The Evolution of the Concept

Aurélien Verhaeghe

•

Nicolas DAILLY

•

Hachimi Kasmi

Published April 17, 2026

SmartSpace

SmartSpace is an IoT demonstrator designed to monitor room occupancy and manage student attendance using low-power wireless technology.

IntermediateShowcase (no instructions)32

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Arduino MKR WAN 1300

Joy-it sbc-rfid-rc522

Jumper wires (generic)

Breadboard (generic)

Buzzer

Adafruit Standard LCD - 16x2 White on Blue

DHT11 Temperature & Humidity Sensor (4 pins)

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

The Things Industries The Things Stack

Microsoft VS Code

Hand tools and fabrication machines

3D Printer (generic)

Laser cutter (generic)

Story

At UniLaSalle Amiens, we are surrounded by dozens of classrooms and study areas. However, a common frustration for students is wandering the hallways in search of a quiet place to work, only to find rooms that are "officially" booked but completely empty—so-called "ghost reservations." Conversely, finding an empty room often feels like a gamble, with no way of knowing if a class is scheduled to start five minutes later.

This inefficiency in space management sparked our project. We realized that the gap between the school’s digital schedule and the physical reality of the rooms could be bridged using the Internet of Things.

The Evolution of the Concept

We didn't just want to see if a room was occupied; we wanted to transform how students and faculty interact with the campus infrastructure.

Solving the Search: By integrating a PIR sensor, our device provides real-time occupancy data to a centralized web application, allowing students to instantly locate a truly "free" room from their smartphones.

Streamlining Administration: To add professional value, we integrated an RFID reader. Instead of wasting time with manual paper attendance sheets, students simply "tap" their badges to emendate for TDs and TPs.

Closing the Loop: Through LoRaWAN technology, the system remains low-power and long-range, ensuring it can be deployed across the entire campus without complex wiring.

What started as a struggle to find a peaceful place to study has become a comprehensive demonstrator for a Smart Campus. By housing our electronics in a custom 3D-printed enclosure and connecting them to a Linux-based server, we’ve moved from a simple idea to a functional solution that respects the constraints of modern IoT: low power, high efficiency, and real-world utility.

Code

Arduino MKR1310 code

void setLcdColor(String color) { //Gère la couleur du lcd
  if      (color == "green") lcd.setRGB(0,   255, 0);
  else if (color == "red")   lcd.setRGB(255, 0,   0);
  else if (color == "white") lcd.setRGB(255, 255, 255);
}

void lcdIdle() { //remet l'écran dans son état d'attente par défaut
  lcd.clear();
  setLcdColor("white");
  lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
  lcd.print(" Scannez ");
  lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
  lcd.print("   votre badge  ");
  lcdShowingMessage = false;
}

void setup() { //Initialise le matériel et établit la connexion réseau lorawan
  Serial.begin(9600);

  // Init LCD
  lcd.begin(16, 2);
  setLcdColor("white");
  lcd.print("Initialisation");

  // Init RFID
  SPI.begin();
  rfid.PCD_Init();

  // Init modem LoRa
  if (!modem.begin(EU868)) {
    Serial.println("Erreur Modem HS");
    lcd.clear();
    setLcdColor("red");
    lcd.print("Erreur modem ");
    while (1);
  }

  lcd.clear();
  lcd.print("Connexion LoRa..");
  Serial.println("Connexion au réseau LoRaWAN...");

  if (!modem.joinOTAA(joinEUI, appKey, devEUI)) {
    Serial.println("Echec de connexion !");
    lcd.clear();
    setLcdColor("red");
    lcd.print("LoRa not OK");
    while (1);
  }

  Wire.end();
  delay(100);
  Wire.begin();
  lcd.begin(16, 2);

  Serial.println("--- SYSTEME PRET ---");
  lcdIdle();
}

void loop() {
  // Retour à l'écran idle après le délai d'affichage
  if (lcdShowingMessage && (millis() - lcdMessageTime > lcdMessageDuration)) {
    lcdIdle();
  }

  // Lecture badge RFID
  if (rfid.PICC_IsNewCardPresent() && rfid.PICC_ReadCardSerial()) {

    if (millis() - lastSendTime > dutyCycleWait) {
      int rawTemp = analogRead(tempPin);
      handleScan(rawTemp);
    } else {
      Serial.println("Attendez 15s entre deux scans (Duty Cycle).");
      lcd.clear();
      setLcdColor("red");
      lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
      lcd.print("  Reessayer !  ");
      lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
      lcd.print(" Attendre 15s  ");
      lcdShowingMessage = true;
      lcdMessageTime = millis();
    }

    rfid.PICC_HaltA();
    rfid.PCD_StopCrypto1();
  }

  delay(100);
}

void envoyerVersTTN(byte* uid, byte uidSize, int val) {
  byte payload[6];
  // On prend les 4 premiers octets de l'UID
  for (byte i = 0; i < 4; i++) payload[i] = (i < uidSize) ? uid[i] : 0x00;
  // Découpage de l'entier de température en 2 octets
  payload[4] = highByte(val);
  payload[5] = lowByte(val);

  Serial.println("Envoi LoRaWAN...");
  modem.beginPacket();
  modem.write(payload, 6);
  int err = modem.endPacket();

  if (err > 0) {
    Serial.println("[OK] Message reçu par TTN !");
  } else {
    Serial.print("[ERREUR] Échec de l'envoi. Code : "); Serial.println(err);
  }
}

SmartSpace