📱 Smart Attendance Tracker

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📌 Summary

Attendance tracking in schools and colleges is often outdated—teachers still call roll, pass sign-in sheets, or use QR codes. These methods are time-consuming, error-prone, and easy to fake (e.g., proxy attendance or QR code sharing).

Smart Attendance Tracker solves this by using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons and GPS geofencing to verify whether students are physically present in class.

• Students don’t have to press buttons or scan anything.
• Teachers save valuable lecture time.
• Administrators get real-time, reliable, digital attendance data.

Built with:

• iOS mobile app (Swift)
• Backend (Golang + PostgreSQL + Redis + RabbitMQ)
• BLE beacon hardware
• Admin dashboard (web)

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🎯 Problem Background

• Manual and QR-based attendance systems are unreliable and prone to cheating.
• Teachers waste class time managing attendance.
• Schools cannot depend on inconsistent records for academic performance tracking.

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🚀 Goals

• Automate attendance using BLE + GPS.
• Ensure accuracy and prevent fake check-ins.
• Cross-platform support (iOS + Android planned).
• Keep setup affordable and simple.
• Provide teachers/admins with real-time dashboards and exportable reports.

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👥 Target Users

• Students: Fair, transparent, and accurate attendance.
• Teachers: Time-saving, distraction-free lectures, and real-time insights.
• Administrators: Centralized, digital attendance data for better decision-making.

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🛠️ System Architecture

The system follows a **modular monolith** design with four main components:

1. 📱 iOS Mobile App (Swift)

   • Secure login (student/teacher roles)
   • BLE-based check-in
   • Real-time attendance updates
   • Notifications for low attendance
   • Personal attendance history

2. 📡 BLE Beacon Integration

   • Beacons installed in classrooms broadcast unique IDs.
   • Mobile app verifies presence against registered class beacon ID.
   • Prevents spoofing with timestamp + device validation.

3. ⚙️ Backend (Golang + PostgreSQL)

   • Authentication & role management (JWT-based)
   • Attendance validation & storage
   • Redis caching for fast lookups
   • RabbitMQ for async tasks (notifications, logging)
   • REST APIs for mobile + dashboard integration

4. 📊 Admin/Teacher Dashboard

   • Real-time attendance view
   • Manual correction with audit logs
   • Attendance analytics & trends
   • Export to CSV/PDF

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🔒 Security & Anti-Spoofing

• Unique beacon IDs per classroom.
• Encrypted API calls with JWT session management.
• Device info + timestamps logged for every check-in.
• Role-based access control (students, teachers, admins).

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🧪 Testing & Evaluation

Testing Approach

• Unit + integration testing (Go test framework, Postman).
• Real-world device testing with iPhones + BLE beacons in classrooms.
• Tested under poor signal strength, background states, and peak load.

Feedback Iterations

• Students: wanted confirmation pop-ups → ✅ Added success/failure alerts.
• Teachers: requested reports & reminders → ✅ Added export + notification features.
• Performance: Redis + RabbitMQ integration improved reliability under heavy load.

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⚡ Challenges & Solutions

• Slow beacon detection → Retry mechanism for consistent check-ins.
• Proxy check-ins outside class → Unique beacon IDs + GPS validation.
• High load delays → Redis caching + async processing with RabbitMQ.
• iOS background restrictions → Optimized scan timing without battery drain.

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🔮 Future Enhancements

• Silent background check-ins (no app open required).
• Device fingerprinting for added security.
• Gamification features (attendance streaks, badges, points).
• Dedicated web dashboard for easier admin access.
• Multi-beacon support for large lecture halls.

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📷 Screenshots

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📚 Tech Stack

• Mobile App: Swift (iOS)
• Backend: Golang, Fiber framework
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Caching: Redis
• Messaging Queue: RabbitMQ
• Frontend/Dashboard: React (planned)
• Auth & Security: JWT, Role-based access

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