BlogMania

A simple parking gate system with arduino!

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Introduction

Have you ever thought about how parking gates open automatically when a car approaches?
Well.. in this project, I set out to build a smart parking gate using an Arduino UNO R3, a servo motor, and an ultrasonic sensor.
The idea is simple: detect when a car (or an object.. anything basically) is near, and automatically lift the gate.

It’s a small but fun automation project that combines electronics, coding, and real-world application!

What You’ll Need

Arduino UNO (or any microcontroller)
Ultrasonic sensor (HC-SR04) or IR sensor
Servo motor (to act as the gate arm)
Breadboard and jumper wires
Power supply (USB or battery pack)
(Optional) LED lights & an LCD display for additional signals

How It Works

Simple diagram of the project, made in Wokwi

First, the ultrasonic sensor continuously measures the distance in front of the gate. To get this reading accurately, I averaged multiple samples from the ultrasonic sensor:

float getAverageDistance() {
  long total = 0;
  const int samples = 5;

  for (int i = 0; i < samples; i++) {
    digitalWrite(PIN_TRIG, LOW);
    delayMicroseconds(2);
    digitalWrite(PIN_TRIG, HIGH);
    delayMicroseconds(10);
    digitalWrite(PIN_TRIG, LOW);

    long duration = pulseIn(PIN_ECHO, HIGH, 30000);
    float distance = duration * 0.034 / 2;

    if (distance > 0 && distance < 400) {
      total += distance;
    } else {
      total += 400; // assume max range if error
    }
    delay(10);
  }
  return total / samples;
}

This helps filter out noisy readings and ensures the servo only reacts when a car is actually present.

When a car comes within a set distance (e.g., 10 cm), the Arduino sends a signal to the servo motor and other indicators (in here, I used a 16x2 LCD and 2 LEDs).

if (jarak > 0 && jarak <= 10) {
  palangServo.write(90); // open gate
  digitalWrite(PIN_LED_R, LOW);
  digitalWrite(PIN_LED_G, HIGH);
  lcd.print("Status: Buka");
  isOpen = true;
  lastOpenTime = currentTime;
}

The green LED turns on when the gate is open, while the red LED remains off.

After 2 seconds, the system closes the gate again:

else {
  palangServo.write(0); // close gate
  digitalWrite(PIN_LED_R, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(PIN_LED_G, LOW);
  lcd.print("Status: Tutup");
  isOpen = false;
}

Here, the red LED turns on, indicating that the gate is closed.

(Optional, last step) LCD + RemoteXY connection and display.

I also experimented with adding a 16x2 LCD to display the distance and status, plus the RemoteXY app so I could monitor the gate from my phone over a Wi-Fi point (this requires an additional ESP8266 module).

Full Code

The full code will be released on 17th of September.. 😉

The End!

Thank you for reading this far into this first guide that I made, hopefully this can inspire you guys to build more awesome and usefull stuff for everyday activities!

Happy coding!

Special guest at Ruangguru's collaboration with UOB

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A documentary image, taken by Humas Kemenko PMK (Balai Sarbini, Jakarta)

Background

Have you ever imagined giving a speech in front of 1,000 students and six officials?
That was exactly what I experienced at Ruangguru's biggest event — a collaboration with UOB My Digital Space.

The program offers free courses on coding and AI development for students across the country.
And this time, I wasn’t just part of the audience. I was invited as a guest speaker at the event.

The Event

Picture taken by Saifullah, Muhammad Wildan (2025)

This event was part of Ruangguru and UOB's initiative to strengthen digital literacy and create more opportunities in technology and education.
The program, called My Digital Space, focuses on preparing students for the challenges of the digital era, with a strong emphasis on Artificial Intelligence.

The event featured discussions, workshops showcasing students' projects, and sharing sessions from people with different backgrounds.
It was not only a place to present your own work, but also a chance to learn from the creativity and ideas of many other students.

My Project: Real-Time Sign Language Interpretation

For my session, I presented my project called Real-Time Sign Language Interpretation.
This project was built to address a very real challenge: in Indonesia, the deaf community often struggles to communicate with others. My goal was to use technology to help bridge that gap.

Here are the key points from my short speech:

I introduced myself and explained why I built the project.
The system uses deep learning to recognize hand movements, which are then converted into letters or words.
This allows people to communicate more easily and naturally, even if they don’t know sign language.
In summary, I highlighted that technology can be beneficial to all people, including the deaf community, and can bring us closer together.

Q&A with Officials

Picture taken by Saifullah, Muhammad Wildan (2025)

After my presentation, I had the chance to respond to remarks and questions from two very important people:

Mr. Wee Ee Cheong (CEO of UOB) said that my project was really good and could be helpful for many people. Hearing this from him was very encouraging.
Mr. Abdul Mu’ti (Menteri Kemdikbud) asked me about my future plans. I shared that I want to continue learning more about AI and that I hope to study at top universities like NTU or NUS to deepen my knowledge.

At the Booth

Photo taken by Kompas from article https://www.kompas.id/artikel/koding-dan-ai-disukai-siswa-arahkan-manfaatnya-pada-kemanusiaan

Besides giving my speech, I also had a booth where I showcased the project.
Many people came to see it — principals, teachers, and students from other schools, as well as employees of Ruangguru and UOB.

It was inspiring to see the interest and support from so many different people. Some shared their feedback, while others simply wanted to learn how the system worked.

A MILESTONE OF MY LIFE!

Being part of this event was an unforgettable experience. Not only did I get to present my project on such a big stage, but I also had the chance to connect with leaders, educators, and fellow students who share the same passion for technology and education.

I am grateful to Ruangguru and UOB for the opportunity, and I hope my project can continue to grow and one day make a real difference for the deaf community!

News Sources

These are the news sources that documented my speech and project:

https://www.kompas.id/artikel/koding-dan-ai-disukai-siswa-arahkan-manfaatnya-pada-kemanusiaan
https://www.kemenkopmk.go.id/menko-pmk-ajak-pelajar-berani-berimajinasi-dari-coding-bisa-lahir-solusi-untuk-bangsa
https://www.detik.com/edu/sekolah/d-8071032/ketika-mendikdasmen-muti-terkesan-dengan-inovasi-koding-ai-murid-sd-sma And much more!

Penetration Testing Internship at TACO

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Images in this blog have been intentionally blurred to protect the company’s confidentiality.

The Beginning

After over 6 years of coding experience, especially in game and web development, I became really interested in trying out the cyber community. At first, I was mostly just doing it for silly (..seriously silly) stuff and not so much for career knowledge.

But then, all of a sudden, a company (not just any company) invited me to do an internship in cybersecurity, playing the role of a penetration tester. I was obviously shocked to receive this letter, because this was my first time applying this knowledge to a real-world case.

But well, why shouldn’t I accept it? I guess it really is time to test my skills.

My Task

So my task is simple: just find a vulnerability without knowing the backend structure (basically Black Box Penetration Testing). No, it’s not actually simple (😭)..

The existing security features

On my first visit to the "sandbox" environment, I was shocked to see that it was actually much harder than doing CTF problems—or at least that’s what I thought.

Simple login page of one of the websites at TACO

The first thing I saw was a simple login page with a PHP backend. I immediately thought about SQL Injection or Request Poisoning, but when I tried to brute-force those requests, I noticed that the backend had a rate limiter (probably some kind of WAF implemented) that blocked them. I then had to change my IP to unblock the requests, so I figured I should try using a rotating IP/Proxy.

But with no luck… I’m sure the backend has a secure way of communicating with the SQL database. I almost gave up at this point because of the lack of findings.

An interesting find

But then, I ran the company’s domain through a Certificate Search, and it turned out there were a lot of subdomains that might be useful in helping me find a vulnerability. Most of them were unused, but I found one really helpful domain that used a Strapi interface.

From this finding, I was really shocked to discover that Strapi has a lot of vulnerabilities, so I searched for more information about them. I then tried to apply those vulnerabilities and, surprise-surprise, I managed to create a privileged user on the backend with administrative access to the company’s API.

Me attempting a payload pollution attack to create a privileged user

Report

Of course after doing all of these, I need to make a report of my findings. This was also the first time making reports for these stuffs, so I asked ChatGPT for a help in making the report sound professional and easy to read to general people.

Respond from the company

I received a response from the company about a week after sending my report. And to my surprise, they were genuinely impressed with my findings. They acknowledged the severity of the vulnerability and thanked me for responsibly disclosing it.

This was the moment I truly realized that my passion for cybersecurity could go beyond just curiosity and practice—it could actually make a real impact in the industry.

New skills I learn

This internship didn’t just teach me new skills — it made me even more passionate about cybersecurity. I also got a real look into how security works in the real industry, and how insanely important cybersecurity is in today’s digital world (to stop those pesky lil' hackers!).

Winning 3rd Place at NCC-2024

Sat, 07 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

National Coding Competition 2024

The National Coding Competition 2024, organized by KodingNext, was pretty intense and challenging. But the process was also really fun, especially meeting new friends and developers from all across the country. I even managed to make a close friend, and we still collaborate to develop games to this day!

My Project, "Kampungku"

My main project for this competition was a story-based game called "Kampungku" or "My Village". It was a simple story game, with the goal of the player being to reduce air pollution in their village.

So, what makes it special?

Well, as you can see, I spent 80% of my time on this project working on the graphics. I believe that the first thing people notice when playing a game isn’t the storyline or message, but the look and creativity of the game—especially the graphics.

Not only that, I also focused on writing clean code. Clean code doesn’t just mean code that is easy to read, but code that is well-structured, maintainable, and scalable. This helps reduce bugs and makes the development process much simpler.

And last but not least, the story. I feel like this was the only project in the competition with a really focused storyline. The instructions given by the committee were just to create a game that focused on reducing air pollution. That’s what made me optimistic that my project could stand out and catch the judges’ attention.

The Final Stage

Well, surprise surprise! My project made it to the final stage of the competition! I was really shocked and happy about this news, as it was my first time reaching the final stage at a national level.

My preparations

Honestly, at first I thought I didn’t need to prepare anything and could just give it a go… but I quickly realized that was a bad idea.

First, I had to dig deep into why I chose this project, and what impact I thought it could have if it were actually published.
Then came the presentation. I had to make it interesting and engaging for the judges. This was difficult because I have a BAD history with public speaking (I’m an introvert 😔). But I knew I had to overcome it, so I practiced by speaking in front of my family, friends, and even my class.
And of course, I prayed that no bugs would appear during my live demo (😭). To be extra safe, I even hard-coded some parts to prevent unexpected errors during runtime.

The presentation

This was definitely the scariest part for me (lol). It was my first time presenting in front of four judges and a crowd full of kids and parents. My heart was racing like crazy while waiting for my name to be called. But I told myself: “Forget the crowd, just do your thing.” And that’s exactly what I did.

Surprisingly, the presentation went really well! I managed to calm myself down and focus on what I needed to say. Once I stepped off the stage, my parents were really proud of me—they even showed me a recording of my presentation. 😅

Winner Announcement!

Okay, now THIS was the most INTENSE part of the final. I was nervous about whether my project was good enough and whether my presentation had gone well. My brain was filled with all sorts of scenarios (mostly negative ones), and I could barely focus while waiting for the results.

When the MC began announcing the Roblox project winners, my heart was pounding. First place… not me. Second place… not me. Third place… AND IT WAS MY NAME! I was so happy to be called on stage, receiving gifts and (most importantly) a certificate. My whole family was proud of me—and I was proud of myself too!

That day was one of the best days of my life: winning 3rd Place at a national level, and presenting for the very first time in front of a large audience. It was truly a new and valuable experience that I’ll never forget.

Link of the project!

If you're interested to try or test out my project, check it out on Roblox here: https://www.roblox.com/games/76262004459760/Kampungku