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Introduction

Creeper Keeper: An iPad Management System

My final project is a device which will be able to keep track of the iPads in our school, which can be very hard to manage.

Initial design idea

This is the first sketch of the initial design I had in mind.

Heroshots

Purpose

Here in my school, students are required to make daily vlogs each year in order to enhance the student’s technical skills such as video recording and video editing skills. These vlogs also serve as a wonderful way to cherish their memories and see how much they have grown throughout the years. For this very purpose, students from each grade are handed out iPads daily, with a new student receiving one each day. However, managing the iPads can be quite difficult. Some are not always returned on time and some get damaged along the way, making it hard to track who has them. To solve this issue, I decided to make an iPad Tracking System. It i s a smart method to manage the iPads by keeping track of which student took the iPad and when they returned it.

Working Mechanism

The iPad Tracking System will consist of a box with six compartments, one for each iPad. Each compartment will contain a sensor which detects whether an iPad is present inside or not. Every student in my school will be provided with an RFID card, which they will be using to access the iPads. Students will be required to scan their RFID card in order to open the box to access the iPads. The name of the student, the date, and the iPad they took or returned will be recorded in a spreadsheet.

Licensing

I will be applying the Non-Commercial Creative Commons license to my project. Through this license, others will be able to share and expand upon my work. They will be required to provide credit, avoid using it for commercial purposes in case they don’t modify or build upon it, and share their contributions under the same license.

*Therefore, this project is licensed under (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.)[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/]

Questions & Answers

Answered during week 17

What will it do?

My iPad management tracker will be able to keep track of and secure the iPads in our school. It will be able to manage the iPads by tracking which students has taken or returned an iPad using an RFID card.

Who has done it beforehand?

There are many similar projects developed for the similar purpose of management and security. For instance, schools and libraries have implemented RFID-based inventory tracking and locker access systems. Makers online have also created custom RFID-secured storage boxes and iPad charging stations. These existing projects inspired me to design a more personalized, integrated solution tailored to my school’s needs.

What will you design?

  • The iPad box keeping in mind the routes for wirings and the self-made extension cord
  • Slots and compartments for my electronics
  • A custom PCB

What material and components will be used?

  • Plywood
  • 3D printer filament
  • Xiao ESP32C3 microcontroller
  • LM532 RFID module
  • Electromagnets
  • Relay module
  • Voltage regulators
  • Wires
  • 12V DC adaptor
  • IR sensors
  • Sockets
  • Switch

Where will they come from?

The meterials required are obtained from the Fab Lab itself or through Amazon and Robu if it is not in the lab.

What parts and systems will be made?

Enclosure: the enclosure for my project will be made and designed by myself.

Locking Mechanism: the electromagnets holder is desgined and 3D pprinted by myself.

Custom extension cord: a compartment to hold all the sockets to chatrge the iPads and a common switch is designed and printed by myself.

Electronics holder: personal slots for all my electronics.

What processes will be used? - laser cutting for the enclosure - 3D designing and printing for the electromagnet slots. - CNC milling for PCB - soldering and circuit design - programming

What questions need to be answered?

  • How will I make the outer box aesthetically pleasing?
  • How will the extension cord be made to fit the back of my box?

How will it be evaluated?

If my project works as planned, it should be able to open with a valid RFID card, demagnetize the magnet to open the door, and accurately logs which iPad was taken and who took them.

what tasks have been completed?

  • PCB design
  • designing and cutting the enclosure
  • 3D printing the legs

what tasks remain?

  • final assembly
  • board mill and sodler
  • final programming and testing
  • video and slide
  • painting the outer box.

what has worked? what hasn’t?

Answered after completing the final project presentation

  • Locking mechanism with RFID module worked
  • The power supply from the custom extension cord worked
  • The IR sensors are able to sense the iPads.
  • The neopixels worked!
  • Results could not be synced in with the spreadsheet in the end(since my laptop burned down)

What questions needs to be resolved?

  • How will I be making the extension cord for my system?
  • What will make the box secure and safe?
  • Will the space in the back be too big to fit everything inside?

What will happen when?

To manage my time better and allocate the tasks effectively into my schedule, I made a GANTT chart.

You can access my GANTT chart here.

How was it evaluated?

By checking if it: - Unlocks with a valid RFID card
- Allows 6 seconds to remove/insert an iPad
- Logs data to Google Sheets (attempted, but didn’t succeed in the end)
- IR sensors correctly detect iPads
- Neopixels and other electronics work as intended

What questions were answered?
- Can the system detect iPads? - Can the RFID card control the electromagnet? - Can the entire box be powered from a single switch safely?

What have you learned?

  • This course is almost coming to an end and within the span of just a few months, the amount of new things that I was able to learn is crazy. For starters, I learnt how to use a ton of softwares and machines in the lab, from milling PCB boards to using the CNC machine and printing fun stickers with the Vinyl cutter. I tried to implement them all in my final project.

What are the implications?

This project could help improve the way schools manage shared devices like iPads or tablets. With a few upgrades, it can also be used in libraries, offices, or labs for tool or equipment tracking.

Bill Of Material

Sl.No Component Name Specification ₹ Price Quantity ₹ Cost USD (est.)
1 XIAO board XIAO ESP32-C3 ₹ 471.00 x1 ₹ 471.00 ~$5.67
2 IR sensor IR Obstacle Avoidance Sensor ₹ 25.00 x6 ₹ 150.00 ~$1.80
3 RFID module PN532 RFID module ₹ 189.00 x1 ₹ 189.00 ~$2.28
4 Solenoid P25/20 Holding Electromagnet ₹ 699.00 x6 ₹ 4194.00 ~$50.52
5 Relay module 3.3V Single Channel Relay Module ₹ 70.00 x1 ₹ 70.00 ~$0.84
6 Adapter Li-ion charger TNS30W-084120 ₹ 300.00 x1 ₹ 300.00 ~$3.61
7 Hinges Door Hinges ₹ 209.00 x1 ₹ 209.00 ~$2.52
8 Regulator AMS1117-3.3V Module ₹ 14.00 x1 ₹ 14.00 ~$0.17
9 3D Printer Filament PLA Filament (1.75mm) TBD – TBD TBD
10 Plywood 4 mm Plywood TBD – TBD TBD
11 Power Sockets AC Power Sockets ₹ 40.00 x6 ₹ 240.00 ~$2.88
12 Switch Toggle/Push Button Switch ₹ 30.00 x1 ₹ 30.00 ~$0.36
Total ₹ 5867.00 + TBD ~$70.15 + TBD

I have hyperlinked the e-commerce platforms for each component I am using with the component name itself.

Scheduling

I organized and divided my time for each of the tasks using my GANTT chart.

You can access my GANTT chart here.

Orginal Design Files

Thank You!

The template for this website was provided by Mr. Anith Ghalley and used with his permission

Last update: June 23, 2025