[hackerspaces] The Elusive RFID Equipment Interlock

[Joshua Pritt]

We've also tried thinking of a better way to control the "time" allotted /
tracked on each piece of equipment.  Also since the RFID card reader reads
it once we need to know how long the card is there so we've thought of card
holders that read it and presses a button inside the holder until the card
is removed.  The problem then becomes for things like:
1. What if I need to go outside while the 3D printer is printing and I need
my RFID key to get back inside?
2. What if I need to leave the 3D printer running overnight for a long
print?

The idea was to just give that person a 2nd card just for tools so they can
leave it in the holder.
The SQL we use to verify keys in Seltzer works for multiple keys assigned
to a single user so it would be easy to give each person two RFID cards.

Then you run into the mess if someone leaves their card overnight any other
member can come in and take your card.  That would be terrible and I don't
think anyone would do that but it is possible.

A timer is a bad solution since you could run out before the print finishes
at 2 am.  So we thought you could just swipe multiple times to add 15 mins
(or so) to the total run time.  But then you run into the problem of not
giving yourself enough time for the print to finish or putting in too much
time and allowing the next person to just start using the tool with
leftover time.




On Mon, Aug 24, 2015 at 4:57 PM, Shirley Hicks <shirley at velochicdesign.com>
wrote:

> Did a quick google and watched the promo video. This is an existing
> commercial solution out of Canada.
> http://www.fieldid.com
>
> No direct pricing online - I suspect that the quote will be adjusted
> depending on scale of operation.
>
> — Shirley
>
> On Aug 24, 2015, at 3:39 PM, Bob Bownes <bownes at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> We are working on it as well. Integration with Seltzer and COTS door
> readers/strikers/mag locks as well as contactors for controlling heavy
> equipment. The contactors are locked away in the electrical room so cannot
> be bypassed.
>
> The one icky hack is that the card readers are a read once no matter how
> long you hold the card in front of the reader. This means you can turn the
> equipment on by holding the card in proximity, but off is either a timer or
> hold the card near the reader as long as you want to use the equipment
> (think card holder) force a re-read by power cycling the reader every N
> seconds. Neither is really 'clean'.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 24, 2015 at 4:16 PM, Joshua Pritt <ramgarden at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> We were thinking about using something similar to our front door lock
>> (Access Control aka ACON) to enable/disable heavy equipment for only
>> certain people.
>> https://wiki.melbournemakerspace.org/projects/RFIDDoorLock
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 24, 2015 at 4:14 PM, Robert Davidson <
>> robert at dallasmakerspace.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Has anyone pulled it off?
>>>
>>> I am looking for examples of spaces that actively use a RFID lockout on
>>> equipment.
>>>
>>> If you have solved the mythical RFID Interlock could you share:
>>>
>>> User Operation?
>>> Front/Back-end Software?
>>> Front/Back-end Hardware?
>>> Issues on acceptance?
>>> Issues on reliability?
>>> How do you add users?
>>> Automatic removals?
>>> Lessons Learned?
>>>
>>>
>>> as well as does anyone know of any:
>>>
>>> Commercial Solutions?
>>> Open Source Solutions?
>>>
>>> Specifically I am looking for something off the shelf that I can
>>> integrate with 1000-10000 Members.
>>>
>>> I would like to have at least 10 machines and capability of multi site
>>> up to 100 or so devices.
>>>
>>> Integration into LDAP or AD is a key requirement for us as we don't want
>>> a standalone software that requires intervention if there membership lapses.
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>>
>>> Robert Davidson
>>> Dallas Makerspace
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Discuss mailing list
>>> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>>> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>>>
>>>
>>
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