Design and Construction of a Vehicle Tracking and Accident Alert System Using GPS and GSM Module
Chapter One
Project aim and objectives
The aim of this project is to Design and Construct a Vehicle Tracking and Accident Alert System using GPS and GSM Technology.
Objectives of this project are:
- To study and investigate the basic operation of the GPS
- To design the GPS/GSM and Push button based on the
- To ensure design perfection through simulation and breadboard
- To implement the designed system on a hardware
- To analyze the efficiency of the developed
CHAPTER TWO
BACKGROUND
In this chapter, the articles of the GPS history, GSM communication technology, brief on the components theory and a description couple of similar projects are covered.
HISTORY OF GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS)
The GPS System was created and realized by the American Department of Defense (DOD) and was originally based on and run with 24 satellites (21 satellites being required and 3 satellites as replacement). Nowadays, about 30 active satellites orbit the earth in a distance of 20200 km. GPS satellites transmit signals which enable the exact location of a GPS receiver, if it is positioned on the surface of the earth, in the earth atmosphere or in a low orbit. GPS is being used in aviation, nautical navigation and for the orientation ashore. Further it is used in land surveying and other applications where the determination of the exact position is required. The GPS signal can be used without a fee by any person in possession of a GP (wikipedia, 2016) receiver (U.S. Department of State, 2013).
In 1973, Decision has been made to develop a satellite navigation system based on the systems TRANSIT, TIMATION und 621B of the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy. Four years later, First receiver tests are performed even before the first satellites are stationed in the orbit. Transmitters are instal ed on the earth’s surface cal ed Pseudolites (Pseudo satellites). By 1985, a total of 11 Block I satellites are launched into the orbit. Decision has been made to expand the GPS system. Thereupon the resources are considerably shortened and the program is restructured. At first only 18 satellites should be operated. 1988 the number of satellites is again raised to 24, as the functionality is not satisfying with only 18 satellites.
Launching of the first Block I satellite carrying sensors to detect atomic explosions, this satellite is meant to control the abidance of the agreement of 1963 between the USA and the Soviet Union to refrain from any nuclear tests on the earth, submarine or in space. When a civilian airplane of the Korean Airline (Flight 007) was shot down after it had gone lost over Soviet territory, it was decided to allow the civilian use of the GPS system. In 1986, the accident of the space shuttle “Challenger” means a drawback for the GPS program, as the space shuttles were supposed to transport Block II GPS satellites to their orbit. Finally the operators of the program revert to the Delta rockets intended for the transportation in the first place.
In 1989, the first Block II satellite was installed and activated temporal deactivation of the selective availability (SA) during the Gulf war. In this period civil receivers should be used as not enough military receivers were available. On July 01, 1991 SA is activated again. The Initial Operational Capability (IOC) is announced in 1993. In the same year it is also definitely decided to authorize the world wide civilian use free of charge.
The last Block II satellite completes the satellite constellation in 1994. Full Operational Capability (FOC) is announced the following year. In 2000, was the final deactivation of the 100m to 20m? (Global Sytem for Mobile Communication, 2016)
GSM TECHNOLOGY
GSM is a cellular network, which means that mobile phones connect to it by searching for cells in the immediate vicinity. GSM networks operate in four different frequency ranges. Most GSM networks operate in the 900 MHz or 1800 MHz bands. Some countries in the Americas (including Canada and the United States) use the 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands because the 900 and 1800 MHz frequency bands were already allocated (Al-Hindawi, 2012).
GSM has used a variety of voice codecs to squeeze 3.1 kHz audio into between 5.6 and 13 Kbit/s. Originally, two codecs, named after the types of data channel they were allocated, were used, called Half Rate (5.6 Kbit/s) and Full Rate (13 Kbit/s). These used a system based upon linear predictive coding (LPC). In addition to being efficient with bitrates, these codecs also made it easier to identify more important parts of the audio, allowing the air interface layer to prioritize and better protect these parts of the signal. GSM was further enhanced in 1997 with the Enhanced Full Rate (EFR) codec, a 12.2 Kbit/s codec that uses a full rate channel. Finally, with the development of UMTS, EFR was refactored into a variable-rate codec called AMRN arrow band, which is high quality and robust against interference when used on full rate channels, and less robust but still relatively high quality when used in good radio conditions on half-rate channels.
There are five different cell sizes in a GSM network—macro, micro, Pico, femto and umbrella cells. The coverage area of each cell varies according to the implementation environment. Macro cells can be regarded as cells where the base station antenna is installed on a mast or a building above average roof top level. Micro cells are cells whose antenna height is under average roof top level; they are typically used in urban areas. Picocells are small cells whose coverage diameter is a few dozen meters; they are mainly used indoors. Femtocells are cells designed for use in residential or small business environments and connect to the service provider’s network via a broadband internet connection. Umbrella cells are used to cover shadowed regions of smaller cells and fill in gaps in coverage between those cells (wikipedia, 2016).
The modulation used in GSM is Gaussian minimum-shift keying (GMSK), a kind of continuous- phase frequency shift keying. In GMSK, the signal to be modulated onto the carrier is first smoothed with a Gaussian low-pass filter prior to being fed to a frequency modulator, which greatly reduces the interference to neighboring channels (adjacent channel interference).
GSM MODEM
A GSM modem is a wireless modem that works with a GSM wireless network. A wireless modem behaves like a dial-up modem. The main difference between them is that a dial-up modem sends and receives data through a fixed telephone line while a wireless modem sends and receives data through radio waves.
A GSM modem can be an external device or a PC Card / PCMCIA Card. Typically, an external GSM modem is connected to a computer through a serial cable or a USB cable. A GSM modem in the form of a PC Card / PCMCIA Card is designed for use with a laptop computer. It should be inserted into one of the PC Card / PCMCIA Card slots of a laptop computer. Like a GSM mobile phone, a GSM modem requires a SIM card from a wireless carrier in order to operate (wikipedia, 2016).
SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY MODULE (SIM)
One of the key features of GSM is the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), commonly known as a SIM card. The SIM is a detachable smart card containing the user’s subscription information and phone book. This allows the user to retain his or her information after switching handsets. Alternatively, the user can also change operators while retaining the handset simply by changing the SIM. Some operators will block this by allowing the phone to use only a single SIM, or only a SIM issued by them; this practice is known as SIM locking, and is illegal in some countries.
AIRBAG SAFETY
An airbag is a type of vehicle safety device and is an occupant restraint system. The airbag module is designed to inflate extremely rapidly then quickly deflate during a collision or impact with a surface or a rapid sudden declaration. It consist of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, inflation module and impact sensor. The purpose of the airbag is to provide the occupants a soft cushioning and restraint during a crash event to prevent any impact or impact caused injuries between the flailing occupant and the interior of vehicle. The airbag provides an energy absorbing surface between the vehicles occupants and a steering wheel.
In VTAA system, the airbag when busted pushes the pushbutton which sends a signal to the microcontroller that there had been an accident. Message is then sent to the defined number showing that an accident had occurred in a particular location.
Chapter Three
METHODOLOGY
In this proposed work, a novel method of vehicle tracking and accident alarm system used to track the theft vehicle by using GPS and GSM technology. This system puts into sleeping mode while the vehicle handled by the owner or authorized person otherwise goes to active mode, the mode of operation changed by in person or remotely. If any accident occur, then the push button attached to the air bag senses a signals and sends and SMS to the microcontroller. The controller issues the message about the accident of the vehicle to the car owner or authorized person.
MAJOR COMPONENTS USED:
- ATMEGA 8AVR
- Parallax GPS Receiver Module
- SIM800
- PUSH BUTTON
- POWER SUPPLY
To ascertain perfection in the design of the project, simulation was carried out using Proteus software. It was quite a bit of challenge to run as the library for the GSM and GPS module are not readily available on the software. This challenge was mitigated by downloading and installing the GPS and GSM module library through the software. I was finally able to conduct the simulation as shown in Figure3.2. The virtual GPS readings (point coordinates) were observed and the ideal behavior of the system was confirmed before running connection test on breadboard then permanently on flux board.
CHAPTER FOUR
TESTING, ANALYSIS OF RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Hardware Assembling and Testing:
First step taken was creating flux board layout for the circuit diagram. After then, the following steps were then followed.
- Assemble all the components on the flux board based on circuit TX and RX pins of the GSM modem to pins 13 and 14 of MAX 232 and insert a valid SIM in theGSM modem.
- Connect the GPS module according to circuit
- The project was implemented and tested
- This system is very useful and secure for car
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSIONS
Vehicle tracking system makes better fleet management and which in turn brings large profit. Better scheduling or route planning can enable us handle larger job loads within a particular time. Vehicle tracking both in case of personal as well as business purpose improves safety and security, communication medium, performance monitoring and increases productivity. So in the coming year, it is going to play a major role in our day-to-day living.
Main motto of the accident alert system project is to decrease the chances of losing life in such accident which we can’t stop from occurring. Whenever accident is alerted the paramedics are reached to the particular location to increase the chances of life. This device invention is much more useful for the accidents occurring in deserted places and midnights. This vehicle tracking and accident alert feature plays much more important role in day to day life in future. In my thesis I have developed a vehicle tracking system that is flexible, customizable and accurate. The GSM modem was configured and I tested and implemented the tracking system to monitor the vehicle’s location via SMS and online on Google map. To display the position on Google map I have used Google map API. The microcontroller is the brain of the system and the GSM modem is controlled by AT commands that enable data transmission over GSM network while the GPS provide the location data. Whenever the GPS receives a new data it is updated in the database and hence the location is viewed on Google map. The system provides accurate data in real time that makes it possible for the user to track the vehicle and it also enables an early retrieval if the car is stolen. This thesis has widely increased my knowledge of GPS and also improved my programming skills.
LIMITATIONS
While this advanced technology based tracking system can benefit users, company or any organization, there are also some limitations to using this vehicle tracking devices.
- Often GPS takes time to connect with the network due to poor weather For the GPS to work properly, it needs to have a clear view of the sky. That is it is unlikely to work indoor or may even have problem outside where it has no clear path of transmitting toand receiving signal from satellites. Therefore, due to obstacles like tall buildings or such infrastructure which block view of the sky, often causes multipath error to the receiving signal of the GPS receiver. As a result, location seems to appear to jump from one place to another leading to inaccurate results. Thus incorrect values of latitude and longitude are sent to the server, for displaying in the Google map on error being initialized.
FUTURE WORK
The recommendations for future work are as follows:
- Investigate how to protect the data collected on the website by making sure users only get toaccess only those devices that they are authorized Generally increased security to protect Vehicle tracker identity.
- To develop a mobile application for the different types of mobile Operating Systems rather than just using a desktop
- Developing a means to show track record of wherethe vehicle has been rather than just the position it is
Design Constraints
The accuracy of this system will depend on number of BTSs in a particular tracking area; so, the higher the number of BTSs (Base Transceiver Systems), the greater the accuracy. This system will accurately work at certain regions according to above constraint. The response time of the proposed system also depends on the response time of the GSM network and the LBS (Location Based Service). It is assumed that the LBS will always give accurate location information upon requests. It is also assumed that availability and accessibility of GSM network and its backend system are high and there is no down time in the GSM network and the LBS. It is also assumed that, the system might diverse from its normal operation under the circumstances of low signal strength areas such as inside tunnels and subways. The system might not perform well under extreme conditions such as high voltage and high noise areas which may cause to damage the strength of the microwave signals.
Contribution to knowledge
The major contribution to knowledge established by this project based on research is the addition of an Accident Alert System and the approach applied towards achieving it. The push button added to the system that signals an accident at burst of airbag makes the VTAA system to be a more advanced form of the conventional vehicle tracking system.
Critical appraisal
The design work carried out for Vehicle Tracking and accident alert system was the major challenge in the entire development process. Owing to limitations observed in previous method employed, it was quite difficult to reach the method employed in this project as illustrated in Methodology (CHAPTER THREE). This method is cheaper and of a better utility. Software simulation using Proteus was very challenging as the modules are not readily available on the software. I was able to scale through after hours of research by downloading a library for each module and installing through the software, then finally conduct the simulation as shown in Figure3.2. The virtual GPS readings (point coordinates) were observed and the ideal behavior of the system was confirmed before making breadboard connection.
The design of this system has helped in broadening my horizon on circuit designs and difference in signal strengths by local networks. This design has also taught me the importance of certain components in circuits, their respective roles, and how to use them as an interface to a microcontroller in a coordinated manner.
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