Build kit

The ATM

The second kit in the How Things Work series, the sequel to The Payment Card. Around the same processor that sits in your card you build an ATM: a keypad, a segment screen, a bank with the card keys and balances, a card port and a slot for two cards. The ATM asks for the PIN, checks with challenge-response that the card is genuine and gives out money — and does not let in a fake card with the right number and PIN. At the end the ATM folds into one chip. It is a teaching model of the principle, not a real ATM. 15,062 transistors.

The introduction and lessons 0–1 are free; the rest opens after purchase.

AMOUNT050ACCOUNT 1 BALANCE 200123456789CAN0ENTcard slot15,062 TRANSISTORS

What is inside

  1. Introduction
  2. History: from a paper cheque to a chip
  3. Lesson 1. The ATM processor: the same one as in the card
  4. Lesson 2. The keypad: 12 keys — 4 wires
  5. Lesson 3. The screen: words and digits
  6. Lesson 4. The bank: card keys and balances
  7. Lesson 5. The card port: the slot and a random challenge
  8. Lesson 6. A session: the PIN and the card check
  9. Lesson 7. Money: the amount, the balance, the payout
  10. Lesson 8. A fake and the ATM as a chip
  11. Summary
  12. All the parts
  13. Instructions in pictures