1. Automated Garage Door System
Submitted to:
Dr. William Dunford
Estella Qi
Dr. Noboru Yonemitsu
By:
Johnny Gong
Michael Harvey
Andrew Li
Jael Lumba
Lachlan Pedersen
15 April 2014
Integrated Engineering
University of British Columbia

2. ABSTRACT
A common concern people have is to accidentally leave their home with their
garage door left open. By leaving a garage open, an opportunity is presented to passers
by to steal or vandalize the belongings in the garage. With the many valuables being
stored in a typical garage, the consequences of leaving an open garage unattended are
severe. Moreover, when a garage is left open, the garage is unprotected from the
environment.
To assure the closure of the door and to improve the convenience of using a
garage, this project automates the operation of a garage door system. Our focus is to
make the Automated Garage Door System appealing to consumers by being easy to
install, intuitive to use, and require little maintenance.

3. GLOSSARY
Arduino A prototyping platform that compiles code based on the C
programming language
Housing A 3D printed box containing the system components. Placed
inside both the car and the garage.
Magnetic Leaf Switch A sensor consisting of a magnet and a switch ­ when the two
are in contact, the switch is on, otherwise, the switch is off
Microcontroller A small computer on an integrated circuit (i.e Arduino)
Transistor A semiconductor in which amplifies and switches electronic
signals as well as electric power
Ultrasonic Sensor A proximity sensor which detects the distance of the closest
object in front of it
XBee Shield A component that fits on top of the Arduino to allow the
Arduino to communicate wirelessly

4. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Design Process
2.1 Existing Systems
2.1.1 Magic Closer Garage
2.1.2 Novalert
2.1.3 Garage Hawk
2.2 Design Decisions
2.2.1 Convenience
2.2.2 Security
3.0 Project Design
3.1 Components
3.1.1 Arduino
3.1.2 XBee Shield
3.1.3 Ultrasonic Sensor
3.1.4 Magnetic Leaf Switch
3.1.5 Power Supply
3.1.6 Transistors
3.1.7 Garage Door Remote
3.2 Stages

5. 3.2.1 Stage One ­ User Enters Car
3.2.2 Stage Two ­ Car Leaves
3.2.3 Stage Three ­ Car Returns
3.2.4 Stage Four ­ Shutdown
4.0 System Testing
4.1 Individual Component Testing
4.1.1 Ultrasonic Sensor
4.1.2 Garage Remote and Opener
4.1.3 Microcontroller
4.2 Collective System Testing
5.0 Conclusion
REFERENCES
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX B
APPENDIX C

6.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This report will discuss our year­long design project for IGEN 230 called the
Automated Garage Door System.
This report has been prepared for Estella Qi, who will mark this report for IGEN
201, as well as Dr. William Dunford and Dr. Noboru Yonemitsu who have helped us in
the progression of our design project. This report contains information from research we
have performed on company websites, as well as data from testing the components of
our design.
Report Format
To touch­base on our design project, this report includes the following main
sections:
Section 1.0: Introduction
Section 2.0: Design Process
Section 3.0: Project Design
Section 4.0: System Testing
Section 5.0: Conclusion

7. 2.0 DESIGN PROCESS
The design process for our project required research on existing garage systems
in order to address their problems. With addressing these problems, we were able to
plan our design to eliminate and/or minimize the existing problems involving user
convenience and security.
2.1 EXISTING SYSTEMS
There are several comparable automated garage door systems available. Many
of which are timer based systems and none are are based on the location of the vehicle.
The following are existing garage system that have the same objectives as our project
along with their deficiencies.
2.1.1 Magic Closer Garage:
The Magic Closer Garage is a timer­based system, as described on the webpage
of the manufacturer, Big Ideas Inc. It requires a 5 or 15 minutes delay when it is in
automatic close mode. As a result, the garage is left open for a substantial amount of
time after the user has drove away. Furthermore, the installation process is intrusive to
the garage by requiring the user to connect a module garage wall controller.

8. 2.1.2 Novalert:
Similar to the Magic Closer, the manufacturer describes the system to be
timer­based, requiring 5­6 minutes before closing the garage door. This results in the
system being prone to allowing thieves to enter the garage before the timer notifies the
system to close the door.
2.1.3 Garage Hawk:
From information gathered through the manufacturer, Innovative Home Systems
LLC, the Garage Hawk system consists of a module located in the garage and another
in the user’s home. The Garage Hawk is reliant on supervision of the system from inside
the user’s home. This system does not remind the user to close the door when owner is
leaving the home. As a result of the setup of the Garage Hawk, it only enables the user
to close the door from the user’s home. Therefore, it is not a complete automation
system.
The common issue with all of these systems is that they do not provide a
comprehensive experience. Owners will still expose their belongings for a substantial
amount of time. In addition, all of these systems only assist with the closing of the
garage door, not opening when the user returns.

9.
2.2 Design Decisions
The major decisions that went into designing the system were regarding
convenience and security. A lengthy decision process was performed based on these
criteria in order to decide on the best process and components to use.
2.2.1 Convenience
Convenience was a major factor in the design of the Automated Garage
Door System.The product needed to be functional, yet as unintrusive as possible. The
initial goal for the system was only to close the door after the car had left. To make the
system more comprehensive, the ability to open the door was introduced to the design.
A method to open the door was needed, one that would only open the door when the
user was leaving. It was decided that buckling the seat belt was an indication that car
was ready to leave the garage. For this reason, a leaf switch on the seatbelt was
chosen to initialize the system and open the door. The leaf switch is also small, and
requires no power, making it the ideal option for placement on the seat belt.
2.2.2 Security
The two biggest security risks of the design come from the time between when
the car leaves and when the door closes, and the signal of the Xbees being vulnerable.
With the system, the door is closed as soon as the car is past the ultrasonic sensor, so
this is not an issue. The second concern is that the signal between the XBees is not

10. secure. The way this was worked around was only using the car to open the door. A
copied signal broadcast when the car is in the garage would do nothing, as the XBee in
the car would not receive the signal. A copied signal sent when the car is away would
also be useless, because the car is required to be in the XBee range in order to open
the door. This means that there are no repercussions of not encrypting the XBee signal.

11. 3.0 PROJECT DESIGN
Our project design consists of multiple components that will be outlined in this
section. In addition, the stages in which these components will be in use will be
thoroughly explained.
3.1 Components
The components used in our design were chosen to carry­out commands that
were coded in a programming suite for Arduino.
3.1.1 Arduino
The Arduino is a prototyping platform that compiles code based on the C
programming language. In our design, we are using two Arduinos, one is the garage
unit and the other is the car unit. The inputs to the two Arduinos are multiple sensors
around the car and garage. The Arduino microcontroller takes these inputs and follows
a logic flow to control the state of the garage door.
3.1.2 XBee Shield
The Xbee Shields are components that are fitted to the top of each
Arduino and allow the two units to communicate wirelessly. In our design, we are using
two XBee shields to determine the distance between the car and the garage.

12. 3.1.3 Ultrasonic Sensor
The Ultrasonic Sensor is a proximity sensor which detects the distance of
the closest object in front of it. We are using one Ultrasonic Sensor connected to one of
the inputs of the Arduino in the garage unit. The sensor is placed in its own housing
outside, mounted above the garage door. It faces down and detects when the car drives
out of the garage.
3.1.4 Magnetic Leaf Switch
In our system we use two magnetic leaf switches; one to monitor the
status of the garage door, and one to monitor the seatbelt in the car. The switches are
simple and provide a reliable reading for our microcontroller with no power
requirements. The range of the contacts is roughly five centimeters which allows
flexibility on how the user installs the sensor. As a result, the switches can be installed
on a variety of different garage door setups. The dimensions of the sensor are 5 cm by
3 cm by 2 cm. (see Figure C.2, Appendix C)
3.1.5 Power Supply
An AC/DC adaptor converts the wall outlet 120V AC to 9V DC at 1A to
power the garage unit. In the car unit, a 9V DC battery provides power to the
microcontroller and XBee shield, while the door remote is powered by its own button
cell.

13.
3.1.6 Transistors
The car and garage units each use one npn transistor to control the
remote and the door opener respectively. Each transistor acts as a switch controlled by
a digital pin on the Arduino. When the switch is closed, the leads on the remote or door
opener are connected and the door is opened or closed, depending on its previous state
3.1.7 Garage Door Remote
The car unit requires the capability to open the garage door. For this, the
internal circuitry of an existing wireless garage door remote is utilized. It is modified to
be able to be activated by a transistor. By using an existing remote, the rolling­code
technology is incorporated and thus increases the security significantly as opposed to
building a remote from scratch. The remote must be paired to the garage when the
system is installed. The pairing process simply requires the user to press the learn
button on the opener, followed by pressing the remote within 30 seconds of pressing the
learn button. These steps can be universally applied to the standard garage door
opener. It is the component responsible for opening the garage door. It has a range
slightly lower than the XBees. (see Figure C.1, Appendix C)

14.
3.2 Stages
There are four stages to our design, each requires different components to be
active. The functionality of our system during each stage is outlined in this section. A
flow chart (Figure 3.2, page 13) that outlines the system’s functionality is included. In
addition, please refer to Appendix B in which the Illustration of the System Functionality
is shown.
3.2.1 Stage One­ User Enters Car
The system begins with the car in the garage and the garage door closed.
The magnetic leaf switch attached to the seat belt is closed when the seat belt is
buckled. This signals the Arduino in the car unit to begin transmitting through the XBee.
Meanwhile, the garage unit is on standby waiting for a transmission from the car unit.
Once the XBees are communicating, the car unit opens the door. The car can now drive
away.
3.2.2 Stage Two ­ Car Leaves
The garage unit detects the car as it passes through the door under the
ultrasonic sensor. The Arduino then waits for the car to clear from the doorway and then
closes the door. The car drives away and leaves the range of the XBee’s, this cease in
communication signals both units to move to stage three.

15.
3.2.3 Stage Three ­ Car Returns
While the car is away, both units are on standby. The garage unit is
periodically attempting to contact the car unit and the car unit is waiting for a signal from
the garage unit. Once the car re­enters XBee range, it receives the transmission from
the garage and begins to transmit as well. The two units are now in full communication
and the car unit starts attempting to open the garage door. Once the car is within range
of the remote, the door opens. The garage unit now senses that the door is open and
moves to standby, waiting for the door to be closed. The garage door will be open by
the time the car pulls up. The user can now enter the garage.
3.2.4 Stage Four ­ Shutdown
This is the last stage in our design and the only stage where user input is
required. The user must close the door manually when they are ready. The garage unit
will sense the closed door, and will tell the car unit to stop transmitting, as well as enter
standby itself. The system now returns to stage one and waits for a signal from the seat
belt leaf switch.

17.
Figure 3.2: System Flow Chart

18. 4.0 SYSTEM TESTING
Our design depends on the functionality of every component in the system. To
ensure we addressed our design’s problems, we needed to test each component both
individually and as a system.
4.1 Individual Component Testing
The components were tested individually to ensure that they could proficiently
perform their required task. Small scale test rig’s were developed to determine the
specific capabilities of each component.
4.1.1 Ultrasonic Sensor
The sensor has an precise range up to about two metres. The output of the
sensor from our program is in the units of centimeters with minor fluctuations in the
readings. The purpose of sensor is to determine when the car passes through the door,
consequently the most important property of the sensor is how prompt of a response is
received by the microcontroller. From results in the testing of this component, there is a
minimal delay that does not hinder the performance of the rest of the system.

19. 4.1.2 Garage Remote and Opener
With the use of a transistor we are able to utilize the function of the remote for
our purposes as expected. Similarly in the garage unit, the transistors have allowed us
to utilize the garage door opener without a delay.
4.1.3 Microcontroller
The Arduino Uno microcontrollers have sufficiently handled the processing
requirements for our system.
4.2 Collective System Testing
Initially, multiple small scale test rig’s were built in order to test and debug the
code and also to test how the components work together. The circuitry for each unit was
built on a breadboard to provide ease of modification. The small scale setup could only
test certain portions of the code since the range of the XBee modules cannot be
changed and this is an important aspect of the program. The final debugging and testing
process had to be full scale, so the entire setup was installed on a garage. The
practical range of the XBee modules was then tested from multiple approaches, and the
entire code was debugged and finalized. Error checking functions were incorporated
into the code in order to ensure that the door cannot be left open at any stage of the
process.

20. 5.0 CONCLUSION
The Automated Garage Door System successfully eliminates the possibility of
accidentally leaving the garage door open. It does so without detracting from the
garages overall security, and operates around the user, not a timer. The user is able to
control the garage normally if they wish, or utilize the Automated Garage Door System.
The system has improved on the existing systems on the market in terms of both
convenience and security. Conventional timer based systems either leave the door
open for an extended time, or require you to rush every time you leave your garage.
Having the system based on the location of the car allows the user to leave at their own
pace, as well as ensuring the garage is left open for a minimal amount of time.
While current systems only close the door, the Automated Garage Door System
allows for the door to be opened before the car is even in the driveway, reducing time
spent waiting for the door to open. Requiring user input rather than using a timer for
closing the door and shutting down the system once the car has returned allows the
user as much time as they need before closing the door. A timer does not allow time to
stray from a routine, be it for removing groceries from the trunk, talking to a neighbor or
simply enjoying a breath of fresh air.

21. To improve upon the current design and make it more marketable, several things
could be done.The XBees could be replaced with generic transceivers, and the
Arduinos could be replaced with generic microcontrollers. This would cut the budget in
half, but would also require much more time and effort to program. Also, a garage door
remote could be constructed to save money, and to eliminate unused features on the
board.

22.
REFERENCES
Big Ideas Inc. (n.d.). Magic Closer Installation Video and Operation. Retrieved from
http://www.magiccloser.com/magic­closer/
Innovative Home Systems LLC. (n.d). Remotely Monitor and Close Your Garage Door.
Retrieved from https://garagehawk.com/
Novalert LLC. (n.d.). Superior Garage Door Security. Retrieved from
http://www.novalert.com/

23.
APPENDIX A
Letter of Transmittal
Johnny Gong, Michael Harvey, Andrew Li, Jael Lumba, Lachlan Pedersen
Faculty of Applied Science
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
March 27, 2014
Estella Qi
Faculty of Applied Science
University of British Columbia
290E CHBE Building
2360 East Mall
Vancouver BC V6T 1Z3
Dear Estella Qi:
Subject: Formal Report Assignment for IGEN 201
In response to your request for a Formal Report as the final assignment for Integrated
Technical Communication 201, we have prepared the enclosed report entitled
“Automated Garage Door System”.
The report presents an investigation of our “Automated Garage Door System” project.
We hope that this report will meet with your approval. If you require further information,
please contact our team leader at j.gong@alumni.ubc.ca.
Respectfully submitted,
__________ __________ __________ __________ __________
Johnny Gong Michael
Harvey
Andrew Li Jael Lumba Lachlan Pedersen

24.
APPENDIX B
Illustration of Stages of System Operation
Figure B.1: Stages of System Operation

25.
APPENDIX C
Images of Components Fitted Into Their Respective Units
Figure C.1: Car Unit

26. Figure C.2: Garage Unit