Sourabh Pawade, Shraddha Shah, Prof.

Dhanashree Tijare / International Journal of

Engineering Research and Applications (IJERA) ISSN: 2248-9622 www.ijera.com
Vol. 3, Issue 2, March -April 2013, pp.1463-1468

Zigbee Based Intelligent Driver Assistance System

Sourabh Pawade*, Shraddha Shah**,Prof. Dhanashree Tijare***
*(Department of Electronics & Telecom, G.H.R.C.E, Nagpur.)
** (Department of Electronics & Telecom, G.H.R.C.E, Nagpur.)
*** (Department of Electronics & Telecom, G.H.R.C.E, Nagpur.)

ABSTRACTCurrent driver assistance systems are

based on a number of technologies, such as radar,
computer vision and sensors. Integrating all of
these technologies into a single system is normally
a costly and complex solution. We propose a
complete ZigBee based driver assistance system
solution that leverages the cost-effective, lowpower and secure wireless networking features of
the ZigBee protocol. The solution seeks to alert
and inform the driver whenever the vehicle
approaches a preset waypoint on the road. A
ZigBee-based unit is installed at each waypoint,
broadcasting
relevant
information
to
corresponding ZigBee units embedded in
approaching vehicles. Such a system significantly
reduces the reliance on human vision and onroad lighting conditions.

Keywords - Adaptive Cruze Control, Driver

Assistance Systems, Mesh Network Topology,
Vehicular Communication, Zigbee Protocol.

I. INTRODUCTION
In order to make roads safer, cleaner and
smarter, sensor and communication technologies are
increasingly considered in research, standardization
and development. While todays vehicles are already
able to sense the surrounding environment, we
expect that future cars will communicate with a
roadside communication infrastructure and with
each other. Connected vehicles create a fundamental
building block of intelligent transport systems (ITS)
and can provide numerous application services to
improve safety and comfort of driving.
Current driver assistance systems are based
on a number of technologies such as radar, computer
vision and sensors. Integrating all of these
technologies into a single system is normally a
costly and complex solution. Here we thought of
intruducing zigbee. ZigBee based driver assistance
system solution leverages the cost-effective, lowpower and secure wireless networking features of
the ZigBee protocol.ZigBee-based driver assistance
system provides a very cost-effective alternative to
more expensive commercially adopted systems like
GPS, which provide navigation but do not have any
fore-warning capabilities. Zigbee is specifically
designed to support sensing, monitoring and control
applications with lowest poer consumption. It also

supports mesh networking a feature not found in

most wireless networking standards.
ZigBee is the only standards-based wireless
technology designed to address the unique needs
of low-cost, low-power wireless sensor and control
networks in just about any market. Since ZigBee
can be used almost anywhere, is easy to implement
and needs little power to operate, the opportunity for
growth into new markets, as well as innovation in
existing markets, is limitless.
Motivation for ZigBeeThe ZigBee standard was developed to address the
following needs: Low cost
Secure
Reliable and self healing
Flexible and extendable
Low power consumption
Easy and inexpensive to deploy
Global with use of unlicensed radio bands
Integrated intelligence for network set-up and
message routing

Fig 1.1 Comparision Chart

This highly flexible concept can perform the
following functions:
Alert
the
driver
to
approaching
traffic,streaches of road under maintenance,
school and hospital zones, vehicles approaching

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Sourabh Pawade, Shraddha Shah, Prof. Dhanashree Tijare / International Journal of

Engineering Research and Applications (IJERA) ISSN: 2248-9622 www.ijera.com
Vol. 3, Issue 2, March -April 2013, pp.1463-1468
around a blind corner and many other hazardous
II. THE ZIGBEE NETWORK
conditions.
Serve as milestones, road signs and simple
advertisements such as the menu of a nearby
drive-in restaurant.

Be used as waypoint nodes to record and

transmit traffic statistics, such as the number of
vehicles passing through an intersection. These
nodes can be linked to sensors measuring air
quality, temperature or humidity at important
locations in the city, and all readings can then
be broadcast through a mesh network of various
waypoint nodes to in-car units and a central
gateway node for further processing.

Be used for automated,unmanned toll

collection for parking lots and toll roads where a
secure ZigBee link can help carry out toll
transactions before the vehicle reaches the entry
point.
In summary, any application that requires
car-to-road communication, with a moderate amount
of data involved, would benefit from the solution.
In this paper, we propose and analyze a
hybrid architecture that combines vehicle-tovehicle
communication and vehicle-to-roadside sensor
communication. From the wide range of possible use
cases, we have chosen accident prevention and postaccident investigation, which we regard as important
future services

TYPICAL APPLICATIONSThere are numerous applications that are

ideal for the redundant, self-configuring and selfhealing capabilities of ZigBee wireless mesh
networks. Key ones includeEnergy Management and EfficiencyTo provide
greater information and control of energy usage,
provide customers with better service and more
choice, better manage resources, and help to reduce
environmental impact.
Home AutomationTo provide more flexible
management of lighting, heating and cooling,
security, and home entertainment systems from
anywhere in the home.
Building AutomationTo integrate and centralize
management of lighting, heating, cooling and
security.
Industrial AutomationTo extend existing
manufacturing and process control systems
reliability.

The ZigBee networking stack is built upon

the IEEE 802.15.4 standard that defines the
physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC)
layers for a low-data-rate, low-power network.
ZigBee adds network (NWK) and application (APL)
layer specifications on top of 802.15.4 to complete
what is called the full ZigBee stack.
The solution network has the following types of
ZigBee nodes:

Waypoint Nodes
There are two types of waypoint nodesnetworked and stand-alone. Networked nodes
perform heavy data logging operations and are
permanently linked with a gateway node. Such
nodes could be placed along major thoroughfares,
freeway entrances and exits and at major
intersections. In addition to capturing and
transmitting traffic information, these nodes could
broadcast useful driver information, such as nearby
gas stations or hospitals, car unit nodes. These
waypoint nodes should be capable of handling traffic
on either side of the road. Thus, each car unit would
inform the waypoint node about its heading and the
waypoint node would respond with pertinent
information. Since these nodes are mesh networked
with the gateway node, they can be updated with
information on new landmarks and utilities in their
vicinity.
Stand-alone nodes are temporarily deployed
and may or may not be linked to gateway nodes in
the area. They can be used as emergency notification
nodes that warn approaching traffic about accidents,
construction in progress and other road hazards.
These would be removed once the hazard has been
resolved. Stand-alone waypoints can also serve as
advertisements, which would not require a
connection to the city administration waypoint
network.

Car Unit Nodes

These are nodes placed in each car to
communicate with
waypoint nodes.
These nodes would have a human interface, such as
a keypad, LED display or LCD, for user-friendly
access to the system. Every ZigBee car unit node has
a unique ID assigned to it, much like the vehicles
registration number. At periodic intervals, the car
unit sends out a ping packet that includes the ID.
On receiving a ping, a waypoint unit will transmit a
particular message in return.

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Sourabh Pawade, Shraddha Shah, Prof. Dhanashree Tijare / International Journal of

Engineering Research and Applications (IJERA) ISSN: 2248-9622 www.ijera.com
Vol. 3, Issue 2, March -April 2013, pp.1463-1468
III. MESH NETWORK TOPOLOGY

Fig. 2 Methodology
From the above figure it is clear that at
what places the nodes are to be installed. For
example, at node 1 in figure; we can give
information about construction or accident ahead so
that the driver willing to take that route gets an idea
about the road condition before he takes the turn to
choose that route. Sameway we can warn or infrom
the driver with fluel pump ahead, railway crossing
ahead, speed breaker ahead, milestone along with
the specific speed limit of the road.
For all alert scenarios, the placement of the waypoint
units must allow the alert message to be sent out
early enough to give the driver enough time to react.
The correct placement of the unit depends on the
following factors:Factor 1: The broadcast range of the waypoint unit
or the car unit (whichever is shorter)
Factor 2: The data rate of the ZigBee link between
the car and the waypoint unit.
Factor 3: The average human reaction time.
Factor 4: The posted speed limit, which helps
determine the average distance it takes for the car to
come to a halt.

Mesh topology, also called peer-to-peer,

consists of a mesh of interconnected routers and end
devices. Each router is typically connected through
at least two pathways, and can relay messages for its
neighbours.
As shown in the image above, a mesh network
contains a single coordinator, and multiple routers
and end devices.
Mesh
topology
supports
multi-hop
communications, through which data is passed by
hopping from device to device using the most
reliable communication links and most cost-effective
path until its destination is reached.
The multi-hop ability also helps to provide fault
tolerance, in that if one device fails or experiences
interference, the network can reroute itself using the
remaining devices.
Benefits This topology is highly reliable and robust. Should
any individual router become inaccessible,
alternative routes can be discovered and used.
The use of intermediary devices in relaying data
means that the range of the network can be
significantly increased, making mesh networks
highly scalable.
Weak signals and dead zones can be eliminated by
simply adding more routers to the network.

IV. SYSTEM DETAILS

We introduce the terms mobile unit and
static unit here. The ZigBee unit installed in the
vehicle is called the mobile unit, while a waypoint
unit on the road is the static unit. In a mobile unit, an
LCD screen and an array of LEDs on a vehicles
dashboard serve to display the messages and alert
the driver along with audio warnings. The kind of
LCD used (segmented or color) depends on the kind
of MCU used and the cost of the unit. If the
MCF1322x Platform in a Package (PiP)[1] is
used, then the LCD can be connected via SPI. LEDs
can be applied through GPIOs or RGPIOs and can
be used in a low-cost solution in place of an LCD.
Also, waypoint nodes and gateway nodes do not
require LCDs, as a technician can connect the node
to a laptop to view its information during debug and
maintenance. Audio alerts are a must for all mobile
nodes.
To conserve power, the static unit is in sleep mode
most of the time, waking up when it detects an
approaching vehicle. Solar energy can also be used
to power the waypoint and recharge its batteries for
enhanced 24-hour energy efficiency.

Fig 3. Architecture.

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Sourabh Pawade, Shraddha Shah, Prof. Dhanashree Tijare / International Journal of

Engineering Research and Applications (IJERA) ISSN: 2248-9622 www.ijera.com
Vol. 3, Issue 2, March -April 2013, pp.1463-1468

Fig. 4 Receiver Block Diagram.

Figure Shows the block diagram of the car
unit that is the receiver unit which is embedded in
the car. It is clear from the figure that the zigbee is
interfaced with the microcontroller to receive the
data sent from the zigbee nodes situated outside the
car on the roadside.

Fig 6. Transmitter and Receiver circuit.

The above figure shows the transmitter and
the receiver circuit. Here we have used a MAX 232
IC to make communication possible with the zigbee
module. We have used a 16*4 LCD display for the
receiver unit.

Fig 5. Transmitter and receiver block diagram.

The relevant information that is transmitted
by the zigbee nodes is catched by the car receiver
and the corresponding characters are displaced on
the lcd display which is basically a dot matrix
display. Along with the visual indication we can also
provide the driver with the audio indication such as a
buzzer so that the driver pays attention to the
information that is displayed on the screen.
Along with this information the driver can
also get aware of the engine temperature of the car.
We have introduced a sensor near the engine to
sense the temperature of the engine. If it exceeds a
predetermined value the ignition is cutoff from the
mains and the car is stopped to avoid the overheating
of the engine which can cause a serious issue to the
persons sitting inside a car.

As is needless to say; a majority of

accidents, which occur, are due to drunk driving. As
such, there is no effective mechanism to prevent this.
Along with this assistance system we are planning to
install a drink and drive prevention system. The
alcohol level of the driver is continuously monitored
and when it exceeds a particular limit the fuel supply
is cutoff.
Also nowadays speedy cars are one of the
main reason for accident.So we are installing such a
sytem along with this assistance system that
whenever the driver speeds above the given speed
limit, warning will be given to him. If he dosent
slow down even after the warning the car will
automatically reduce the speed and now the car will
run with the given speed limit irrespective of the
acceleration provided by the driver.

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Sourabh Pawade, Shraddha Shah, Prof. Dhanashree Tijare / International Journal of

Engineering Research and Applications (IJERA) ISSN: 2248-9622 www.ijera.com
Vol. 3, Issue 2, March -April 2013, pp.1463-1468
Drink and Drive Prevention System

Fig 7. Flow chart for Drink and Drive Prevention

system.
Drunk driving is a big problem in every
part of the nation. In 2009 alone, over 10,000 traffic
fatalities were linked directly to drivers who had
blood alcohol levels above the legal limit. Alcohol
sensors can help to prevent these accidents. There
are three common alcohol sensing technologies. One
is a sniffer, which detects alcohol in the air or in the
breath of the driver.
Sniffers can detect trace amounts of alcohol
in the air. They can be used to determine if the
person behind the steering wheel is drunk. An
advantage is that sniffer systems do not require skin
contact and can operate at a distance. Sniffers placed
in the vicinity of a driver are capable of measuring
the driver's breath or tissue for alcohol. This
technology is rather small and can be placed into law
enforcement flashlights to determine whether a
driver has alcohol on his or her breath or whether a
drink has alcohol in it. Alcohol can be detected in
the air of a car, even when the windows are halfdown and the air conditioning is on. Systems
employing these sensors can lock a car's ignition if
the driver is too impaired to drive legally.
Speed Control System
It is known that road accidents are
increasing day by day. Most of these road accidents
are caused because the automobiles are driven at
high speeds even in the places where sharp turnings
and junctions exist [1]. Running the automobiles
even at those places is the main cause for the
accidents. Reduction of number of such accidents is
the prime step needed to be taken. Many systems
have been developed to prevent these road accidents.
One of them is Cruise control system (CC) [2] that is

\capable of maintaining speed defined by the driver

and its later evolution version Adaptive Cruise
Control (ACC) [3] that keeps the automobile at safer
distance from the preceding vehicle. But these
systems have no capability to detect the
actual speed limit of the road which is required for
safer transportation. So we are proposing a system in
which the zigbee node placed on the roadside
broadcasts the speed limit of the road. The receiver
in the car gets the speed limit and gives the control
to the speed check circuit. If it is found that the car is
over speeding; the speed control is taken by the
controller and the car runs with the specified speed
limit as broadcasted by the zigbee node.

Fig 8. Flow chart of speed control system.

In our proposed design automobile is
always in either Normal mode or Active mode. An
automobile operates in normal mode until wireless
module receives any data packet from the
transmitter.
In
Active
mode
of
operation
microcontroller unit continuously studies the speed
of the car. To control the speed of the car according
to the limits we have developed the fuzzy logic. If
the speed of the car is above the Maximum speed
limit, then it sends the digital signal to the ECU such
that speed of the automobile will be decreased.
When the accelerator pedal is moved to increment
the speed, microcontroller calculates the speed that
would be reached on the new pedal position. If the
speed is greater than the maximum speed limit then
it denies excess speed and gives appropriate signal to
the ECU.

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Sourabh Pawade, Shraddha Shah, Prof. Dhanashree Tijare / International Journal of

Engineering Research and Applications (IJERA) ISSN: 2248-9622 www.ijera.com
Vol. 3, Issue 2, March -April 2013, pp.1463-1468
FUTURE SCOPE
For future scope we propose and analyze a
hybrid architecture that combines vehicle-to vehicle
communication and vehicle-to-roadside sensor
communication. From the wide range of possible use
cases, we have chosen accident prevention which we
regard as important future service. For accident
prevention, roadside sensor nodes measure the road
condition at several positions on the surface,
aggregate the measured values and communicate
their aggregated value to an approaching vehicle.
The vehicle generates a warning message and
distributes it to all vehicles in a certain geographical
region.

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

V. CONCLUSION
In this paper we discussed the importance
of an efficient driver assistance system and how it
can help us improve safety standards on the road.
The solution can significantly reduce the risk to
drivers and enable better traffic management.
Our ZigBee-based driver assistance system
provides a very cost-effective alternative to more
expensive commercially adopted systems like GPS,
which provide navigation but do not have any forewarning capabilities..We showcased a number of
ZigBee-enabled application scenarios related to
automotive and road safety, such as data logging,
information broadcasting and driver alerts.

[8]

[9]

[10]

Zonal Location and Asset Tracking with

ZigBee
Technology
(using
RSSI),
Cambridge Consultants (Oct. 12, 2006),
www.zigbee.org/imwp/idms/popups/pop_d
ownload.asp?contentID=9567
Research On The Road To Intelligent Cars,
ScienceDaily
(Mar.
11,
2006),
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/06
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Intelligent Cruise Control. IEEE Trans.
Veh. Technol. 1993, 42, 657672.
http://www.atmel.com/dyn/resources/prod_
documents /doc8154.pdf this document
contains the description ofatmelmega16A
microcontroller.
Lusetti, B.; Nouveliere, L.; Glaser, S.;
Mammar, S.Experimental Strategy for A
System Based Curve Warning System for A
Safe Governed Speed of A Vehicle.
Designing a ZigBee-ready IEEE 802.15.4compliant radio transceiver,
http://rfdesign.com/mag/radio_designing_zi
gbeeready_ieee/
M Ozaki, Y. Adachi, Y. Iwahori, and N.
Ishii,
Application of fuzzy theory to
writer recognition of Chinese characters,
International Journal of Modelling and
Simulation, 18(2), 1998, 112-116.

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