Build a FAST TAG Reader

Build a FAST TAG Reader 1

 Index

A . Aim

B. Concept

C. Components

D. Connections

E. Part 1: Experimenting with the components

F. Part 2 : Implementing the Fast tag reader project

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A. AIM

Build a RFID Fast Tag Reader that registers RFID card data, processes
it, create actions, publishes the data to an online dashboard.

B. CONCEPT

In this project, we mimic the working of a fast tag reader which reads
RFID card data and operates the boom barrier in toll gates. Here we
read RFID cards , verifies it with the registry in the memory,
open/closes the gate and finally sent the data to online dashboard.
The RFID card data is read by ‘RFID card reader’, the data is stored in
the ‘flash memory’ of dexter board since it needs to be accessed later.
‘LCD display’ is used to display status of each steps in the process. The
data regarding the number of cards, entries permitted/ not permitted is
sent to an online dashboard with the help of a ‘GSM SIM
module’. ‘thingspeak’ is the web dashboard we use here for the
purpose.

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C. Components

1. Dexter board
2. RFID Card Reader
3. GSM Module
4. Servo Motor
5. 16*2 LCD Display
6. Jumper wires
7. USB cables
8. USB to TTL converter (Component to execute extra activities
in the project. Procure externally if not available in the kit,
CP2102(6-pin) USB 2.0 to TTL UART serial converter )

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D. Connections

Circuit Diagram

• NOTE: Before starting the connections, verify using a

multimeter that all the jumper wires are working. Also ensure
that the connections are strong, else the setup may not
work.

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 Detailed Connection Steps

Step 1

Take 2 male-to-male and 3 female to male jumper

wires connect dexter board, GSM module and breadboard as shown
below -
• GND of the dexter to blue line of the breadboard
• +5V of the dexter to red line of the breadboard
• RXD of the GSM module to PA2 of the breadboard
• GND of the GSM module to the blue line of the breadboard
• VCC of the GSM module to the red line of the breadboard

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Step 2

Take 3 female-to-male jumper wires and connect the pins of the RFID
card reader as shown:

• +5V to Red line of breadboard

• GND to Blue line of breadboard
• TX to PC5 of the Dexter

Step 3

Take 3 male-to-male jumper wires and connect the pins of DC servo

motor :

• Yellow cable to PC6 of the dexter board

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 • Red cable to Red line of the breadboard
• Brown cable to Blue line of the breadboard

Step 4
Take 2 male to male jumper wires and connect the register button as
shown below :
• One terminal of register button to blue line of the
breadboard.
• Second terminal to the PA0 of the dexter board.

Take 2 more male to male jumper wires and connect the erase button
as shown below :
• One terminal of the erase button to the blue line of the
breadboard.
• Second terminal to the PA4 of the dexter board

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Step 5
Take 11 male to male jumper wires and connect the LCD display
and dexter as shown below :
• VSS to the blue line of the breadboard
• VDD to the red line of the breadboard
• RS to the PC8 of the dexter
• RW to the blue line of the breadboard
• E to the PA8 of the dexter
• D4 to the PB14 of the dexter
• D5 to the PA9 of the dexter
• D6 to the PA10 of the dexter
• D7 to the PB15 of the dexter
• A to the red line of the breadboard
• K to the blue line of the breadboard

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Step 6

Take 1 male to male jumper wires and connect the V0 of LCD display
and GND of dexter boards as below :
• V0 (contrast control) to the blue line of the breadboard

Note: For improving the display contrast we can add a 10k

potentiometer (potentiometer is not available in the kit and needs to be
procured externally) as per connections shown below or solder it
permanently to the display between the pins VSS (GND), VDD (VCC)
& V0. Adjusting the potentiometer will improve the contrast.

Link to purchase 10k Pot:

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E. Part 1: Experimenting with the components
1. 16*2 LCD Display

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is a type of flat panel display which uses
liquid crystals for displaying information. It consists an array of small
segments called pixels, which can be manipulated for displaying status
or parameters.
A 16*2 LCD display can display 16 characters or numbers in column
wise and 2 in row wise.

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The LCD display have a total of 16 pins

The use of pins listed below:

1. GND (VSS)
Connect the ground pin of the power supply to this pin.
2. VCC (VDD)
Connect this pin to 5v
3. Contrast (VEE)(V0)
This pin is used to adjust the contrast of Display.
Connect a potentiometer (POT) to this pin. Rotate the
knob of the POT to adjust the contrast.
4. RS
RS pin means Register select pin. Selects command
register when the pin is LOW. Selects data register when
this pin is HIGH. Command register and data registers
are used to send LCD command and data to LCD
5. RW
It represents the Read Write pin. When this pin is LOW, the
MCU write to register. And when the pin is HIGH, MCU

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 read from the register. Here we want to write. Connect it
permanently to GND.
6. EN (E)
EN pin means the Enable pin. Send data to data pins when
a HIGH to LOW pulse is given.
7. D0-D7 (DB0-DB7)
These are 8 data pins. Here I interface this LCD with
dexter board in 4 bit mode. So we need only D4 to D7.
8. Backlight(+)
This is the anode pin of the backlight of the display
9. Backlight(-)
This is the cathode pin of the backlight of the display

Note:
There are two different modes of operation of LCD which can be
controlled by our Control Pins.

4-bit and 8-bit Mode of LCD:

The LCD can work in two different modes, namely the 4-bit mode and
the 8-bit mode. In 4 bit mode we send the data nibble by nibble, first
upper nibble and then lower nibble. (nibble is a group of four bits), so
the lower four bits (D0-D3) of a byte form the lower nibble while the
upper four bits (D4-D7) of a byte form the higher nibble. This will help
us to send 8 bit data.
Whereas in 8 bit mode we can send the 8-bit data directly in one
stroke since we use all the 8 data lines.
8-bit mode is faster than 4-bit mode of data transfer. But we will run
out of I/O pins on our MCU, so 4-bit mode is widely used

For detailed theory refer this link

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Variables & Functions
1. lcd_initialise()
This function initializes the LCD display by sending some
preset commands which configures the LCD and also sets it
in 4 bit data mode
2. lcd_clear()
Clears the display, which enables to write new character or
numbers
3. lcd_put_cur(x, x)
After clearing the display this function can be used to
change the position of cursor to write a character in a
particular position

For example:
lcd_put_cur(1, 15);
This function puts the character at 2nd row and 16 column of the
lcd display, after which we can write the character in that
position

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 4. lcd_send_string ("x”)
Writes a character or a string on the current position of
cursor. Remember each block can only hold one character.
For example:
lcd_send_string ("hello”)

5. HAL_Delay(50)
Creates a delay in milliseconds

Activities
1.Write ‘IIT MRP’ on 1st row and ‘Build Club’ on 2nd row
2. Write a text to display your name in first row, college name in
second row. Clear the display after a delay. Again write ‘IIT MRP’ and
‘Build Club’. Write these texts in a loop so that it displays
continuously.

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 2. DC Servo motor

A servo system primarily consists of three basic components a

controlled device, a output sensor, a feedback system. This is an
automatic closed loop control system. Here instead of controlling a
device by applying the variable input signal, the device is controlled by
a feedback signal generated by comparing output signal and reference
input signal. Any electrical motor can be utilized as servo motor if it is
controlled by servomechanism.
In DC servo motor, a small DC motor connected to the output shaft
through the gears. The output shaft drives a servo arm and is also
connected to a potentiometer (pot). The potentiometer provides
position feedback to the servo control unit where the current position
of the motor is compared to the target position. According to the
error, the control unit corrects the actual position of the motor so that
it matches the target position

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Note : For a detailed understanding refer link

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Functions

1. set_servo_angle()
This model of DC servo SG90 can rotate from 0 –180
degrees. The command rotates the servo the particular angle.
For example:
set_servo_angle(x)
;for x degrees of rotation

Activities

1.Write a code to rotate the servo to 0 , have a delay ,move to 45

,have a delay, move to 90
2. Create a repeated half circle to & fro motion ie, a code to move
from 0 to 180 degrees and from 180 to 0 . Try using a for loop to
change the x values , inside the while loop
Note: If there are any loose connections/electrical
disturbances/improper voltage the servo motor can behave
abnormally.

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3) GSM Module

A GSM modem or GSM module is a device that uses GSM mobile

telephone technology to provide a wireless data link to a network.
GSM modems are used in mobile telephones and other equipment that
communicates with mobile telephone networks. They use SIMs to
identify their device to the network
SIM900A GSM Module, which we use in this project is a small and
cheap module for GPRS/GSM communication. This can work with any
GSM network operator SIM card just like a mobile phone with its own
unique phone number. We use this device to communicate with our
web dashboard.

Note: AT or Attention commands are used for controlling the GSM

modems. There are four types of AT commands: Test commands,
Read commands, Set commands & Execution commands

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For more detailed understanding refer

GSM Module Connections

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Note : Extra acitivites are not part of the main schedule. You
may/maynot need to disconnect the components from existing
connections for performing these activites. Remember to connect it
back for executing the main activities

Extra Activity – Testing with AT commands

1. Here we use a USB-TTL converter to communicate with the
GSM Module.

2. Connect a USB to TTL converter to the send commands to

GSM module and also receive data from GSM network.
Connections as below:

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 3. Check whether SIM card is inserted properly and USB –TTL
converter is connected to PC.
4. Since you have worked on arduino IDE, open serial monitor
in arduino. Click the COMx Port on which the TTL Converter is
connected.

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 5. Type “AT” in the serial monitor. Press ‘send’

6. Check whether “OK” is getting as output

Note: AT command is used to check communication between the

module and the computer. If its displaying “OK”, then it indicates
there is proper communication.

7. Type ATD and ‘phone number’ and press ‘send’ to call to a

phone number

For example)
Type ATD9976390289
This ‘9976390289’ will be the phone number

Note: ATD command is used to dial a number.

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 8. Ring to the GSM sim that you have placed in GSM module and
check the output in serial monitor. It should show “Ringing” as
output.

Note : Use SIM that supports GSM network with messaging balance

List of network providers:

1) Airtel
2) Vodafone
3) BSNL

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4) RFID Card reader Module

A radio frequency identification reader (RFID reader) module is a

device used to gather information from an RFID tag, which is used to
track individual tags/cards. Radio waves are used to transfer data
from the tag to a reader. RFID is a technology similar to bar codes.

Extra Activity– Reading RFID values

1. Connect a USB to TTL converter to RFID card reader as
below:

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 2. Show a card to the reader and check the 12 digit RFID code
appearing on Serial Monitor

Note: Each RFID cards will have unique values

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F. Part 2 : Implementing the Fast tag reader project

Downloads & Installation

1. Download the Project Workspace file

RFID_FastTag_Reader.zip’ given in the project page on the
Build Club website.
2. In the Workspace folder in your C: drive, create a new
folder named ‘RFID_FastTag_Reader’.
3. Then i) Launch the STM IDE, ii) Select
the RFID_FastTag_Reader folder as workspace, iii) Import
the ZIP file RFID_FastTag_Reader.zip, iv) Navigate to
app.c

NOTE: Before getting into the software for the project please go
through the Concept section at the start of the manual, where we
explain how this project works.

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 Flowchart of the Code

The flowchart diagram represents the flow of the RFID Reader project.
Along with the flowchart the program part can be easily
implemented.

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 Variables & Functions

Variables & Functions

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Note : The functions below are derived from functions
mentioned in part 1

1. lcd_initialise()

This function calls the lcd_init() & lcd_clear() functions defined in

part 1 of this manual which initializes the lcd parameters and
clears the existing values in display
2. servo_initialise()

Includes set_servo_angle() function to set the angle to zero, so

that the gate is closed initially
3. lcd_display_device_name()

This function displays “FAST TAG READER” on the display

using lcd_put_cur(), lcd_send_string(), lcd_put_cur()

4. check_entry()

This Function is used to check for card entries continuously, which

verifies the card data with the data stored in the Flash memory.
The gate (servo motor) is closed/opened based on the verification.
This function also sends the updates to LCD display & to the
thingspeak server

5. regis_flag

This is a flag register that checks and tells whether a new card
needs to be registered to the memory. It is connected to a push
button to receive user input to add a new RFID card

6. erase_flag

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 This is also a flag register that tells the dexter board to erase
the card data stored in the flash memory. It is connected to a
push button to receive user input to add a new RFID card
Note : regis_flag & erase_flag is updated from external
interrupts in dexter board, ie from the button clicks(erase &
register)

7. register_newcard()

This function sets the device to ‘new card registration

mode’. It is executed once the regis_flag becomes ‘1’.
The new card data is stored to flash memory and the card
registry is updated

8. erase_cardmem()
Erases the complete card data stored in the flash memory.
The status is shown in the LCD Display

Implementing the Code

Refer the flowchart and functions above to implement the code

in App function. Follow the steps below:
1. Initialize LCD and servo motor using lcd_initialise()
and servo_initialise() functions
2. Display the device name with

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 lcd_ display_device_name()
3. The rest of the code should enter an infinite while loop

while(1)
{
// Rest of code
}

4. Continuously check for card entries using

check_entry() function. Add a 50ms delay so data is read
properly
5. Is regis_flag equal to 1. Then execute the function for
‘new registration card’. Add delay after the check
6. Is erase_flag equal to 1. Then execute the function for
‘memory erase’. Add delay.
Implement these code commands inside the App() function in the
order specified
After writing these codes in STM32 IDE. The code can now be
uploaded to the Dexter board by hitting ‘Run’.

7. Try adding new cards by pressing the push button

(register button), also try erasing the data (erase button).
Check whether access is granted for registered cards and
gate is opened.

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Now we have completed adding, verifying card data and also
operating gates.
Next step is to check whether the entry data is send to the online
dashboard - thingspeak

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 Setting up web dashboard – thingspeak

In previous projects we had used ubidots web platform, this time

we will try thingspeak. ThingSpeak is an IoT analytics platform
service that allows you to aggregate, visualize, and analyze live
data streams in the cloud.

Configuration steps

1. Visit https://thingspeak.com/ website.

2. Create an account

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 3. Create a new channel in ‘My channels’

4. Name the channel as you may prefer like RFID. Tick the
fields Field1,Field2,Field3,Field4 since we intent to fill the
fields with following data
Field1=No of ID’s registered
Field2= Total no. of times card entries
Field3 = Total no. of access granted
Field4 = Total no. of access denied

5. Now we have to link this thingspeak dashboard with our

dexter code.

6. Go to ‘API keys’ section in RFID channel

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 7. Copy the whole text in ‘Write a channel feed’ section

Note : Remember to copy the entire text except ‘0’ in the

end
For example
GET https://api.thingspeak.com/update?api_key=T5YROORK1XWC50XO&field1=

8. Replace char stri[] in App.c with this code.

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 9. Run the code in dexter board
Note : The code run on dexter board will automatically fill the 4
fields with data
10. Now go to your ‘RFID’ channel dashboard

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 11. Click RFID channel and navigate to ‘private view’

12. Now it’s time to receive data to the web dashboard.

13. Power up the GSM module (with 12v adapter).

Remember to insert GSM sim in the slot

14. Check whether all other components like RFID reader,

LCD display servo motor, dexter board are powered up
properly.

15. Try using different RFID cards, register a card. Check

whether servomotor is working and entry is permitted. Try
with non-registered cards, check whether entry is denied.

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 16. Now visit the thingspeak dashboard. You will see the
fields are getting populated

17. Project Finished

Task

1. After erasing the current memory. Take 3 new RFID

cards , add 2 cards. Keep one card unregistered. Check
how the device is behaving with the 3 cards. Check
whether the data is received on Web dashboard.
2. Make a video presenting, the build of RFID reader, how
you completed the activities and challenges. Share it with
the Build Club Community on the Discord Server!

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