RESEARCH PAPERS

Design of RFID Proximity Security Door

Lock
Gilbert Thio, Tham Kok Foong, Rajparthiban Kumar, L.K. Moey
School of Engineering, UCSI
gthio@ucsi.edu.my

Abstract
This study features the implementation of a security system utilizing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) which, through the basic
interface provided by Wiegand technology, allows interoperability with the MIFARE tag (smart card). The RFID Proximity Security
Door Lock (PSDL) system is an access system that enables entry using a smart card, suitable for the safety requirements of companies,
laboratories or factories, to ensure that only authorized personnel is allowed access. In terms of system design and development, this
study consists of a combination of both hardware (circuit design) and software (program design). Unlike mechanical locks, which use
keys that are prone to duplication, RFID-based door locks adopt contactless technology that utilizes smartcards embedded with
encrypted serial keys that cannot be duplicated. This feature ensures the reliability of RFID door locks, providing a secure access
control. The tags’ ability to withstand environmental conditions such as intense heat, humidity, corrosive chemicals, mechanical
vibration and shock also increases the reliability of the system.
Keywords: Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK), Manchester Coding, Weigand Reader Interface.

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1. INTRODUCTION 2. SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology uses radio
waves to identify objects by retrieving data embedded within
RFID tags[1]. It is a contactless technology that uses radio waves
to retrieve labels tagged to a product, animal or person. A
unique serial number that identifies a product, person or object
is stored on a microchip which is encased together with an
antenna to form a tag or transponder. An RFID system is
comprised of two sub-systems which are the tag and the reader,
both of which have their own antennas.
The tag is the device that contains the identification data. It
identifies the item it is attached to. The reader retrieves data
from the tag. It is also called an interrogator that reads or
reads/writes from/to the tag. The antenna attached to the reader
emits electromagnetic waves and receives responses from the
tag.
Tags can be classified in two main categories based on their
respective power source, passive and active tags. Passive tags
have no attached power source and rely on excitations by the
signal emitted from the reader antenna to energize itself. Active
tags on the other hand contain an embedded battery as the
power source. The passive and active tags can be further
distinguished by their memory type. The classifications are RO
(Read-Only), WORM (Write Only, Read Many) and RW (Read-
Write). However, different RFID carrier frequencies may result
in different read-write ranges, data transmission speed, and cost.
The operational frequencies available for RFID are low
frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), ultra high frequency
(UHF) and microwave.
Figure 1 shows a complete block diagram of the RFID
Proximity Security Door Lock (PSDL). The lock comprises of
five modules attached to the PIC 16F873 microcontroller, which
are the RFID Proximity Wiegand reader module, 2 x 16 lines
Liquid Crystal Display (JHC 162A), two relays (JQC-3F),
power window motor, and the magnetic contact. The power
window motor provides the door unlocking mechanism, while
the magnetic contact provides feedback about the door condition:
‘open’ or ‘shut’. The scan mode LED and system LED are
implemented as indicators of the operation. All processing and
data handling is performed by the PIC 16F873 microcontroller.
For software implementation, the source codes are written in C
language and compiled into assembly language to be
programmed into the PIC 16F873.
Figure 2 shows the operational overview of the system. Upon
successful power-on, the system LED will continuously blink to
indicate readiness for processing a smartcard. To gain entry
access, users are required to place the MIFARE tag in close
proximity with the Wiegand reader. Each tag is assigned a
unique serial number that identifies the respective tag user.
Once the reader detects the presence of a tag, the scan mode
LED will light up once to indicate success in reading the serial
key from the tag. The data will then be transferred to the
microcontroller for verification.
If a valid serial key is verified, a forward relay is triggered to
enable the power window motor to unlock the door. The name
of the user will then be displayed on the LCD. Once the user
opens and shuts the door, the magnetic contacts attached will
separate momentarily. The shutting of the door sends a signal to
the microcontroller, which then triggers the reverse relay to
reserve the power window motor, relocking the door. If the door

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is not opened after verification of the serial key, a timer
programmed in the microcontroller will activate the door-
relocking mechanism after 10 seconds.
If an invalid tag is placed near the reader, the system will treat it
as an unauthorized entry attempt. The LCD then displays
“ACCESS DENIED” and the door remains locked.
3. DATA CODING/ENCODING
The key in the tag is encoded and wirelessly transmitted as a
digital data stream. The receiver then decodes the incoming data
stream to obtain the key in the tag[2]. In RFID systems, the most
common coding scheme used is the Manchester Coding.
The Manchester coding defines transition in the middle of each
bit interval. When a ‘1’ bit is present, there is a transition from
high to low in the middle of the interval, when a ‘0’ bit is
present, there is a transition from low to high in the middle of
the transition[3].

4. DATA MODULATION

The reader antenna produces a magnetic field which excites the

microwave antenna circuit within the tag, providing power to
the tag. The waves emitted by the tag antenna are then picked
up by the reader and translated appropriately into the binary
ONES and ZEROS. The waves are either Amplitude Shift
Keying (ASK), Frequency Phase Keying (FSK) or Phase Shift
Keying (PSK) modulated signals. ASK is the most typical type
of modulation used in RFID[4].
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ASK alters the amplitude of the wave signal to signify the

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ONES and ZEROS in the binary data stream respectively with

waves of high and low amplitude[5].
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Figure 1. Block diagram of RFID proximity security door

5. DATA SIGNAL TRANSMISSION
lock
Figure 3 shows the flow chart of the communication between
the reader and the tag. The reader continuously emits RF carrier
START signals, and monitors any RF signals modulated by the antenna
of the MIFARE tag. When the presence of a tag is detected, the
MIFARE reader then demodulates the RF signals received from the
CARD
MIFARE tag and provides the PIC controller with the necessary
information for processing.
WIEGAND
READER

6. HARDWARE DESIGN
DETECTION
For power requirements, 12V dc voltage is required for
activating the door locking and unlocking mechanisms. A
CONVERSION
INTO WIEGAND
voltage regulator 7805 IC is used to regulate the 12V supply
SIGNAL
down to a 5V signal suitable for the PIC microcontroller.

PIC 16F873 The PIC microcontroller operates at 4MHz. An external

MICROCONTROLLER
resonator is employed to ensure compatibility with the PIC
input/output signals. The PIC microcontroller connected to the
MAGNETIC DATA reader will verify the information by decoding the data stream
CONTACT VERIFICATION
from the MIFARE tag. An LCD displays the identity of the tag
user, and three LEDs indicating “System Ready”, “Scan Mode”
and “Power Supply” provide indication of the system status.
RELAY LED LCD DISPLAY

Two normally-open relays are used to activate the door locking

POWER WINDOW
END
and unlocking mechanism. The relays are connected to the PIC
MOTOR
through two transistor circuits, which ensure that the relays are
not accidentally activated.
Figure 2. Overview of system operation

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Figure 3. Flow chart of reader and MIFARE card operation
7. SOFTWARE DESIGN
The PIC program is written in Microsoft Visual C++, and then
compiled to a hex file. The ICProg software is then used to
transfer the hex file to the PIC 16F873 microcontroller.
Figure 4 shows the flowchart for the software implementation.
Upon contact with the RFID tag, the program will perform the
parity check 12 bits at a time from the Most Significant Bit
(MSB) to the Least Significant Bit (LSB). If the parity check is
successful, the data is verified bit by bit against the pre-stored
data in the PIC. If the incoming 26-bit data is a match, relay 1
will be activated to unlock the door. Otherwise “Access Denied”
will be displayed on the LCD. The user will then be able to open
and shut the door. While the door is being accessed, the LCD
will be cleared and the name of the user will be displayed, in
this case “Mr. Tham” has been pre-programmed. When the door
is once again shut, the door switch will then trigger relay 2 to
relock the door. If the user does not open the door within 10
seconds, a delay counter will relock the door.
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Figure 4. Flow chart of the software implementation
8. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
When the valid test tag data is verified, the relay is activated to
power up the power window motor to unlock the door. At the
same time, the LCD displays “Mr Tham”, which is the PIC
microcontroller pre-programmed name.
The maximum reading distance between the tag and reader is
about 7.5 cm, with a carrier frequency of 125 kHz. The
Wiegand reader is able to read only one card at a time. When
multiple tags are placed on the reader simultaneously, the tags
will reflect back their signals at the same time to the reader thus
causing an overload: under these circumstances, no data is
transferred to the reader.
After the user enters and shuts the door, the contact of the door-
switch is detected, and the PIC microcontroller then triggers the
door-locking relay, powering the power window motor to lock
the door.
Subsequently, if the door remains shut for 10 seconds after tag
verification, the door will be relocked, and the LCD will display
“ACCESS DENIED”. Similarly, if an invalid card is read by the
reader, the LCD will also display “ACCESS DENIED”.
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9. CONCLUSION

The system design and software implementation have proven to

be effective and efficient. It provides access only to authorized
personnel, and displays the identity of the user as soon as the tag
is within activation range of the reader. The adoption of RFID
technology in security door-lock applications is feasible, and
provides a more secure access, as the contact-less technology
minimizes the risk of tag cloning. Data encryption also prevents
duplication or unauthorized disclosure of the tag user’s identity
Although RFID is a relatively new technology, its performance
and reliability has proven its potential to be integrated in various
applications.

10. FUTURE WORK

Further improvements can be implemented on this system to

enhance its features and functionality. A remote monitoring
system can be integrated by configuring the PIC to transmit an
alert signal through a dial-up system to the user’s mobile phone
to warn of attempted denied access. A backup power supply
would be a possible feature for continuous operation of the
security system to avoid lock out or lock failure during power
outages.
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11. REFERENCES

[1] Sandip Lahiri, RFID Sourcebook, IBM Press Publication,

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First Printing 2005.

[2] Hussain Al-Mousawi, Performance and Reliability of Radio

Frequency Identification, June 2004..

[3] RFID Made Easy, EM Microelectronic – Marin SA, 25

September, 2002.

[4] Tecktronix, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

Overview, November 3, 2004. .

[5] William Stallings, Data and Computer Communication,

Pearson Prentice Hall Publication, International Edition, 7th
Edition, 2004.

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