Towards the Development of a Smart Entry System

A recent work by an MSc Computing student looked at a low cost door entry control system with video, audio and app development.

Towards the Development of a  Smart Entry System

Matthew Jarvis

Abstract
Commercial offerings related to the Internet of Things (IoT) have proliferated in the last decade. Among them is a collection of smart entry systems that enable homeowners to see, hear and speak to visitors, even when they are not at home. Given the relatively low cost of the hardware required to build these systems, a number of developers have assembled similar units using affordable, off-the-shelf components. This dissertation documents the process taken to research, design, build and test a non-commercial smart entry system. In doing so, a contribution is made to the current knowledge within this field. The system is developed in 4 stages. The first 3 involve the construction of individual subsystems, which are integrated in the final stage. Upon completion, evidence is given to demonstrate that the final system functions effectively and that the selected approach was beneficial to the development process.


Supervised by Dr Scott Turner


If you'd like to find out more about Computing at the University of Northampton go to: www.computing.northampton.ac.uk. All views and opinions are the author's and do not necessarily reflected those of any organisation they are associated with

Animated Science and Technology

Here is an interesting video produced by Kelly Savage from NVision describing the School of Science and Technology's research activities at the University of Northampton.

The award for digital excellence goes to...Northamptonshire

The winner of the 2011  Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Local Public Services Award for Digital Excellence went to Northamptonshire County Council's My County Council . . .anywhere

CIPR said "...This customer focused project set clear and ambitious objectives, using creative marketing and implementation strategies to encourage uptake of newly developed mobile web browser and phone apps. With a relatively modest budget, targeted marketing and a carefully staged approach, the council has exceeded its initial targets, demonstrating cost savings and generating positive feedback from its customers." http://www.cipr.co.uk/content/events-awards/local-public-services/local-public-services-awards/results

The phone apps for the project (both Android and iPhone apps) were developed within the School of Science and Technology, University of Northampton as part of a strategic partnership between the university and Northamptonshire County Council.

More details on these free to download apps can be found at:

Android: http://computingnorthampton.blogspot.com/2011/07/northamptonshire-android-app-launched.html

iPhone: http://computingnorthampton.blogspot.com/2011/05/northamptonshire-iphone-app-exceeds.html

Northamptonshire Android App Launched

A new Android free app - 'My county council anywhere!' has been launched this week.

Working in partnership with the University of Northampton, Northampton County Council have developed the app as a companion to the already launched iphone version (see http://computingnorthampton.blogspot.com/2011/05/northamptonshire-county-council-launch.html for more details) incorporating popular services and online information. 

The app can be found at https://market.android.com/search?q=northamptonshire+NCC+County+council&so=1&c=apps. It is a free app so please feel free to downloaded it.

MY UNi- android application for mobile phones.

Emilian Jedrzak

     The project creates a prototype application for mobile smart phones using the Android Operating System (OS). The application is aimed at facilitating access to information contained on The University of Northampton (UoN) web site (University of Northampton (2011)). The app will connect with the University’s existing databases and return relevant information, as well as being able to check news and events within the University. In addition, the prototype application will give us the opportunity to check student and university news, university events, student timetable and help contact the appropriate University Offices  stuff by phone or email. The application also will have Google maps,  application also  have extra features such as setting wallpaper, app information.   The author tried to redesign The University of Northampton web page to allow mobile access more efficient, more user friendly make getting to the information needed by student in quick and straightforward. The Screenshots are taken from the app.

 

BSc and HND Computing Provision (click on the links below for more details of the courses)

• BSc (Hons) Computing (also available part-time)
• BSc (Hons) Computing (Computer Networks Engineering)
• BSc (Hons) Computing (Computer Systems Engineering)
• BSc (Hons) Computing (Graphics and Visualisation)
• BSc (Hons) Computing (Internet Technology and Security)
• BSc (Hons) Computing (Mobile Computing)
• BSc (Hons) Computing (Software Engineering)
• BSc (Hons) Computing - One Year Top-up
• BSc  Computer Games Development
• HNC Computing (part-time)
• HND Computing (Computer Networks Engineering)
• HND Computing (Computer Systems Engineering)
• HND Computing (Graphics and Visualisation)
• HND Computing (Internet Technology and Security)
• HND Computing (Mobile Computing)
• HND Computing (Software Engineering) 
• HND Computing
• HND Computer Games Development

The University of Northampton's, Department of Computing and Immersive Technologies offers five courses within the MSc Computing postgraduate provision (shown below) all available either part-time or full-time. 

• MSc Computing
• MSc Computing (Internet Technology and Security)
• MSc Computing (Computer Networks Engineering)
• MSc Computing (Software Engineering)
• MSc Computing (Immersive Technologies)

Development of an Augmented Reality (AR) application for android mobiles

Written by Sanjiv Udash

The project is based on the development of an Augmented Reality (AR) application for android mobiles that focuses on combing all the benefits of technology advancements in the field to provide users with the AR experience in an outdoor as well as indoor environment. The application was divided into two modes. The first mode called the Wikitude mode focuses on the outdoor environment by making use of the Wikitude API to allow users to view different points of interests (POI) around the Newton building. Users are provided with a live view of the real world, a compass displaying the POIs, and different icons representing the POIs. These POIs can be clicked to gain detailed information about them and links them related websites.

 

As seen in the figure above, the user upon selecting the Wikitude mode is presented with a live camera view. The live view comes with the addition of different POIs displayed as clickable icons and radar displaying the different POIs around the user in form of dots. The user can click the POIs which in turn displays the information below the POI. The view also provides users with three buttons. Button1 allows user to return back to the main menu. The second button allows user to change the distance of the POI from the user’s current location, allowing user to filter the number of POIs around. The third button is only displayed when one of the POI is selected and provides with a more detailed web page of the selected POI.

The second mode called the 3D mode focuses on the indoor environment by making use of the Andar framework. The mode allows user to choose different 3D models that can be viewed upon different marker patters.

                        

The first image in the sequence displays the choice of models that users can select from. The second image displays the marker upon which the model will be displayed upon and the last image shows the 3D model being displayed upon the user bringing the mobile device above the marker. The application is still in beta version with possible features like search option and auto correction to be added in the near future.

Computing Courses

BSc and HND Computing Provision (click on the links below for more details of the courses)

• BEng/MEng Computing (Computer Networks Engineering)
• BEng/MEng Computing (Computer Systems Engineering) 

• BSc (Hons) Computing (also available part-time)
• BSc (Hons) Computing (Graphics and Visualisation)
• BSc (Hons) Computing (Internet Technology and Security)
• BSc (Hons) Computing (Mobile Computing)
• BSc (Hons) Computing (Software Engineering)
• BSc (Hons) Computing - One Year Top-Up 
• BSc  Computer Games Development
• HND Computing (Compute​r Net​works Engineering)
• HND Computing (Computer Systems Engineering)
• HND Computing (Graphics and Visualisation)
• HND Computing (Internet Tech​nolog​y and Security)
• HND Computing (Mobile Computing)
• HND Computing (Software Engine​ering) 
• HND Com​puting

The University of Northampton's, Department of Computing and Immersive Technologies offers five courses within the MSc Computing postgraduate provision (shown below) all available either part-time or full-time. 

• MSc Computing
• MSc Computing (Internet Technology and Security)
• MSc Computing (Computer Networks Engineering)
• MSc Computing (Software Engineering)
• MSc Computing (Immersive Technologies)

The contents are the opinion of the author(s) and not necessarily the view of the University of Northampton.

MSc Student Work: Android Augmented Reality

A recent MSc student project by Sanjiv Udash looked at Augmented Reality based around Android.


Abstract: In recent times, Augmented Reality (AR) has come within the reach of common people. It has opened a whole new world for developers letting them exploit the capabilities of the smart phones to mix the virtual with the real world. Despite these advancements, just a glance in the current market shows that most of the AR applications are focused only on outdoor environments.

This dissertation is based on the development of an AR application for android mobiles that focuses on combing all the benefits of technology advancements in the field to provide users with the AR experience in an outdoor as well as indoor environment. The work also complied of a series of tests and evaluations that were carried out to formulate an understanding of user’s view about the application.

The creation of the application is considered to be a vital step in the advancement of AR field and can be regarded as a base for other developers to develop similar application in different fields.