Biometric Access Control System
A working office access-control system in which software decides, from a biometric verification, whether a physical door opens.
At a glance
- 01Problem
- Control access to an office by connecting identity verification in software to the physical mechanism that opens the door.
- 02My responsibility
- Developed the C# access-control system and its integration with the biometric reader, the access decision and the physical relay that opens the door.
- 03Architectural challenge
- The software does not only store data: its decision has a physical side effect. It has to work across the boundary between the application, the biometric reader and the relay.
- 04Outcome
- Implemented as a working office access-control system.
Architecture
From a verified identity to an open door
- 01PersonPresents a biometric credential
- 02Biometric readerCaptures the sample
- 03Application (C#)Verifies the identity
- 04Access decisionGrant or deny
- 05RelaySwitched by the software on a granted access
- 06DoorOpens
For technical readers
Technical detail
Context
An access-control system for an office, built in C# at Softsimphony. Application software works with a biometric reader to verify a person's identity, and on a successful verification switches a physical relay that opens the door. It was a functioning access-control implementation, not a prototype exercise.
Responsibility
- Developed the access-control application in C#.
- Integrated the application with the biometric reader and with the physical relay that opens the door.
Complexity
- Integration between application software and external biometric hardware.
- Software controlling a real-world actuator, where a decision has a physical side effect.