Circuits and Systems, 2010, 1, 30-33
doi:10.4236/cs.2010.11005 Published Online July 2010 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/cs)
The Design of an Intelligent Security Access Control
System Based on Fingerprint Sensor FPC1011C
Yan Wang1,2, Hongli Liu1, Jun Feng 2
1College of Electrical and Information Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, China
2College of Electrical Engineering, Nanhua University, Hengyang, China
Received April 29, 2010; revised May 30, 2010; accepted June 5, 2010
Abstract
This paper deals with the design of an intelligent access control system based on the fingerprint sensor FPC-
1011C. The design uses the S3C2410 and TMS320VC5510A as the system processor. A fingerprint acquisi-
tion module and a wireless alarm module were designed by using the fingerprint sensor FPC1011C and
GPRS module SIM100 respectively. The whole system was implemented wireless alarm through messages
and GPRS-Internet in the GSM/GPRS web. In order to achieve the simple and high Real-time system, the
μC-Linux system migration was also implemented.
Keywords: Fingerprint Sensor, Security Access Control System, ARM, Wireless Alarm
1. Introduction
Generally, traditional fingerprint access control system is
based on the computer or microcontroller. The Computer
platform is hard to carry because of high cost and the
MCU platform is more difficult or even impossible to
achieve for its features such as data processing capabili-
ties and storage capacity constraints. The circuit of wire-
less alarm is vulnerable and security is not high with
high maintenance cost; special networks of wireless
alarm are too costly. All those factors prevent the devel-
opment of fingerprint access control system.
This design uses ARM + DSP microprocessor and ad-
vanced fingerprint sensor FPC1011C, and is also equip-
ped with GPRS\GSM network for wireless alarm. In the
Fingerprint access control system, it is lack of control
using DSP microprocessor [1] and weak processing ca-
pability using ARM microprocessor [2]. And thus it may
be an attractive approach to a more perfect framework for
fingerprint access controlling by combining ARM and
DSP in an integrative platform. Fingerprint sensor
FPC1011C is suitable for both dry and wet fingers due to
its adopted reflective detection technology. As a public
network with wide coverage, GPRS/GSM supports
real-time transmission, lower operation costs, SMS ser-
vice and internet access [3]. So it can be widely used in
wireless alarm of access control system.
2. System Principles
System principles are as shown in Figure 1. The system
acquires fingerprint data from the fingerprint device.
Then it will be sent to the DSP processor, where finger-
print data are processed and effective features are extracted.
In ARM processors, the feature will be registered to the
database or acts as data for triggering target event: if the
fingerprint’s feature and some sample in the database
matches, access is permitted, or there will be alarm [4].
Thereinto, alarms are divided into local alarms and wire-
less ones. Local alarm is given by sound and light lamps.
Wireless alarm send messages to the concerned mobile
phone by GPRS module through which connect GPRS/
GSM network controlled by ARM, and it is also sent to
the PC alarm monitoring center by GPRS-internet network.
Figure 1. System principle.

Y. WANG ET AL.
31
3. Hardware Design
The system hardware includes: DSP, fingerprint sensor,
ARM controller, GPRS module and its external power
supply module, extended memory devices、LCD and key-
board.
3.1. DSP, FPC1011C and ARM
This design uses a DSP chip TMS320VC5510A as the
processor and the most advanced fingerprint sensor ca-
pacitance FPC1011C. Control chip used ARM Samsung
S3C2410, which is a 16/32-bit embedded RISC micro-
processor [5] based on ARM920T core. The interface of
ARM + DSP and FPC1011C is shown in Figure 2.
FPC1011C is a capacitive fingerprint sensor surface
shape which is launched successfully by Finger Prints, a
Swedish company [6]. It has high image quality, wear resi-
stance, static and low power consumption. It uses the re-
flective detection technology which is a patent by Finger
Prints. The electrical pulse signal is generated form the
internal IC, and then passed to finger through the conduc-
tive ABS frame. Because the human body is a conductor,
fingerprints will produce high and low voltage form
Valley and Ridge when the pulse through the finger. The
wafer body accepts and amplifies the signal, then exports
digital signal of fingerprint after A/D conversion. Be-
cause of its unique detection technology, it has good ap-
plicability of the dry and wet fingers and longer life.
FPC1011C provides a high-speed SPI interface to
communicate with the DSP processor TMS320VC5510A,
so its hardware interface circuit design is simple with fast
transfer rate. DSP’s Mcbsp can simulate the SPI protocol,
complete with a seamless interface to the fingerprint
sensor. The useful pins of FPC1011C are CS_N, SO, SI,
SCK and so on. CS_N is the chip select signal line,
which is directly to ground, so that the fingerprint sensor
has been in the selected state. SO and SI is the SPI data
lines which connected with DSP-DR2, DX2 to transmit
the serial data. SCK is the clock signal line and linked by
DSP’s CLKX2 to provide the sampling clock [7].
TMS320VC5510A host interface (HPI) is an interface
designed by TI Company can greatly simplify the hard-
ware design of DSP exchanging data with external dev-
ice. Communication can be achieved by linking ARM's
I/O port to the DSP’s HPI. System maps the all HPI inter-
face controllers, address registers, data registers which
have unified address to the S3C2410 ’s I/O memory space.
As the basic HPI, HCS enables input signal, and controls
HPI data transfer with HDS1, HDS2. Address line A1~
A4 produces the required control signals by HPI.
3.2. GPRS Module
The design of GPRS module uses SIM100, and it has
high performance with enhanced AT command set. The
technical specifications are suitable for the development
of GPRS-based wireless products, and it provides users
with a fully functional system interface, saving users time
and cost of development. Module supports an external
SIM card, and you can connect directly with the SIM
card. The module can automatically detect and adapt to
SIM card type, which have GPRS service. Module sup-
ports GSM, SMS business and the GPRS access internet
[8]. GPRS and SIM interface circuit diagram are shown
in Figure 3.
4. System Software
4.1. μCLinux Transplantation
Linux operating system as a derivative μClinux, followed
the vast majority of linux features, overcame the shortage
of cell-free MMU, and had powerful network processing
capabilities, it also can support various file systems and
has became mainstream in embedded operating system.
This design transplants the ARM-μCLinux, and the spe-
cific process includes the development of environment,
preparation, revision of Bootloader, modification and com-
pilation of the kernel source, transplantation of kernel
image and the file system [9].
Figure 2. Interface of ARM + DSP and FPC1011C.

Y. WANG ET AL.
32
Figure 3. Interface of SIM100 with the SIM Card.
4.2. GPRS Driver Design
GPRS module driver includes initializing, opening, closing
and sending or receiving data [10]. By calling GPRS_
Init() function to achieve the basic GPRS module ini-
tialization, includes initializing serial port, testing signal
quality, opening AT protocol and GPRS, setting IP ad-
dress, port number and so on. It is concentrated by call-
ing the AT command, AT + WIPDATA and AT + WIP-
CLOSE order to achieve the connection beginning and
closing. S3C2410 communicates with GPRS module by
AT command. GPRS_SendData() is used to send AT co-
mmands to the GPRS module, and GPRS_RecvData()
accepts GPRS data module. GPRS_SendMsg() sends a
short message, and GPRS_RecvMsg() parses text mes-
sages.
System is mainly divided into two parts: the finger-
print processing and ARM processor control.
1) The main program flow chart of fingerprint proc-
essing is shown in Figure 4. Firstly, initialization opera-
tion, includes the DSP system initialization and periphe-
ral initialization; and then it starts to test whether it has
fingerprints input on the fingerprint sensor. If there are
fingerprints input on the fingerprint sensor, it identifies
this signal. The fingerprint image starts preprocessing
work after recognition. This fingerprint image quality ev-
aluation is in front of the pretreatment on the identifica-
tion of incoming, if the quality of fingerprint is good en-
ough then continue the rest of the pretreatment. If image
quality is poor, this fingerprint data is discarded and re-
quired to identify a fingerprint data again. After the ex-
traction of high-quality fingerprint image feature, the
judge is the registered fingerprint or fingerprint match. If
it is to register the fingerprint, the fingerprint data is put
into the database. If it is to match the fingerprint, system
will compare the fingerprint with each sample in the li-
brary, which leads to a result means weather or not
match successfully.
2) External LCD of ARM provides user interface and
prompts information, the keyboard can input data [11].
Access Administrators use them to set the system to per-
form specific technical indicators [12], for example, open-
ing access, allowing access to the total number, etc, ac-
cessing to personnel information prompted by operating
the input fingerprint. The chart of ARM processor to
control the main program flow is shown in Figure 5.
Firstly, initializing the module, and then determining
whether there is an order input. If there is administrator
command, prompting for a password, and the fingerprint
verification follow-up after the administrator can operate.
If there is ordinary user command, the user will be re-
minded to input the password and fingerprint, the access
control will be lifted after authentication. Otherwise, the
control alarm module will conduct wireless alarm.
Figure 4. Flow of fingerprint procedures.

Y. WANG ET AL.
33
Figure 5. Flow of ARM control.
5. Conclusions
In this paper, we researched the embedded wireless alarm
system and fingerprint access control, which use the
ARM + DSP dual processors to improve system control
and data processing capabilities, and it uses GPRS/GSM
network to improve the speed and security of alarm and
reduce the cost. After transplanting μCLinux system,
system function can be improved and extended cut,
which make the system has good openness. This design
is efficient, compact, and with low power cost and high
safety level, which significantly meet the requirements of
the current fingerprint access control system and in-
creased the levels of Access Control System.
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