost efficiency for a radio with the protocol RS232.

Wireless ConnexLink

For our design, a wireless system consisting of two wireless transceivers will be used to
communicate between computer and card reader. Physically, one transceiver is connected
to a serial port (COM port) on the central computer, while the other will link to card
reader.
The RS232 interface is a key protocol in communication. The interface program running
on the central computer will scan and detect the signal from card reader through
transceivers.
 ConnnexLink Unit

Card
Central
Reade
Computer

Transceiver Transceiver

Block Diagram of transceiver

arrangement in the wireless security
system

Texas Instruments TI-Tags

The TI-Tag system has just 2 major components. The first is the tags themselves. These
tags each contain a small amount of information that can catalogue the device they are
attached to. The tags act as passive wireless transmitters, and when run through a field
produced by the receiver, they transmit the data that they store. The range, orientation of
transitions and amount of data stored vary depending on the model of the tag, but there
are a variety of different tags available. The 2nd component is a receiver that produces
the read field. This system stick reader can have its range extended with additional
antennas placed around the original receiver. The default range of 1 meter should work
for our evaluation purposes. The key part of the receiver is the RS232 interface that
allows it to hook into the rest of our system. Using this, we will be able to track the
devices and compare the data received with our database to take appropriate action.
_______________________________________________________________________
Timeline

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Budget
Hardware
Card Reader $ 169
PIC Kit $ 200
Wireless Units $ 225
Door Lock $ 102
Door Lock – Electrical Interface $ 60
RF Surveillance Kit from TI $ 800
Product Display Interface $ 100
Software
RS-232 Port Data Reader $ 50
Total $ 1706

]
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Summary

• Swipe Card Box: Two and three track card reader. Reads the information of
the card found on the magnetic strip.

• Microcontroller: Both microcontrollers convert between functional data and

transmittable data. Also the first microcontroller when given the signal sends
12V to the door strike unlocking the door.

• Door Strike: Unlocks the door when given a 12V signal.

• Wireless Transmitter and Receiver: The two wireless transmitter and
receiver units are used to transmit and receive signals wirelessly between the
devices.

• PC and Processor: Computer that has a database saved on it. It receives the
data from the card swipe then processes it. It sends back a signal if the card swipe
data is in the database.
User Swipes his card. The first microcontroller then converts the data so that it can be
transmitted. Next the first transmitter and receiver transmit the data to the second
transmitter and receiver. The second microcontroller then converts the data to functional
data and sends it to the PC. The PC then processes the data and checks if that data is in
the database. If the data is not in the database then it does not send anything back. But if
the data is on the database it sends back a signal to the second microcontroller. Then the
second microcontroller converts the functional data back to transmittable data and sends
it to the second transmitter and receiver. Next the second wireless transmitter and
receiver then send the data to the first wireless transmitter and receiver. The data then
goes in to the microcontroller and is converted to functional data. The microcontroller
then sends the 12V signal to the door strike to unlock the door. If a person is in the room
already he can exit the room by pressing a button. That button in turn sends the 12V to
the Door strike unlocking the door.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, we were very successful at finding devices that will fit the needs of
this project. In addition, we were able to provide sufficient evidence that our project is of
valid consideration. The cost involved in our project makes it much more affordable than
comparable products, but ours also allows for the exact type of security that we wish to
provide. By staying well within budget on our parts estimations, and selecting many
devices that use universal communications standards, we are confident that our project
will be a success in the coming semester as our preparation was this semester.