An Integrated Room Booking and Access Control System for Public Spaces

Abstract: Public spaces, especially educational institutions like universities, encounter challenges with their room booking and access control systems. These challenges commonly manifest as overlapping bookings and unauthorized entry. The latter issue, unauthorized access, specifically stems from inadequate integration between the respective systems. This bachelor thesis introduces a proof-of-concept for a cohesive room booking and access control system to address these issues. The proposed solution encompasses two mobile applications, one as the room reservation platform and the other as the access control mechanism. By integrating the management of bookings and access control, this proof-of-concept aims to overcome the prevalent shortcomings in existing systems. Halmstad University's IT department was consulted during the requirement definition phase to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the common problems, their underlying causes, and possible solutions. The proposed system utilizes common technologies such as NodeJS, Android Studio, and PostgreSQL. Additionally, Mobile BankID is integrated as a unique feature for secure user authentication, providing a trusted and widely-accepted method to verify users' identities. The final results were tested in a simulated environment and indicate that the developed system satisfies the initial requirements, addressing the problems of double bookings and unauthorized access identified during the consultation with the IT department.