And after 2 weeks of Serious embedded work, With the multimeter probes wrapped around me, I finally finished the Project. Two MAX32630FTHR Boards on desk, Django server running in my desktop behind it, and a blog post that is far more difficult to write than the firmware itself. Now, It was summer vacation time for my institute here and work load is quite simple, so i did signup for many projects. So I did have my hands full, but commitment to complete is absolute. The only thing that struck me is how i kept thinking the last date for this design challenge was May end, but it turned out to be the deadline for the Spring clean competition. Facepalm... 

Recap

The idea was simple enough. Stop making people swipe a card and type a PIN at every single door. The card and the door pair once over Bluetooth, and from then on the door sends a random  challenge, the card signs it with a private key that never leaves the secure element ATTEC508A, and the door verifies the signature with a public key it got from the server. If the card was snatched, the IMU notices the jerk (time derivative of Acceleration) and locks itself. If the user did not enter the PIN recently, the card refuses to sign. If the device gets blacklisted on the server, the door rejects it locally without even talking to the server.

Two devices, both built around the MAX32630FTHR:

• ID Device (card): MAX32630FTHR + ATECC508A (crypto + key storage + TRNG) + 4x4 keypad + BMI160 IMU + built-in RGB LED
• Door Device: MAX32630FTHR + W5500 Ethernet FeatherWing + PCA9685 Motor FeatherWing + Wurth ICLED FeatherWing (105 LEDs) + magnetic reed switch. No ATECC508A on the door, just micro-ecc in software for ECDSA-P256 verify.
• Django Server: REST API + custom AdminLTE dashboard for keys, events, blacklist.

Github : https://github.com/arvindsa/identity-protocol-e14-challenge

A smart ID card system that performs cryptographic Bluetooth authentication at doors, eliminating repeated swipe+PIN at every entry point while maintaining strong security.

The ID card (MAX32630FTHR + ATECC508A) unlocks once via PIN, then silently performs challenge-response crypto over Bluetooth every time you approach a door. If the card is forcibly removed, the IMU detects the tug and locks the device.

Note: This project was built for the element14 Smart Security & Surveillance design challenge. The parts were provided as-is for the challenge; some are NRND (Not Recommended for New Designs) and should be replaced with current alternatives in any new build.