The PIC is the central part of our project. It is responsible for controlling the LCD screen, reading and controlling the smartcard, and exchanging data with an external database that resides in a computer.

On the above figure we can see the A, B and C ports, having 4, 8 and 8 pins respectively. These pins can be set to act as in- or outputs. They can be controlled using assembler code. To transport the assembler (.asm) code to the PIC, the code is first compiled on the computer to machine language (.hex) and then sen tot the PIC using the PICkit device, as is shown in the photograph below.

The A ports will be responsible for the communication between the PIC and the bank card. The B ports serve to control the LCD screen. Ports C6 and C7 take care of the communication with the PC using a serial port connection. More information about these specific actions can be found in their respective sections on this website.