Cloud IoT platform for Access Control

Today's technology has made fields of application that until a few years ago were more complex, more expensive and less accessible. Broadband connectivity with a widespread diffusion and refined production processes have exponentially increased the demand for cheaper, more powerful and versatile IoT devices, that can be used in many different contexts. These particular devices are characterised by their ability to collect and transmit information about their operational status and environment. The ability to contextualise the data collected, process them locally and transmit the information using the Internet opens up virtually infinite application scenarios. There are numerous examples, starting from the one used in this work, we can describe devices capable of collecting measurements in an increasingly precise and targeted manner, according to specific application areas, such as equipment dedicated to detecting data related to environments: air quality, pollution or noise levels, presence of certain substances and so on. The Internet of Things and Smart Objects have the undeniable advantage to renew and unlock new opportunities from activities that are part of a company's everyday life. A concrete example is the one analysed in this thesis project: the digitisation of a governance process was an opportunity to increase the robustness of the business as well as the driving element of a system that can become the basis of a modern smart-city. An expandable and always-connected gateway, the management of multiple sensors and a nationwide presence are the strengths of the solution. Once transmitted to the cloud platform, the data feeds a database of information that is the real treasure in a world where the data are the real value. In this project we tried to combine the need to govern a specific business process, in this case the access control to equipment, cabinets or sensitive business areas, with the possibility of extending the functionality of these connected objects, to make them an active part of a network of devices for collecting environmental parameters, such as acoustic or electromagnetic pollution: the solution is based on an electromechanical lock and an intelligent gateway with integrated sensors, to which a virtually unlimited number of additional sensors can be connected to evolve its functionality. The platform must implement and make the two distinct souls of the project coexist: to guarantee protection against unauthorized access to business-sensitive areas, thanks to the implementation of an electromechanical lock and specific sensors create a cohesive system between hardware and software that will allow the addition of new sensors for environmental monitoring in the future: all software components and architectural design choices have been made with scalability and high availability in mind. The development of this thesis was an opportunity for a multidisciplinary study focusing on the world of the IoT. The project was followed in all its phases: from the realization of the first prototypes to the definition of the system specifications, in agreement with the client and the concrete development of the functional components described: the cloud platform, the gateway agent, the mobile application.