“Connected Tap Machine, works with RFID badge links to an account on a Virtual Machine. Use LoRa and Node-RED for datas processing.
What is it?
Imagine you have an automated beer machine, a bit like an automatic coffee machine, but for beer.
This machine uses specific technologies like RFID to recognize who is actually trying to get a drink. If you are known in our system, your name will be display on the screen once the data processing has recognized your badge ID.
How does it work?
First of all, you will have to register your equipment on The Things Network.
The first step is to create an account on their website. Next, access the console and select the “Gateways” option. Click on “Register Gateway” and fill in the information form, choose a frequency that corresponds to your region, select the “I’m using the legacy packet forwarder” option, and validate your registration. Your equipment should now be registered and ready to be used on The Things Network.
It’s only once you’ve registered your equipment that you’ll find the unique keys that will allow your device to send its information over the TTN network.
So, at the start of your program, after following The Things Network tutorials, you will need to enter your credentials/keys to identify your device on your network.
Then, it start with the RFID badge reader. Each badge has a unique code that is sent to an online platform called “The Things Network”. This platform then relays the code to a virtual machine, a computer server that contains a database and a Node-RED.
The database stores information about each badge, such as the owner’s bank balance, his name,…. If a badge is scanned for the first time, the server does not recognize the code and sends a message back to The Things Network saying “Unknown”. This message is then relayed to the beer machine, which will not perform the service and will display “Unknow Badge ” on the OLED screen.
If the badge is recognized, the server checks the badge owner’s bank balance. If the balance is less than €4 (the cost of a beer), the server sends the message “Insufficient balance” to The Things Network, which sends it back to the beer machine. In this case, the beer will not be served.
However, if the balance is greater than or equal to €4, the server sends the message “Balance sufficient”. At the same time, it updates the database by deducting €4 from the badge owner’s balance. This message is sent back to the beer machine via The Things Network.
Since the badge is known, the customer’s first and last names are displayed on the OLED screen of the machine. Then, if the beer machine receive the message “Balance sufficient”, the pump is activated to serve the beer, else the system inform you that you don’t have enough money on your account.”