International Journal of Science and Technology Volume 5 No.

12, December, 2016

Real Time Vehicle Tracking Using Arduino Mega

Humaid Alshamsi, Veton Këpuska, Hazza Alshamsi
Florida Institute of Technology
Melbourne FL, USA

ABSTRACT
Automobiles are necessary for the movement of goods from one location to another. Consumers may face several problems as a
result of delays in the delivery of goods. This delay may be due to drivers choosing incorrect or longer routes when delivering. To
avoid these challenges, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is increasingly being used for management of vehicle fleets, recovery
of stolen vehicles, mapping and surveillance. This paper outlines the design and implementation of a real time GPS tracker system
using Arduino. When a user makes a call on the number that is registered on the GPS-GSM shield attached to Arduino, the user
receives the location coordinates with data being stored continuously on an SD card simultaneously. This proposal has significant
application for vehicle security, salesman tracking and private drivers.

Keywords: Arduino, Adafruit FONA 808 Shield, GSM, GPS, Storage Card.

1.INTRODUCTION
A Vehicle Tracking System is a device that is fitted in a vehicle,
With advancements in technology, there has been an increase in to enable the vehicle owner to identify the vehicle's location.
the usage of vehicle tracking systems. The design of vehicle This paper proposes the design of a vehicle tracking system that
tracking systems enable the display of a vehicle’s position on utilizes GPS and GSM technology. This system built based on
Google Maps. The GPS, GSM/GPRS modules controlled by an embedded system, can be used for tracking and any car
Arduino MEGA are placed inside the vehicle. In this way, the through GPS - Global Positioning System and GSM - Global
vehicle position is updated every 10 seconds as the vehicle is System for Mobile Communication. This design will
moving. Vehicle tracking systems are very useful nowadays. continuously monitor the location of a moving vehicle and
This system enables the owner to observe and track the vehicle report the status of the vehicle on demand [3].
and find out about vehicle movement and past activities of
automobile. This technology popularly called real time Vehicle Face Detection System will be used to detect the face of the
Tracking Systems has proved useful in ensuring the security of driver, and compare with a predefined face. If for example a car
vehicles. This hardware is fitted onto the vehicle in such a owner is sleeping while an individual steals the car, the Face
manner that persons who are in or outside of the vehicle cannot Detection System will obtain images via a tiny web camera that
see it. Thus, it is used as a covert unit which continuously, or as is hidden in the car. The Face Detection System will compare
a result of interruptions to the system, sends location data to the the obtained images with the stored images. If the images do not
monitoring unit. When a vehicle is stolen, the location data match, then the information is sent to the owner through MMS.
from the tracking system can be used to find the location and so The owners will receive the images of the thief on their mobile
inform the police for further action. When users make a request, phone, and will be able to trace the vehicle location through
the GPS coordinates of the vehicle are sent to a specified GPS. The location of the car and its speed can also be displayed
mobile. The user will be provided with the position of the to the owner through SMS. The owner will be able to see
vehicle in terms of latitude and longitude which can be viewed images of the thief, as well as the vehicle location. As can be
using Google Maps. Additionally, the system has an SOS seen, this system can be utilized in our day-to-day life [4].
feature whereby the driver can press a button to get help for an
emergency. This service is typically provided at a low cost. This This system provides vehicle cabin safety and security based on
information is available to authorized users of the system via the embedded system, by modifying the existing modules. In
internet websites [1]. this way, the system is able to monitor the level of the toxic
gases such as CO, LPG and alcohol within the vehicle, and
2.RELATED WORK provides alerts through an alarm in dangerous situations. An
SMS will be sent to an authorized person through the GSM. In
The hardware and software of the GPS and GSM network have this method, the IR Sensor is used to detect the static obstacle in
already been developed. The proposed GPS/GSM based System front of the vehicle and the vehicle will stop if any obstacle is
has two parts. The first is a mobile unit and the second is a detected. This mechanism will aid in avoiding collisions with
controlling station. All system processes including the various obstacles [5].
interfaces for transmission of data have worked successfully. Kai-Tai Song and Chih-Chieh Yang created a real-time, visual,
These results are compatible with current GPS technologies [2]. vehicle safety tracking system. This paper outlines a novel
feature-filled vehicle-tracking algorithm, able to automatically

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 International Journal of Science and Technology (IJST) – Volume 5 No.12, December, 2016

detect and track several moving objects such as cars and

motorcycles, ahead of the tracking vehicle. In conjunction with
the concept of focus of expansion (FOE) and view analysis, the
system can isolate features of moving objects from moving
background and offer a collision word of warning in real-time.
The proposed visual tracking system has been validated in real
road tests. The results provide collision warning information in
urban areas, with speeds of about 60 km/hour both at night and
day times [6].

A remote monitoring system based on SMS and GSM was

implemented, inclusive of the hardware and software designs.
This paper notes that remote signals can be transmitted through
the GSM network. This includes two parts: the monitoring
center and the remote monitoring station. First, the monitoring
center is made up of a computer and the GSM communication
module. The software-monitoring center and the remote
monitoring station were implemented using VB. The result of
this demonstration shows that the system can control
communication between the monitoring center and the remote Figure 1: Architecture of Real-time GPS tracking system
monitoring station [7].
A. Block Diagram
The proposed system uses cloud computing infrastructure as its Fig. 2 shows a Block diagram of a tracking system that is built
basis. Sensors are used to monitor the driving conditions on a GSM and GPS platform. It consists of an Arduino
including the speed at which the vehicle is travelling, and even MEGA2560 with power supply, Adafruit FONA 808 Shield -
fuel level. All the data is transferred to cloud server using a Mini Cellular GSM + GPS for Arduino, Lithium Ion Polymer
GSM enabled device. All vehicles can be equipped with GPS Battery, Passive GPS Antenna uFL - 15mm x 15mm 1 dBi gain,
antenna to identify locations. To avoid drunk driving, an alcohol Slim Sticker-type GSM/Cellular Quad-Band Antenna - 3dBi
sensor can be installed to monitor the driver’s status. The uFL, Ethernet Shield, SIM Card (2G network), micro SD card
proposed technology can therefore significantly reduce (2GB)
frequency of accidents on highways [8].

3.PROPOSED METHOD
This paper proposes a vehicle tracking system for tracking
vehicle theft using GPS and GSM technology. The GPS
receiver and GSM modem utilizes Arduino MEGA2560. The
system is affixed to the vehicle. A GSM mobile phone can be
used to send and receive the information. Therefore, the GPS
system will send the longitudinal and latitudinal values
corresponding to the position of vehicle to the GSM Modem. If
for example, an individual forgets where their vehicle is parked,
an SMS can be sent to the vehicle GPS, The SMS sent would be
Figure 2: Block diagram of the GSM/GPS-based Vehicle Tracking
transmitted through the GSM service provider, thereby reaching System
the vehicle. The vehicle will have a GSM device installed,
which includes a SIM card. Through the GMS modem, the SMS B. Circuit Descriptions
will be received and sent to the Arduino MEGA2560 in the
vehicle. Upon receipt of the message, the Arduino MEGA2560 An Arduino MEGA2560 is used for interfacing to various
checks the password and the request. If everything matches then hardware components. The proposed design will allow for the
it will perform the request required by the owner by sending a continuous monitoring of vehicle status, and provision of
link that has longitude & latitude through Google Maps, reports as requested. To enable this reporting, an Arduino
showing the location of the vehicle. MEGA2560 is interfaced with a GSM Modem and a GPS
Receiver. The modem is used to send the location of the vehicle
from a remote place. The GPS modem will continuously
provide data showing the position of the vehicle. The GPS
modem gives many parameters in its output, such as whether
the vehicle is moving or is parked. This data will be sent to the
user mobile upon demand. This vehicle tracking system takes
input from GPS and sends data through the GSM module to the
desired mobile. Vehicle Tracking Systems are among the
biggest technological advancements for monitoring vehicle

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 International Journal of Science and Technology (IJST) – Volume 5 No.12, December, 2016

activity. The security system utilizes GPS to find the location of

the vehicle being tracked or monitored. Subsequently, satellite
systems are used to send the coordinates and the location data to
the monitoring center. At the monitoring center, various
software is used to locate the car on a map. In this way the
vehicle owners are able to monitor their automobile in real time.
Due to this real-time tracking facility, owners of expensive cars
have become increasingly interested in vehicle tracking
technology.

C. GPS Technology

The Adafruit FONA 808 GSM + GPS Shield is an all-in-one Figure 4: GSM module
cellular phone module that allows an individual to add location-
tracking, voice, text, SMS and data to the Arduino shield format 4.WORKFLOW
for easy use. This shield fits right over the Arduino or
compatible devices. At the heart of the Shield is a powerful The flowchart in Fig. 4 shows how the GPS tracking system runs
GSM cellular module with the GPS integrated into it. This in real time.
module offers a Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz, and can
therefore connect to any global GSM network with any 2G
SIM. With a fully-integrated GPS a headset and electric
microphone can be used to make and receive calls, send and
receive SMS messages, and send and receive GPRS data
(TCP/IP, HTTP, etc.) [9].

Figure 3: GPS module Figure 5: Flow chart GPS tracking system

D. GSM Modem (3dBi GSM)

When the GPS tracking system is insulated in a car, the system
This 3dBi GSM antenna is slim, compact and highly sensitive. will run automatically and provide data updates on the move by
The antenna juts out from its base with a stick-on back, so you sending SMS massages. The features of this design include:
attach it to an enclosure if you're making something such as a
DIY phone. It has a tiny uFL connector on the end - which  Users can set their own speed limit. If the car goes over
is perfect for the 1946 - but can also be used on other the speed limit, the user will get alert message saying,
frequencies on the 850/900/1800/1900/2100 bands [10]. "The car has exceeded the speed limit of …miles";

Some features of the GSM mechanism are:  When the vehicle begins to move, or comes to a stop, the
user will receive an alert indicating the location. This will
(A) 38mm long antenna, (B) 2mm thickness, (C) adhesive aid in ensuring the driver does not take loner routes, or
backing. stop in locations that is not the final destination.

 The user can shut down the car engine. Therefore, if the
car begins to move without the user’s knowledge or
consent, they can stop the engine by sending a SMS.

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 International Journal of Science and Technology (IJST) – Volume 5 No.12, December, 2016

5.CONCLUSION GPS, Journal of Information Engineering and

Applications, ISSN 2224-5758, Vol 1,No.3, 2011.
This paper notes the increased demand for vehicle tracking
systems for tracking the theft of vehicles through GPS and [5] Asaad M. J. Al-Hindawi, Ibraheem Talib,
GSM technology. This system can be used for both personal “Experimentally Evaluation of GPS/GSM Based
and business purposes to improve safety and security, System Design”, Journal of Electronic Systems
communication, and performance monitoring. Vehicle tracking Volume 2 Number 2 June 2012.
systems have become increasingly important in large cities and
are more secured than many other systems. Nowadays, vehicle [6] . Vikram Kulkarni & Viswaprakash Babu, “embedded
theft is rapidly increasing. With this technology however, smart car security system on face detection’, special
vehicle theft can be better controlled. This technology can also issue of IJCCT, ISSN (Online):2231-0371, ISSN
help to advance transportation systems, and can be used in (Print):0975- 7449, volume-3, issue-1.
many organizations for security and tracking purposes. Also,
the proposed system is more useful, as a result of the addition of [7] Kai-Tai Song, Chih-Chieh Yang, of National Chiao
different types of sensors which help to protect the owner and Tung University, Taiwan, “Front Vehicle Tracking
other users of the vehicle by reducing the possibility of Using Scene Analysis”, Proceedings of the IEEE
collisions. In the event of an accident, the system will send the International Conference on Mechatronics &
location to designated numbers so assistance can be provided as Automation 2005.
soon as possible. This will be particularly useful in instances
where accidents occur in deserted places and midnights. In the [8] Chen Peijiang, Jiang Xuehua, “Design and
future, this vehicle tracking and accident alert feature will play Implementation of Remote monitoring system based
an important role in day-to-day life. on GSM,” vol.42, pp.167-175. 2008.

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