Ticket Translator

RFID tag being scanned
RFID tag after being scanned
Internals of the project
RFID tag being scanned
Front view of the project
RFID Writer
Entire Project

We intended to build something that was very simple and an approachable build for first-time hackers. Our goals were that this hack included RFID and a screen. Originally, the idea was to send text through the RFID, but then we adapted the sending the information idea through RFID to a challenge presented by one of the sponsors. Our idea then transformed into an RFID reader that took in airline tickets and displayed a map with a path to get to the passengers to their gates. The thought process was that airports can be very confusing and typically have sub-par service in them. This would be a quick and easy solution that overcomes both of those common problems for the average passenger.
We built our project by utilizing 2 Arduino boards, an RFID reader, and a screen module. We built the RFID scanner code on one of the Arduinos while simultaneously coding the display functions on another. Once we had both of the Arduinos working independently, we built out the communications between the two, so that the scanner could send the data from the RFID to the screen controller to display the correct image. We accomplished this communication using UART. We also utilized a third Arduino connected to another RFID module to write the data we needed to the RFID tags.
Many challenges presented themselves during the process of building our project. We encountered a lot of inconsistency with reading the RFID tags and found it to be difficult to read data off the tags rather than their UID. In making the images to be displayed, we had to take steps to change the resolution to fit on the screen correctly. Communications between the Arduinos presented the most issues as the pin usage for the screen made it impossible to use the original communication protocol we were implementing. This caused us to have to switch to UART to be able to do serial communications between the controllers.