During the final year of my Bachelor's degree, I have been working on a project entitled 'Smartphone Activated Door Lock using Wi-Fi'. The objectives of this project are:
i) To develop an electronic based project to help users to lock and unlock their door without the use of keys.
ii) To create a lower cost and affordable electronic door lock system.
iii) To create a smartphone application to remotely control the lock using Wi-Fi.
Below is a brief description and summary of my final year project.
The use of smartphone is very common these days and it has variety of functions which helps us in our daily life. Since the smartphone has replaced certain things in our life such as the alarm clock, this project aims to replace the traditional keys used to operate the door lock with smartphone via Wi-Fi. The important features of the design are keyless entry, low cost and allow users to monitor the status of their door. A simple and suitable Door Lock application is created using Blynk platform to control the door lock operation. Apart from using smartphone as a key to open the door lock, an alternative method is also available by entering in a predefined password through the 4x4 matrix keypad. Arduino Uno is used as the embedded platform in this project. The ESP8266-01 Wi-Fi module is used as a Wi-Fi shield so that the Arduino Uno is able to communicate with the Blynk application via Wi-Fi. In this proposed system, user is able to control the door lock using smartphone through the Door Lock application via Wi-Fi. In case user forgets to carry smartphone along, another method to access the door is by keying in the predefined password using keypad. Every time the door is unlocked, user receives a notification via the Blynk application and also an email via Blynk server. The door status in the Door Lock application is updated whenever the door is locked or unlocked. From the repeatability test done on the prototype, the estimated time taken for the system to connect to the Wi-Fi is 10.9 seconds. This project helps to eliminate the use of keys and replace them with smartphone. This project also enhances the door lock security as users have more control over it and are able to monitor the status of their door.
The event 'Electrical Engineering Student Symposium 2018' or also known as EESS 2018 was conducted for 2 days on 14-15 May recently. All final year students are required to present their projects. As for me, my presentation slot was on 14 May at 2 pm. After presenting my project, some questions are asked by the panels regarding my project. I was able to defend my project and answer the questions asked. During the demo session, my prototype was working as expected. Below are some photos of my project prototype taken during the EESS 2018.
Below is a video link of my prototype demo.