How to build a smart door lock

I’ve always been tempted by the idea of a smart door lock but have never actually taken the plunge, which might explain my recurring interest in the topic…

Which is a long-winded way of saying check out this Arduino-based project which shows you how to build – in miniature – your own IoT smart door lock prototype system using a Nano ESP32 and the Arduino Cloud.

It comes from the RootSaid account on X, formerly known as twitter, which is devoted to Arduino Projects and Tutorials. Worth keeping an eye on.

Check out the video below, and see the links for a detailed circuit diagram and the PCB design. Of course, it is not a real-life system to attach to your own front door – more a conceptual overview of the steps involved. A neat prototype, maybe, to explore a project…

Altium365

Basically, he used Altium365 PCB Designer to design his own PCB, and uses Arduino Cloud for lock mechanism control through a smartphone, associating the Nano device with this smart door lock cloud project.

Here, in Arduino Cloud, he uses three variables: Password (string), Status (boolean), and Submit (boolean). These will be accessed via a Dashboard, which he defines back in Altium, i.e. a push-button widget linked to the Submit variable, etc.

Next, in the associated project Sketch, he goes through the setup init() and main loop() functions, along with one function associated with each aforementioned variable. For example, when the Submit button is pressed, the Submit function is run (including password authentication, etc). Which is how the unlock process is activated (for just five seconds).

Finally, you can access the lock via Arduino Cloud Remote App, having signed in to view the dashboard you created…

See the full project explanation in the video:

Smart door lock

[via X @Arduino]

Summer sale

One to note, also, is Arduino is currently running some Summer Flash Sales.

I’m seeing offers of up 25% off, just FYI.

Beat the heat with up to 25% OFF some of our cooler products, ranging from the Arduino Starter Kit and Nano to the Portenta C33 and Nicla Vision. These deals are floating by fast, so don't miss out: https://t.co/UgQfYsRVOl pic.twitter.com/4tYabGSHIe

— Arduino (@arduino) August 2, 2024

See also: Arduino says goodbye Mbed and hello ZephyrOS