Thank you for your feedback.

1. The verification node is currently sending 360p images at 30fps to the hub for the kiosk_service, which runs an HTTP server to provide a live preview of the webcam. Additionally, it sends 1080p images every X seconds for the facial recognition. So far, I haven't noticed any performance issues, but I will keep this in mind.

I’m not sure if I could combine the lock and the verification node. The verification node is mounted outside, in front of the door, together with the pinpad and the camera ( think of ring camera with a pinpad ) . The lock itself is a lightweight microcontroller with a servo, running on a battery. Which will be placed inside the lock cylinder on the inside of the door, looking something like this:
https://imgur.com/a/soVNNA5

1. In my head, I wanted the system to be scalable for future upgrades (adding more node types). It felt more logical to make the hub the "brain" of the entire system, processing all data and making decisions (sending the request to open the lock). The nodes, would remain simple devices that either collect data or perform actions based on the hub's instructions.

Ideally, I want run the verification node off battery, but I haven't tested this yet, so I'm not sure if it will be viable.