Case study
A smart locker controller that ties every access device together
How Pinetics built a smart locker master controller that links card, barcode and face access, a tablet and legacy locker boards, now running in the field.
At a glance
Client
A smart locker company in Malaysia
Product
The master controller at the heart of a smart locker bank, linking the access devices, the user tablet, the network and the existing locker boards
Pinetics' scope
Architecture, hardware, firmware, firmware updates over the air and full functional testing
Outcome
Delivered and accepted, deployed in the field, with no field failures reported
What did the client need?
The client’s smart locker banks already had locker boards that open the doors. They needed a new master controller to run the whole bank: talk to card readers, barcode scanners and a face recognition terminal, connect to the user’s tablet and to the network, command the existing locker boards, and take firmware updates in the field. It also had to leave room for features the client planned to add later.
What did Pinetics build?
- One controller for every access device. Wiegand and RS485 interfaces for a card reader, a barcode scanner and a face recognition terminal, with spare ports for more.
- Tablet and network links. Bluetooth Low Energy to the user tablet, with pairing, bonding and provisioning, and Ethernet with a TCP/IP stack.
- A link to the existing locker boards over RS485, built by working out their protocol.
- Power for the whole bank, from its own supply or through the locker boards, plus USB-C charging for the tablet.
- Room to grow. Provision for more USB ports, Wi-Fi and a high-speed expansion bus for future add-ons such as a display, GPS or 4G/5G.
- Firmware updates over the air from the tablet, with a bootloader built to survive power cuts.
- Maintenance and troubleshooting functions for field teams.
What was the hardest part of the project?
Four things. The existing locker boards had to keep working, so the new controller had to speak their protocol exactly. Several access devices, a tablet and a network all had to work together on one controller. Firmware updates had to be safe on lockers already installed, where the power can go at any moment. And the board had to leave room for features that did not exist yet.
How did the team solve it?
- The protocol was decoded first. The team worked out the locker board protocol from the existing boards and code before writing the controller firmware.
- One driver per device. Each access device has its own driver over Wiegand or RS485, behind a single application layer written from the client’s user stories.
- A fail-safe update. The bootloader and memory partitioning keep the working firmware, and an update interrupted by a power cut recovers safely.
- A full test suite. The team wrote and ran a test suite covering normal and fault cases, with reports and regression testing before release.
What was the result?
The controller was delivered and accepted, and it is deployed in the field. No field failures have been reported.
“Our smart locker system needed a reliable controller hub that could scale across hundreds of units. Pinetics designed and delivered a robust embedded solution that’s been running in the field without issues.”
Founder and CEO, smart locker company in Malaysia
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