IBM IoT Design Challenge Entry

IBM Internet of Things Design Challenge

Team name:  The Observers

Team members:  LaVern, Gunes, Mike and Shane             

The Challenge
The problem to solve is how to provide convenient electronic lock control for members of the Raleigh MakerSpace. 
The Raleigh MakerSpace has a workspace with a CNC milling machine and Laser Cutter that can be used by members 
on an as needed basis. The most convenient access is via an industrial overhead door with an electronic solenoid 
lock 
currently access via individual RF keyfob transmitters.

The current RF keyfob approach has several limitations including, requiring a new fob for each member, the lock
must be trained to recognize each fob and the lock supports a limited number of fobs.

The Solution
The proposed solution requires the interoperation of three components, a smart phone to send an unlock request, 
a cloud service to receive and process the request and network connected hardware controller that can control the lock. 

The rapid prototyping tools in Bluemix allowed us to quickly build a proof-of-concept solution that allows members
to unlock the door using any smartphone that can send e-mail. This project was built by modifying existing IBM example 
flows in Node-RED and existing source code examples on the Arduino Yun. 

A member can unlock the door by sending an e-mail containing their Access Code to bluemixcloudlock@gmail com. A 
Node-RED flow on Bluemix monitors the incoming e-mail address for the presence of the Access Code. Once a valid 
Access Code is received, the Node-RED flow uses the IBM IoT Service to send a message to an Arduino Yun to unlock the door.  

This solution is superior to the previous RF key fobs because new members do not need a RF key fob, only an Access 
Code. The lock does not need to be trained to recognize each RF Keyfob. Access is no longer limited by the number 
of RF key fobs that can be remembered by the lock. In addition, the new system allows the facility to disable a 
user’s Access Code without requiring keys to be track down and returned. 

Future Work
We plan to continue development on the project to add features that we believe will provide additional value. We want
to store access requests in a database to allow analysis of utilization of the space. We plan to install a Smart 
Bluetooth Beacon and a dedicated smartphone app that will allow access request only when made within proximity to 
the facility (while retaining the ability for management to provide remote lock control). 

Additional enhancements may include  a PWM sequence that wil hold the solenoid lock open longer without overheating 
to allow more time to open the large overhead door and a notification option to provide an SMS message when any 
user or a specific user access the the space.


Thank you,
Shane Trent
The Observers