Access Control System

Access Control System is an ESP32-based project that provides RFID-based access management.
It features Wi-Fi connectivity, Firebase integration for logging entries, and LCD display feedback.
Additionally, a Flutter mobile app was developed to monitor RFID access logs in real-time from Firebase.

📚 Project Structure

access_control_system/
├── main/
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   ├── include/                    # Header files
│   │   ├── firebase.h
│   │   ├── lcd_display.h
│   │   ├── rfid.h
│   │   ├── wifi.h
│   │   ├── wifi_credentials.h       # Wi-Fi credentials (private)
│   │   └── firebase_credentials.h   # Firebase credentials (private)
│   ├── src/                         # Source files
│   │   ├── firebase.c
│   │   ├── lcd_display.c
│   │   ├── rfid.c
│   │   ├── wifi.c
│   │   └── main.c
├── components/                      # External components (e.g., rc522 RFID driver)
├── CMakeLists.txt                    # Project CMake
└── README.md                         # This file

🚀 Features

• Wi-Fi Connectivity — ESP32 connects to a predefined Wi-Fi network.
• Time Synchronization — Automatically syncs the system time via SNTP.
• RFID Reader — Detects RFID cards and identifies known UIDs.
• LCD Display — Displays access status (granted/denied/waiting).
• Firebase Integration — Logs access attempts (UID + timestamp) to Firebase Realtime Database.

🔧 Getting Started

1. Prerequisites

• ESP-IDF 5.x installed (ESP-IDF Installation Guide).
• A Firebase Realtime Database project set up.
• Firebase API Key, Project ID, Email, and Password for authentication.
• An RC522 RFID module connected to ESP32.
• A SPI-based LCD display (e.g., ST7735S) connected to ESP32.

2. Setup Wi-Fi Credentials

Create wifi_credentials.h inside main/include/:

#pragma once

#define WIFI_SSID "your-ssid"
#define WIFI_PASS "your-password"

✅ Important: Add wifi_credentials.h to .gitignore.

3. Setup Firebase Credentials

Create firebase_credentials.h inside main/include/:

#pragma once

#define FIREBASE_API_KEY      "your-firebase-api-key"
#define FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID   "your-firebase-project-id"
#define FIREBASE_EMAIL        "your-firebase-email"
#define FIREBASE_PASSWORD     "your-firebase-password"

✅ Important: Add firebase_credentials.h to .gitignore.

4. Build and Flash

idf.py build
idf.py flash monitor

📡 Hardware Requirements

• ESP32 Dev Board
• RC522 RFID Module (SPI)
• LCD Display (e.g., ST7735S over SPI)
• Power supply

🖧 Wiring Diagram

RC522 (RFID Reader)

RC522 Pin	ESP32 GPIO
SDA (SS)	GPIO 22
SCK	GPIO 18
MOSI	GPIO 23
MISO	GPIO 19
IRQ	Not connected
GND	GND
RST	GPIO 21
3.3V	3.3V

LCD Display (ST7735S over SPI)

LCD Pin	ESP32 GPIO
CS (Chip Sel)	GPIO 15
RST	GPIO 26
DC (Data/Comm)	GPIO 27
MOSI (DIN)	GPIO 12
SCK (CLK)	GPIO 14
LED (Backlight)	3.3V
VCC	3.3V
GND	GND

📱 Access Control Viewer App

To complement the Access Control System, I developed a Flutter mobile application that listens to the Firebase Realtime Database.

🚀 Key Features

• Connects to Firebase Realtime Database.
• Listens in real-time to RFID card scan logs.
• Displays a live list of:
  • UID of the scanned card.
  • Timestamp of the scan.
• Uses secure Email/Password Authentication (no login screen — credentials are hidden from the repository).
• Instant updates — no manual refresh needed.

📷 Demo

(The app showing real-time access logs appearing automatically as they are added to Firebase.)

🚀 Future Improvements

• Add support for dynamic UID whitelist/blacklist updates via Firebase.
• Implement OLED screen option.
• Integrate push notification when access is granted/denied.