Smart Wallet  

Samuel Appiah,  Kevin Pereira, Maria De la Cruz, Oscar Vasquez  

The City College Of New York  

Writing For Engineering 21007 

Professor Jacobson  

May 1, 2023 

 Content  

Introduction 

• Problem Statement / Need for Innovation 
• Proposed Solution 
• Similar Inventions 
• Audience 

Components Of The Smart Wallet 

• Face ID Hardware 
• RFID Blocking 
• Logic Board (CPU, MotherBoard) 
• GPS/Bluetooth 

• Digital Display 
• Smart Lock  
• Carbon Fiber Leather 

Material, Cost and Time 

• Total spent 

• Profits 

Conclusion 

Reference 

Engineering Proposal  

The traditional wallet has always been a necessary accessory, offering a practical and easy way to store cash, identification, and other essentials. Rapid progress in technology has resulted in more advanced methods for protecting our possessions, even our wallets. Although the conventional wallet is still widely used, it provides little to no asset protection. The conventional wallet has had a hard time keeping up with consumers evolving requirements as technology develops. The popularity of contactless payments and digital wallets has made traditional wallets less required for many individuals, and this shift calls for a new invention that will meet their demands and be convenient for them. Designing and creating a physical smart wallet with improved security features is our proposed approach to finding a safe and practical way to manage personal finances. 

Problem Statement / Need for Innovation 

Digital payment methods and traditional wallets have several drawbacks in terms of convenience and security. First off, the possibility of theft or fraud is one of the primary drawbacks of traditional wallets. Credit cards are simple targets for skimming or copying, making the owner exposed to unauthorized charges. Cash can also be lost or stolen, leaving the owner with no money. The absence of cutting-edge features to safeguard owners when their wallets are stolen or lost is another disadvantage of conventional wallets. Finally, carrying a traditional wallet can be extremely uncomfortable because they have been designed to be big, especially when they are loaded with cash, coins, and cards. 

Moving on to the limitations of digital wallets, they can only be used with smartphones or other mobile devices. In some circumstances, using this could prove impractical. Additionally, viruses, hackers, and other security issues can threaten the security of digital wallets on cell phones. Additionally, customers can find it challenging to set up digital wallets, particularly if they are of an older generation or are not tech-savvy.  

Proposed Solution 

Our team was mindful of this market gap and set out to develop a brand-new form of wallet that blends the practicality and comfort of a physical wallet with the cutting-edge capabilities of modern technology. Our suggested physical smart wallet would bridge this gap and offer the ease of a conventional wallet together with contactless payment features as well as advanced encryption technologies.  

Our physical smart wallet comes with several features that improve its use and security. The smart wallet will be an independent item that can run without a smartphone or other electronic device. The wallet will have a facial recognition biometric authentication system to make sure that only the authorized user may access the contents.  

With the help of our physical smart wallet, customers can safely store their credit cards and other forms of payment. Biometric authentication and cutting-edge encryption technology make sure that only the designated user can access the wallet’s contents. Along with keeping credit cards and other things, In case it is lost or stolen, users will be able to find the wallet due to the GPS tracker that is integrated into our smart wallet. To stop electronic skimming that can compromise credit and debit cards, RFID blocking technology will be employed.  

The physical smart wallet’s dual-purpose functionality is one of its main benefits over traditional wallets and digital wallets, and it necessitates the development of such an innovation. Our proposed physical smart wallet will be able to hold physical cards such as credit cards, debit cards, identification, and many more accessories. The smart wallet will contain compartments and slots for traditional cards, making it a flexible tool for managing both electronic and cash payments. This entails that consumers can choose the payment option that best matches their requirements in any given circumstance. 

The physical smart wallet’s appearance and functionality will be carefully considered by our design team. It will be lightweight and compact, making it simple to carry and perfectly sized to fit in a pocket or purse. To ensure durability and resistance to water and other external factors, it will be constructed of durable materials like leather or carbon fiber. This indicates that the wallet will survive longer and offer the consumer more value. 

Similar Inventions 

Numerous innovations resemble the physical smart wallet we propose but fall short in terms of usefulness, security, and convenience. Among these are RFID-blocking wallets, which are intended to stop the unauthorized scanning of cards such as credit cards, and passports using RFID technology. Trackable wallets, which can find a user’s lost or stolen wallet, are another innovation. All of these innovations improve traditional wallets and address issues they have, but they lack the physical smart wallet’s additional safety and biometric authentication. They are unable to provide the same level of protection, durability, and flexibility as our smart wallet. Our physical wallet is designed to overcome the drawbacks of competing technologies and provide users with a superior experience. 

Audience 

Because it provides unique and cutting-edge solutions to the limits and limitations of traditional and digital wallets, our physical smart wallet has the potential to be very marketable. With a vast variety of consumers from different demographics and lifestyles, the wallet market is enormous and diversified. A wide range of consumers, including those who value ease, security, and accessibility, are drawn to our physical smart wallet.  

Our physical smart wallet is a desirable alternative for customers who are tech-savvy and want to keep up with the most recent technological developments due to the developing patterns towards many mobile payments and the growing use of digital identification. However, because of the complexity of digital wallets, some elderly people might prefer a traditional wallet to a digital one. They can still be interested in our physical smart wallets due to their ability to function as physical wallets but with additional security features. The simplicity of being able to serve as both a conventional and a digital wallet is what makes our invention so crucial. Our physical smart wallet can fill the gap between traditional and digital wallets. 

 Components Of The Smart Wallet 

Figure 1: This is how the Smart wallet looks like. 

Face ID Hardware 

To begin with, one of the important parts of this wallet is the Face Id. It will recognize your face with its scanners to be able to unlock. It uses a laser dot projector with infrared dots that will be on the user’s face to identify. Flood illuminator- shines infrared light on the face. Infrared camera- This takes a picture of the face to memorize who you are to unlock.  

Figure 2: Face ID hardware that will be inside the wallet. 

RFID Blocking 

Radiofrequency IDentification is hardware that is currently placed within how cards have contactless payments. It uses a radio frequency for payments.  RFID blocking will be necessary for a wallet because it will block any singles with RFID so that nobody can access your information without permission. 

Figure 3: RFID blocking sheet that will be placed inside the wallet. 

Logic Board 

For the system to work it will need a paired logic board. Within the logic board, it will have a motherboard, CPU, Battery, and Face Id connection. This will be necessary because, without a logic board, its function won’t be able to work. Also, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) it’s like the heart of the smart wallet and will be out of information throughout to continue operation. A small battery will be installed that can be wirelessly charged to have a good experience.   

Figure 4: This is a small logic board that will be configured with Face ID and will have the CPU and battery inside the logic board. The heart of the wallet.  

GPS/Bluetooth 

A space-based radio navigation system called the Global Positioning System (GPS) gives users precise information on their location, speed, and time in any part of the world and every kind of weather. We will implement a GPS in the smart wallet linked to the Bluetooth of the users’ phones, it will enable high-precision positioning based on smartphones. GPS will guarantee that if the user loses the smart wallet, they can track it using their cell phone. 

 Figure 5: Bluetooth and GPS chip together that will connect with the logic board.  

Digital Display 

A digital display is a screen that presents an electronically created image made up of pixels that are lighted to distinguish between text and visual components. Multimedia material is seen on the flat panel screen. We employed an LED screen and software as the smart wallet’s digital display. The 1.4-inch display offers a 1920 x 1080 pixel full HD resolution. The display in the device visually shows the information on how much money the user has in the wallet.  

Figure 6: This will be a display that will tell you much is in your wallet for cash flow and will tell you important security information. 

Smart Lock    

A smart lock is an electromechanical lock that locks and unlocks the smart wallet when triggered by a registered mobile device through Bluetooth. The smart lock uses cutting-edge technology and Internet connectivity to make it easier for users to access and boost protection against attackers. A key that can be electronic, digitally encrypted and Bluetooth-secured is included with the smart lock. The smart wallet uses a customized smartphone key that is configured expressly for this purpose in place of a physical key. This key wirelessly carries out the authentication needed to trigger the wallet’s automated opening. When you lock and open the wallet, the key is managed electronically rather than manually. The smart lock will therefore provide consumers with safety and security. 

Figure 7: This will be the smart lock but will be a smaller version of this.  

Carbon Fiber Leather 

Carbon fiber is both types of polymer. It is made of a highly lightweight material that is also quite robust. The best production material for the smart wallet is carbon fiber since it is lighter than steel and is both stronger and stiffer than steel. In addition to being strong, carbon fiber leather offers a low weight-to-strength ratio, high stiffness, tensile strength, chemical resistance, tolerance to high temperatures, and minimal thermal expansion. Since carbon fiber is stronger than steel, it will ensure not only users’ longevity but also their safety. 

Figure 8: Carbon Fiber leather that will be the protection for the outside of the wallet.  

 Material, Cost and Time 

Our Smart Wallet is made of a carbon fiber leather material that gives extra protection against any RFID signal wave. Another benefit of having a carbon fiber wallet is that carbon fiber is heat resistant and also a durable material. With all the technology that is going inside the wallet, carbon fiber will be protecting you even more. Carbon fiber is a material that is currently not biodegradable, making the material hard to recycle from other uses it had. Our smart wallet is made of carbon fiber that’s been used in other materials which makes it cheaper for cost and better for our planet. By crushing, shredding, or milling, carbon fiber waste or composites with carbon fiber reinforcement are broken down into tiny pieces. 

The production cost of making this wallet is not cheaply built with all the advanced technology it has and the information it can give you. That’s what makes this smart wallet worth it because it is a wallet that has nice aesthetics but has valuable information and keeps all information safe. We believe that cash is king and will never disappear due to its high use in many areas. The production cost to make this smart wallet is $41.41, the selling price will start from $85.00, making the total profits $43 per unit made. This is the future and will slowly improve with software updates appearing. This will be available within the next week and shipped the same week it’s ordered. Here at smart wallet, we check that every product is working properly, has good battery life, and packaging has everything to have an amazing time with the smart wallet.  

 Conclusion 

As a result, our product, the Smart Wallet, is a more advanced and improved version of the boring normal wallet we all know and use. What makes the Smart Wallet a far superior choice is the technology built in within it to keep your cards and cash better secured with facial recognition. Along with these technical advantages, the Smart Wallet also includes a built-in RFID blocker, GPS/Bluetooth, and a digital display to showcase cards, amount of cash, etc.  

The product will also be made of carbon fiber allowing the consumer to experience the luxury of this wallet with a lightweight yet durable material.  With all this put together, we can ensure the quality of the Smart Wallet would be favorable to those looking for a more secure yet more technologically advanced wallet in becoming a far superior choice than our competitors. 

References 

Know face ID & true tone programmers by injured gadgets. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2023, from https://www.injuredgadgets.com/blog/learn-everything-about-face-id-and-true-tone-programmers-by-injured-gadgets/ 

  “Leather Wallets vs. Carbon Fiber Wallets: The Pros and Cons.” COLDFIRE, www.coldfirebrand.com/blogs/luxury-leather-wallets-mens/leather-wallets-vs-carbon-fiber-wallets-the-pros-and-cons. 

  Kirvan, Paul. “What Is Motherboard? – Definition from WhatIs.com.” WhatIs.com, June 2022, www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/motherboard. 

   Martindale, Jon. “What Is a CPU?” Digital Trends, Digital Trends, 18 Oct. 2021, www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-is-a-cpu/. 

         “WHAT DOES a SMART WALLET DO?” Www.woolet.co, www.woolet.co/blog/what-does-a-smart-wallet-do. 

       “Ekster | Time-Saving Carry Essentials.” Ekster.com, ekster.com/collections/all-collections.  

Self Reflection 

At the start of this assignment I was already extremely comfortable since i’ve already gotten myself accustomed to the people around me. However coming up for an innovation on the spot was very difficult. We came up with multiple ideas, such as a bottle that heats and freezes, a 3D printer that does tattoos, a phone case that boosts back up when it falls, and more. At first glance, we thought these were good ideas but they really weren’t. After day 1, we talked about better ideas outside of class in a Imessage chat. Within this, we discussed more possible ideas and the one that sparked all of our interest was for a better version of the wallet. At first we discussed the obvious reasons as to why the wallet might need to be improved in some aspects which was the security and if it got lost. On the next day of class as a group we decided truly what ways we had to improve a wallet, the first thought that came to us was a wallet with facial recognition. After this day, we kept discussing in our group chat about possible other improvements such as RFID, bluetooth, GPS and more. We gave ourselves a deadline of when we must finish our part before the 3^rd class proposal day. On this third day of working on the proposal we working on corrections and revising each others parts. This allowed us to set another deadline for the following  Sunday to work and finish our slides. Upon finishing our slides we struggled for a brand name that was better than “Smart Wallet” so Kevin then decided on “Reveal Smart Wallet”. On the first day of presentations we were already prepared since we wanted to be first to get the presentation out of the way instantly. After the presentation we felt pretty good and pretty confident on our product and how we worked together as a group.