Event Attendance Tracker

This project consists of a battery-powered Raspberry Pi in a handheld box that contains a touchscreen and a card reader. Users can set up events and swipe in Gonzaga ID cards. They can later export the event data to get ID numbers, names, and swipe-in times of everyone who attended the event.

[The programming of this project is done, but it's still waiting on access to a glowforge and 3d printer to physically build it and the power circuit.]

The Story Behind the Project

This never got built, which is probably for the better. It was my first time designing a hardware circuit, and it was quite over-engineered. It would be much more reasonable to program a handheld computer and card reader to do this.

Features

• Hardware

  • By including TP4056 modules, the 18650 cells can be charged just by plugging in the box to 5v power without being removed from the project, and even while it is in use!

  • The unit can seamlessly switch from wall power to battery power without rebooting the Pi

  • A DPDT momentary contact switch for the power button, paired with a relay and microcontroller allows it to function both as the power-on and power-off button. On power-off, it safely shuts down the Pi before disconnecting power completely so that the batteries aren't drained while it is off

  • Four LEDs paired with zeener diodes form an indicator of how much batttery power is left

• Software

  • Events are auto-saved continually so that they can be resumed upon power loss or accidental shutdown. Users are prompted to set a pin in order to continue or export old events.

  • Upon tapping "export event", the program automatically detects any connected media, and prompts to save in that location, ensuring no files are overwritten