Abstract: The "Novel RFID Cloud Based Smart Attendance System" project addresses the persistent challenges faced by organisations and institutions in efficiently managing attendance records for employees, students, or visitors. Traditional attendance methods, often paper-based or relying on manual data entry, are highly susceptible to errors, time-consuming, and crucially, lack real-time monitoring capabilities. This innovative project, developed by Masud Alam, Rahul Singh, Shahbaz Khan, and Krishn Kant Sah from the School of Information Technology at SAM Global University for the 2024-25 academic session, offers a robust solution to these inherent limitations.
At its core, the system harnesses the power of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology integrated with a scalable cloud computing architecture. This synergistic approach enables attendance data to be securely stored in a remote database, ensuring it is accessible from anywhere in the world and at any time. The project meticulously combines a range of hardware and software components to achieve its comprehensive functionality. Key hardware elements include the ESP32-WROOM-32E Microcontroller Unit (MCU), which acts as the central control unit, orchestrating communication with peripherals such as the RFID MFRC522 reader module and the OLED display module SSD1306, and managing the solenoid lock. The RFID MFRC522 reader is responsible for automated identification by scanning and reading digitally encoded data from 1k MIFARE Classic Contactless Smart Cards. A 1 Channel 5v Relay Module facilitates the control of the 12V solenoid lock, which grants temporary access for approximately 10 seconds upon a successful RFID scan. The OLED display provides immediate, real-time feedback on attendance status, including student login and logout events, chosen for its clear view angle and pixel density.
From a software perspective, the system incorporates a comprehensive web-based user interface (Web UI), meticulously crafted using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (with the Bootstrap framework). This UI empowers administrators to manage attendance records, view reports, and configure system settings, including the ability to add, edit, and delete user profiles. The backend, primarily developed with PHP, is responsible for fetching and rendering data from the MySQL database, a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) that handles structured user data storage, retrieval, and management. The Arduino language is utilised to program the ESP32 microcontroller. For deployment, the project leverages AWS Cloud services, specifically EC2 instances for hosting the website on an Apache server within a Linux virtual machine, and AWS S3 for static file storage, with CloudFront providing efficient content delivery globally. The development process adhered to a structured methodology encompassing requirement analysis, detailed system design, hardware setup, software development, rigorous integration and testing, strategic deployment, and ongoing maintenance and support.
The system's functional capabilities include automated attendance tracking via RFID scanning, real-time attendance information display on the OLED, and secure access control through the solenoid lock based on attendance status. The Web UI allows for the generation of attendance reports in various file formats based on specified criteria. Robust cybersecurity measures, including data encryption for user passwords and personal details, are embedded within the backend and database to prevent unauthorised access and mitigate risks such as RFID cloning or spoofing. The system's non-functional attributes highlight its user-friendly interface, low latency and quick response times, scalability to accommodate an increasing number of users and hardware components, stability for consistent operation, and minimal downtime. Furthermore, its design and documentation facilitate easy maintenance, troubleshooting, and future enhancements.
Having achieved significant milestones, the project has resulted in a functional smart attendance system that effectively demonstrates its core features and meets initial requirements. The market outlook for such an automated attendance solution is promising, driven by the escalating demand for digitisation and accurate tracking across diverse sectors. The project's unique selling proposition lies in its comprehensive integration of hardware, software, and user interface. Target clients encompass educational institutions, corporate offices, government organisations, event management companies, and healthcare centres. Future work will focus on implementing enhanced security features (e.g., biometric authentication), developing advanced reporting and analytics, building a mobile application, and optimising for scalability and performance. Further integrations with Student Information Systems (SIS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) are also envisioned to streamline data management and synchronisation. Key recommendations include conducting extensive user testing, continuous refinement and documentation, fostering partnerships and collaborations, and developing a strategic marketing plan to ensure the solution's growth and success.
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Keywords: RFID, Cloud Computing, Smart Attendance System, ESP32 Microcontroller, Web User Interface (Web UI), Access Control, Data Management (MySQL), Real-time Display (OLED), Hardware Integration, Security.
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DOI:
10.17148/IJARCCE.2025.14730
