NFC-Based Smart Card Systems for Educational Applications: Design, Implementation, and Integration

This paper introduces the design, development, and deployment of an NFC-based smart card system tailored explicitly for academic environments, aiming to improve data management, student identification, and administrative automation. Built around the Arduino Uno R3 and PN532 NFC module, the system provides seamless integration with a MariaDB relational database and a Java-based user interface. Key features include student attendance tracking, real-time access to academic records, and secure cloud-based data storage. A role-based access model is implemented to ensure that students and professors have appropriate visibility of data, thereby reinforcing data privacy and security. The system enables students to interact with NFC cards using their smartphones, granting access to personalized academic files stored on platforms such as Google Drive. The software layer, developed using Visual Studio Code and Apache POI for Excel exports, enables robust administrative control over student records, grades, and catalog updates.