An Automated Attendance System based on NFC & X-Bee Technologies with a Remote Database

Abstract: The main aim of this research was to automate attendance registration, thereby reducing human involvement in the whole process. Typically, the system works by storing vital staff personable information, such as Name, Job specification, etc. into a MySQL database upon engagement. The staff is identified with a unique key associated with an NFC based ID card within the database. So on typical work day, an employee scans his/her ID card on the PN532 reader in close proximity. The exact time and date, together with the unique identifier of the scanned card are stored locally on a storage media, before the data is relayed via the XBee to the remote database. The captured data is then authenticated by comparing with the pre-entered data to give access or authorization to the corporate resources, as well as recorded for attendance purposes. Our experiment shows that the automated attendance system is more effective, efficient and reliable, due to its real time capability, remote monitoring and attendance reports that it provides to the institution.