Project Expansion: Integrated Hybrid Card Reader & Security Lock Controller

Role: Lead Software Consultant (KnightTech)

KnightTech was commissioned to design a bespoke security solution for a specialized hospitality vendor. The objective was to develop a high-reliability, low-cost Combined Magnetic Stripe and Smart Card Reader specifically engineered for mounting on hotel room safes. The project required a "bare-metal" approach to hardware and software integration, ensuring maximum functionality with minimal electronic overhead.

Technical Implementation & Responsibilities

• Optimized Hardware-Software Interfacing:

  • Designed the low-level firmware to interface with a custom wedge-shaped hybrid reader, capable of dual-mode detection for legacy magnetic stripe cards and modern ISO-7816 compliant Smart Cards.

  • Achieved high-speed signal decoding using bare-minimum electronics, offloading complex wave-shaping and timing analysis to highly optimized interrupt-driven software routines.

• Embedded Lock Control Logic:

  • Engineered the secure control logic for the safe’s locking mechanism, implementing a robust state machine to manage access rights, motor actuation, and anti-tamper protocols.

  • Developed power-efficient polling routines to ensure the device could operate reliably in a battery-powered environment, critical for standalone hotel safe installations.

• Early-Adoption Rapid Prototyping:

  • Pioneered the use of industrial 3D printing for the reader's enclosure at a time when the technology was in its infancy.

  • Navigated the high-cost barrier of the era—where a single plastic case prototype cost hundreds of pounds—to validate the ergonomics of the wedge-shaped design and the mechanical alignment of the card-gate before committing to expensive injection mold tooling.

• Security & Authentication Protocols:

  • Authored custom drivers to handle the varying data formats of magnetic tracks and the synchronous/asynchronous communication protocols of different smart card ICs.

  • Implemented a secure authentication layer that verified encrypted site keys stored on the smart cards before triggering the solenoid-driven bolt-work.

Key Technical Stack

• Hardware Architecture: Low-pin-count Microcontrollers (8051/PIC-based).

• Technologies: ISO-7816 (Smart Card), Magnetic Track 1/2/3 decoding.

• Prototyping: Stereolithography (SLA) / Early Industrial 3D Printing.

• Languages: Embedded C / Assembly (for timing-critical bit-banging).

• Control Systems: Solenoid and motor control logic, GPIO-based sensor arrays.

• Domain: Electronic Locking Systems (ELS), Physical Security, Hospitality Tech.