Lock Picking

Our goal was to pick a real-world problem and find a solution to solve it.

Our problem statement is that United States Homeowners spend approximately $21 billion (as of 2017) on home security systems each year. A common concern for many homeowners are privacy violations and break-ins due to faulty security systems, specifically locks. In addition, car thefts are increasing due to lockpicking because the lock type is the same on both the door handles for homes and cars.

It was reported by the FBI that in 2019, 5,414 homes in Baltimore Maryland were burglarized. Approximately 70 of those homes had their locks picked to get in. Current pin and tumbler locks are too easy to pick because of the outdated design that dates back to the mid 1800’s and the lock picking techniques that date back even farther than that to the early 1700’s.

This was our capstone project. Me and a partner created a door lock that has many components attached to it. It utilizes a Raspberry Pi, RFID reader, step motor and controller and a solar powered charger to provide extra security to door locks. The Raspberry Pi is the controller of the system, it is where the code is to make sure the RFID reader and step motor is running properly. The solar powered charger is what charges the system, and we chose solar powered battery because it keeps the entire system dependent on itself. Inside of the panel is a forked arm that attaches to the cam bar so that a potential lock picker cannot put tension on the lock. The arm moves back and forth, allowing the cam bar free movement when the RFID reader is scanned.

Below is the final 3D model in Inventor, our presentation and the portfolio for the project. These documents include the build process, research and the code for the prototype.