It seems like every Hackerspace should have some type of kludged together access system on their entry door. [Vasilis] wrote in to share the system called Jarvis that controls access to P-Space, a Hackerspace in Patras, Greece. It’s an RFID-based system that offers a few nice features.
They already have a server running the webpage, so basing their entry system off of a computer was an easy option. You can get in one of two ways; by presenting your valid RFID tag to a reader at the front door, or by ringing the bell and having a member inside press the Big Button of Doom (BBoD) which is a wireless controller.
The BBoD has an Xbee module inside which lets it send an unlock command back to the computer. The remote is powered by two AA batteries, and since it’s never on unless the button is pressed the team estimates these batteries should last around one year.
There’s even a feedback system. The computer posts the last few events to the webpage. So you can go online and see when the BBoD was used, or who’s tag has recently unlocked the entrance to tell if your friends are there.
To put it simply: http://youtu.be/WVzp4MJRKHc?t=4s
I lol’d…
Found this a couple articles down ;-p
http://hackaday.com/2011/11/10/rfid-reading-and-spoofing/
You can easily make the software side alert someone when there are failed attempts. Or you can limit the queries the database accepts per minute. So if you can only have a query per 10-15 seconds, that makes the brute force practically impossible.
Sorry, my mistake. I read again the article you mentioned. My comment is irrelevant :)
For a second there I thought this was a post about the now defunct Project Jarvis that some guy was making.
This could really benefit from having a webcam set up at the door. Every access attempt, good and bad, has an associated picture taken at the moment of entry added to the log. Possibly even a pic taken from multiple angles, to catch their face every time.
Also useful for the BBoD feature too.
Our hackerspace in Fullerton, California already has an open-source RFID access control with webcam on our front door, it works really well.
http://code.google.com/p/open-access-control/
@machinist that’s awesome!
@Stu that was a great idea. i am currently trying to convince dimitris (dimitris tzortzis, the guy who posted above) to add the camera :)