RFID chip and RFID programmer

[desrik]

First I would like to say this idea came from reading the lockable furniture thread, and also posted a generalized form of the idea. This thread is going to be my thinkpad. Input is always appreciated, good or bad.

The idea:
The thread I linked above was a suggestion for lockable furniture. After which, the discussion moved to the issue of keys and key->door identification. I believe this may be a solution to the problem of keys. I’m sure most of you know what an RFID chip is.

They mostly go unseen inside the ignition key of our vehicles:

Or even replace the key completely:

They are even used to open secure doors:

My intention is allow the player to find a handheld RFID programmer:

Or find a RFID cloning tool: ( Used with a laptop computer )

RFID cards. ( See pic above, in the secure doors part )
RFID reader ( Install on door/furniture to allow locking )

Now, as stated int the link I posted at the beginning, card->door identification would be a major issue when dealing with standard keys that are somewhat alleviated by the RFID system.

Once the player has found both an RFID card and programmer the process would be as follows:

Furniture:

1. Find piece of lockable furniture.
   To preserve realism, standard furniture would not initially be lockable in this manner. RFID is used in abundance IRL, but we still use metal keys to open 95% of all lockable items. Instead, we give furniture a random chance of being lockable. The player would also be able to find an RFID reader and install it on any furniture/door.
2. (a)ctivate RFID programmer, select RFID card, then select direction of furniture
   This would read the ‘serial’ ( for lack of better term ) of the card and program the lock to accept the card. ( This is actually reverse of RL for sake of simplicity. It’s better to program multiple locks to one card than multiple cards to one lock. We have no use really for the latter [ although would still be possible ] )
3. Use furniture/door as usual
   Basically the goal is for ‘locked’ furniture/doors to behave no differently to the player. If an NPC doesn’t have the card, the furniture/door wont work.

This is a work in progress. Can’t wait to hear people’s opinions!

[John_Candlebury]

So basically you are asking for an update to the Electro Hack?

It would certainly be nice to have more places to use them at (preferentially places that don’t have turrets in the inside).

[kevin.granade]

The implementation should be straightforward, and it’s reasonable to run RFID readers and writers off of batteries.
The only sticking point, reality-wise is that the RFID lock needs a power source too. I guess you could just load a number of batteries into it and have it consume them very slowly.

[desrik]

EDIT:: A question about the codebase: Do we currently have any form of uid generation?

[quote=“Kevin Granade, post:3, topic:7441”]The implementation should be straightforward, and it’s reasonable to run RFID readers and writers off of batteries.
The only sticking point, reality-wise is that the RFID lock needs a power source too. I guess you could just load a number of batteries into it and have it consume them very slowly.[/quote]

I’m sure that would be feasible. I imagine a battery powered RFID readed with an internal CMOS battery that keeps the serial programming between battery changes/death. I would imagine RL RFID locks must have some sort of battery backup in case of power failure? ( OH NO! The power went out so now I’m stuck in my office. )

[quote=“John Candlebury, post:2, topic:7441”]So basically you are asking for an update to the Electro Hack?

It would certainly be nice to have more places to use them at (preferentially places that don’t have turrets in the inside).[/quote]

Not necessarily asking for anything as I plan to implement this myself after all the details are worked out. And honestly, I completely forgot about the electrohack. Very well could be used as a makeshift RFID programmer.

[kevin.granade]

Kinda/sorta uids with note handling, and with radio transmission, more like a hash function than a uid though. I’d far prefer to use location as the key rather than some kind of uid if we can get away with it.

You can’t just slap a tiny CMOS on a RFID lock, they need beefy solenoids. It’s not intractable, but keep in mind it does require rather high voltage to do its job, so it’s not an insignificant amount of power like with a lot of circuits.

[desrik]

Kinda/sorta uids with note handling, and with radio transmission, more like a hash function than a uid though. I’d far prefer to use location as the key rather than some kind of uid if we can get away with it.

I have no problems using location as the keys. Actually that thought never crossed my mind. This is why I post these things on here

You can’t just slap a tiny CMOS on a RFID lock, they need beefy solenoids. It’s not intractable, but keep in mind it does require rather high voltage to do its job, so it’s not an insignificant amount of power like with a lot of circuits.

No of course not. The CMOS was pertaining to the storing of card<->lock programming when without main and backup power. Much like the CMOS on a motherboard stores the time even when the board isn’t supplied with power. Means nothing implementation wise. Just a bit of imaginative flavor