What is Open Source?

Open Source is standardised hardware and/or software which is openly available on the common market. This means reduced costs in development and production, plus it gives the added bonus of hardware being supportable by other companies, long product life span and cost effective upgrading. It also means a bespoke system can be delivered for less than many big brand off-the-shelf  systems.  Modules supplied by OSCS will typically be based on Arduino and/or Raspberry Pi products. Connections are typically CAT5, USB, RS232 or other serial.

Open Source is at the core of most web sites and bank systems, it is pioneered by often unpaid volunteers who are involved for the challenge of creating something stable and secure, then perfected to meet the needs of the organisation by dedicated staff. Here at OSCS we use hardware developed by the Open Source community then craft our software for a secure and reliable system.

Door Entry Systems

Door entry systems is where we started and they are still the core of out business - see [HERE] for further details.

IoT - Home & Premises Integration

For a programmer wanting to integrate functionality of a home or business premises, the amount of electronics needed is often daunting and beyond their skill set.  There are many devices out there which can be connected to a computer, but often drivers are needed or some USB interface.  We've made it easy with a range of interfaces which are managed by simple URL requests.  See [HERE] for further details.

Modem Monitor

This small box will plug into one of the ports on your modem and constantly check for an Internet connection to a very reliable IP address.  If the connection fails it will cut the power to the modem for a few seconds, causing the modem to reboot.  See [HERE] for further details.

Integrated Intranet

Imagine a business or campus Intranet where physical items are integrated.  Well, that’s what we do.  For most existing paid vending machines we can create a new interface with a digital display to allow payment via an Intranet system. This is particularly useful for students and staff where a limited number of freebies is offered every week (or day) then additional can be bought.

Software

Where our own software has been developed, debugging "soak-tests" are carried out with a minimum of one million repetitions in order to look for memory leaks or potential network issues that may cause problems for hardware. 

We use a range of of programming languages, including C++, Python, PHP, MySQL, Bash Script, JavaScript.  As our software is our own, it puts us in the perfect position.

Bespoke Additions and Interfacing

As we use off the shelf Open Source hardware and our own software (developed using a range of programming languages, including C++, Python, PHP, MySQL, Bash Script, JavaScript), it puts us in the perfect position to build bespoke interfaces (both hardware and software) to link our Entry System to your environment.  Based on the same access cards, additional services can be integrated at very low cost:

• Staff in/out display
• Time sheets
• Payment via credit system (coffee, vending, on-line booking of events, organisation meals, organisation transport)
• Light control

Long Life

Based on off-the-shelf components (Arduino and/or Raspberry Pi modules) with a variety of OSCS software, costs are kept to a minimum, spares are readily available and timeframes from concept to fulfilment are kept narrow.

We guarantee parts will be maintained for the duration of the product’s manufacture and for a period of five years thereafter. Where original component parts are no longer available, an upgraded version will be offered during that period.