Development of Multi-Home Alarm System Based on … of Multi-Home Alarm System Based on GSM...

Development of Multi-Home Alarm System

Based on GSM Technology

Crystalynne D. Cortez, Jennifer L. Santos, Ken M. Alberto, Patrick O. Kua, Reynan C. Muncada, and Kevin

R. Pontiveros Computer Department, Centro Escolar University, Manila, Philippines

Email: {cdcortez, jlsantos, alberto605445, kua1002676, muncada900195, pontiveros900169}@ceu.edu.ph

Abstract—The paper presents the development of a cost-

effective microcontroller-based multi-home alarm system

that can detect smoke and home intrusion. Acquisition of

local materials was taken into consideration. The developed

prototype can send notification text message whenever

smoke or intrusion was detected. Developmental research

design was used to come up with a working prototype of the

design. To test the smoke alarm, the system was exposed to

different burning materials such as paper, wood, plastic,

cloth and rubber; and to test the intrusion alarm, the system

was placed at different distances. Based from the findings of

the study, all materials acquired locally were able to

function properly. The system was found to be consistent

and efficient with data transmission, processing and

reception. Response time of less than 20 seconds for smoke

alarm and less than 2 seconds for lock mechanism were

recorded. The system instantly sent notification messages to

the user after fire and proximity sensors were triggered.

Index Terms—GSM technology, smoke detector, intrusion

alarm, microcontroller project, ultrasonic sensor, ionization

sensor

I. INTRODUCTION

Theft and fire are two life tragedies that are sometimes

unavoidable, but because of technology, theft and fire can

be prevented. In 2012, 78,092 crimes against property in

the Philippines were recorded by the National Statistics

Office which included robbery, theft, carnapping and

castle rustling. In the same year, 8,798 fire incidents in

the Philippines were recorded which were caused by

faulty electrical connections and electrical appliances,

open flame due to torch, unattended cooking or stove,

lighted candles, gas leak and explosions [1].

Early detection of fire and intrusions can minimize the

damages to the home owner. As the saying goes, “If there

is smoke, there is fire.” One of the common preventive

devices used in determining the presence of fire is a

smoke detector or alarm system. Fire or smoke alarm

system was defined as any devices that warn occupants of

the presence or danger of fire to enable them undertake

immediate actions [2]. The primary goals of this system

are to protect life, property, business and environment.

These goals were accomplished by smoke alarm system

through early detection of fire, limiting spread of fire and

smoke, occupant notification and notification of

emergency forces [3]. On the other hand, intrusion

detector is used to minimize cases of theft. Intrusion

alarm system is used to detect any attempt of breaking in

into residences. In designing such system, more

sophisticated motion detectors may be used. This may

also employ same alarm and notification principles as fire

or smoke alarm systems [4].

Some literary reviews were considered in the study

which provides the proponents knowledge of home alarm

system designs. Javale et al. presented design and

implementation of automation system that can monitor

and control home appliances using android phone or

tablet [5]. Azid et al. studied about the performance of a

home security system based on a low cost Short Message

System (SMS) equipped with sensors and controlled by a

microprocessor through the SMS [6]. Guan noted in his

study that response time was one of the most important

technical parameters for smoke detector [7]. Manjula et al.

project implemented a security system with a feature of

motion and password detection. Using GSM the

administrator was informed through SMS about the

people moving into the secured places in order to take

necessary actions which saves time during emergencies

[8]. Oke et al. paper presented the development and

implementation of a Global System for Mobile

Communication (GSM) based control system for

electrical appliances which enables control to it [9].

Although there were some existing home alarm

systems, the study still aimed to develop a cost effective

home alarm system that integrates smoke and intrusion

alarms. Notification was based on GSM technology

where user can receive alarm notification and can process

actions such as triggering the lock mechanism and

contacting appropriate departments.

II. OBJECTIVES

The aim of the study was to integrate intrusion and

smoke alarm systems, and to develop a cost effective

prototype of a multi-home alarm system that can send

notification to users using GSM technology. Small scale

simulation tests were conducted to determine the

response time of the prototype.

III. METHODOLOGY

Developmental research method was used in the study

to come up with a working prototype of the system. It

International Journal of Electronics and Electrical Engineering Vol. 4, No. 4, August 2016

©2016 Int. J. Electron. Electr. Eng. 365doi: 10.18178/ijeee.4.4.365-369

Manuscript received June 18, 2015; revised November 18, 2015.

was comprised of hardware and firmware designs.

Hardware design consisted of hardware assembly,

interface, testing and troubleshooting; and firmware

design consisted of writing codes using C-language

programming, error debugging and testing.

Fig. 1 shows the block diagram of the system. It was

divided into modules to easily troubleshoot and detect

errors. 9Vdc was used to power the system. A back-up

battery was included in case of power interruption. When

the ionized smoke sensor detected smoke or the

ultrasonic sensor encountered any disturbances in its

signal, data was transmitted to the microcontroller unit to

trigger the GSM to send a notification message to the

owner. In case of intrusion, the owner can reply to the

system to alarm and lock the door. However, in case of

fire, the alarm unit was immediately activated.

Figure 1. Project structure of the multi-home alarm system.

To test the system, it was exposed to different

materials that can cause fire at home as shown in Fig. 2

and the ultrasonic sensor was obstructed as shown in Fig.

3. Three trials were conducted and the response time of

the sensors was recorded.

Figure 2. Test set-up for the smoke alarm.

Figure 3. Test set-up for intrusion alarm.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Fig. 4 shows the actual connection of the system.

Actual connection of the pins of the backup battery,

microcontroller, sensor modules and GSM shield module

was placed inside a holder. This was done to ensure

stability of connections. Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

were used as indicators. GSM LED indicators were

comprised of green, red and orange LED. The green LED

indicated that the system is powered on while the red

LED indicated that the system is ready to send message.

Blinking orange LED indicated that the system is

searching for network signal. For smoke detector, red and

green LED were used. Red LED implied smoke was

detected within the sensors range. However green LED

implied that no ions of smoke were detected. Buzzer was

also included for alarm.

Figure 4. Actual connections of the prototype.

A. Hardware Design

The system was comprised of two alarms, smoke and

intrusion. For smoke, ionization type sensor was used as

shown in Fig. 5. It is based on ionization from radioactive

elements. Alpha particles are emitted by radioactive

isotopes into an ionization chamber, comprised of

electrodes. The alpha particles ionizes the air inside the

chamber, causing current between the electrodes. If

smoke particles of fire passes through the chamber, the

ions get attached to smoke particles, interrupting the

current between the electrodes, and activating the sensor

[10]. This sensor is suited for fast flaming fire, cheaper

and readily available.

Figure 5. Ionization type smoke sensor used in the prototype.

Proximity sensor shown in Fig. 6 was used for

intrusion alarm. The ultrasonic sensor emits and receives

sounds. To measure the distance of an object, the emitter

sends out a high frequency sound pulse which strikes the

objects and reflects back to the ultransonic sensor. Then,

the receiver measures the amount of time that it takes the

sound to return and uses this data to calculate for the

distance [11].


©2016 Int. J. Electron. Electr. Eng. 366

Figure 6. Ultrasonic sensor used in the prototype.

SIM900D was the GSM module used in the system as

shown in Fig. 7. SIM900D delivers a quad-band

GSM/GPRS which can easily be embedded in electronic

applications. It has low power consumption and can fit

easily in space compact designs [12].

Figure 7. SIM900D module used in the prototype.

For the lock mechanism, 9 gram Tower Pro servo

motor was used in the design. The implementation of this

device was based from its size and rotation. SG90 servo

motor is tiny and lightweight which has high output

power. This can rotate approximately 180 degrees, 90 in

each direction [13].

The microcontroller used was Atmega328. This was

selected because of its compatibility with module

interfacing, direct program coding and modification. The

microcontroller ATMEGA328 with 328kBytes memory

capacity stores the program for operation of the system.

Backup power supply, SRB-6V4-AH/20hrs was used in

the system because of its portability, ability to recharge

and considerable energy life span.

B. Firmware Design

Firmware is defined as the low-level software or

programs that are written onto programmable device

which enables it to determine its capabilities, render them

functional, and coordinate operations [14]. In order for

the developed prototype to work, the microcontroller

should be burnt with a firmware. For the multi-home

alarm system, the firmware was programmed using C

language. Each module was tested if working properly.

When confirmed functioning, the system was

programmed and conditions were set.

Fig. 8 shows the flowchart for the smoke alarm system.

It was programmed in that it would check first all the

modules connected to it. If smoke sensor module received

a change in status from the air samples, this information

would be sent to the microcontroller unit.

Figure 8. Flowchart of smoke alarm system.

Figure 9. Alert notification message to the user if smoke was detected.

Figure 10. Simulated notification message to the authority.

The microcontroller would command GSM to send an

alarm message to the user notifying that smoke was

detected in the area where it was installed and would



prompt the user if he would like to notify the fire

department. If the user replied ‘Y’ (yes), the system

would dispatch a text message to concern authority and

would reply to the user notifying him of the action as

shown in the test simulation of Fig. 9. An actual test

simulation of the text message sent to authority

requesting assistance was shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 11 shows the flowchart of the intrusion alarm

system. A default range for the proximity sensor was set

in the program. Once altered, the microprocessor would

receive the changes and would immediately dispatch a

notification to the user. Simultaneously, the lock

mechanism of the device would be activated.

Figure 11. Flowchart of intrusion alarm system.

C. Test Results

Typically, paper, wood, plastic, rubber and cloth were

some of the materials that can cause fire. The device was

tested of how fast it can detect the smoke caused by fire

using these materials.

TABLE I. SMOKE DETECTION AND SMS NOTIFICATION TEST

Material Response Time (seconds)

SMS Notification Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

Paper 19.6 14.2 15.1 All Successful

Wood 14.1 15.6 13.2 All Successful

Plastic 10.0 13.7 13.3 All Successful

Rubber 17.6 12.2 10.6 All Successful

Cloth 12.2 18.0 14.7 All Successful

Table I shows the result of 3 trials of smoke detection

time from the different burnt subjects. All events of

smoke were detected and the module obtained an average

of under 20 second detection time. SMS notification was

successfully sent to the user.

Table II shows the response time of proximity sensor

at different distances of signal interruptions, as well as

the SMS notification protocol. All detections were made

less than 2 seconds and SMS notification were all

successfully relayed to the user.

TABLE II. INTRUSION DETECTION AND SMS NOTIFICATION TEST

Distance

(ft.)

Response Time (seconds) SMS Notification

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

1.0 19.6 14.2 15.1 All Successful

2.0 14.1 15.6 13.2 All Successful

3.0 10.0 13.7 13.3 All Successful

4.0 12.2 18.0 14.7 All Successful

TABLE III. LOCK MECHANISM RESPONSE TIME

Distance (ft.) Response To Intrusion

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

1.0 Instantly Instantly Instantly




Table III shows the response of the servo motor after

an intrusion was detected. The servo motor immediately

locked the door after the lock command text message was

received by the system.

V. CONCLUSIONS

Based from the findings of the study, the developed

system was cost-effective since all materials acquired

locally were able to function properly. It was able to

detect smoke and intruder; and was able to alarm and

send text message notification to the user. The ability of

the system to receive text message command from the

user expanded the option for security measures. The

system exhibited a consistent quick response time of less

than 20 seconds for fire detection and less than 2 seconds

for enabling lock mechanism. The system also instantly

sent notification messages to the user after smoke and

intrusion were detected.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The proponents would like to acknowledge the

Research and Evaluation Office of Centro Escolar

University for funding the conference presentation and

publication.

REFERENCES

[1] National Statistics Office, “The Philippines in figures,” National Statistics Office, Manila, 2014.

[2] D. Javale, M. Mohsin, S. Nandanwar, and M. Shingate, “Home

automation and security system using,” International Journal of Electronics Communication and Computer Technology, vol. 3, no.

2, pp. 382, 2013. [3] S. I. Azid and S. Kumar, “Analysis and performance of a low cost

SMS based home security,” International Journal of Smart Home,

vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 15, 2011. [4] M. J. W. Bunker and R. J. Roux, NFPA Pocket Guide to Fire

Alarm System Installation, Ontario, Canada: Jones and Barlett Publishers, 2007.

[5] L. Guan, “Design of the test equipment for the response time of

smoke detector based on the embedded system,” Information Science and Technology, pp. 317-320, 2013.

[6] Bureau of Fire Protection. (2008). Fire code of the Philippines. [Online]. Available: http://bfp.gov.ph/wp-

content/uploads/2013/12/Fire-Code-of-the-Philippines-2008-

IRR.pdf [7] G. S. Salvan and S. Thapa, “Residential intrusion alarm system,”

in Architectural and Construction Data, Quezon City, Philippines: JMC Press, Inc., 2000, pp. 904.



[8] B. M. Manjula, M. Patil, P. Paga, and N. Karkal, “Multi purpose security system using GSM,” International Journal of Scientific

and Engineering Research, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 1, 2012.

[9] A. O. Oke, J. O. Emuoyibofarhe, and A. B. Adetunji, “Development of a GSM based control system for electrical

appliances,” International Journal of Engineering and Technology, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 443, 2013.

[10] O. Asif, M. B. Hossain, M. Hasan, M. T. Rahman, and M. E.

Chowdhury, “Fire-Detectors review and design of an automated, quick responsive fire-alarm system based on SMS,” International

Journal of Communications, Network amd System Sciences, vol. 7, pp. 386, 2014.

[11] Micropik. Ultrasonic ranging module HC - SR04 datasheet.

[Online]. Available: http://www.micropik.com/PDF/HCSR04.pdf [12] SimCom. SIM900D GSM/GPRS module datasheet. [Online].

Available: http://www.propox.com/download/docs/SIM900.pdf [13] Micropik. SG90 9g micro Servo datasheet. [Online]. Available:

http://www.micropik.com/PDF/SG90Servo.pdf

[14] Z. Zhou, J. Fan, N. Zhang, and R. Xu, “Advance development of computer firmware security research,” in Proc. International

Symposium on Information Processing, 2009.

Crystalynne D. Cortez was born on September 10, 1985. She is currently taking

up her Doctor of Philosophy in Electronics and Communications Engineering in Mapua

Institute of Technology. She obtained her

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in Technological University of the Philippines in

April, 2014. She graduated Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications

Engineering at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng

Maynila (University of the City of Manila) in April, 2006. She also completed the 18 units of Professional Education Program at National

Teacher’s College in 2010. She is an Assistant Professor. She serves as a Full-time Faculty Member

of Computer Education Department of Centro Escolar University (CEU),

Manila, Philippines from 2009 until present, handling professional and research subjects in Computer Engineering, Computer Science and

Information Technology courses. Her recent paper publications are entitled “Validation of the Developed Multi-Gas Monitoring System,”

Periodical on Applied Mechanics and Materials, vol. 666, pp. 245-250,

October 2014; “Development of Microcontroller-Based Biometric Locker System with Short Message Service,” Lecture Notes on Software

Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 103-106, May 2016; and “Development of Formaldehyde Detector,” International Journal of Information and

Electronics Engineering, Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 385-389, September, 2015.

Her major field of researches falls with microcontroller projects, environmental engineering and biosensors.

Engr. Cortez is a member of IACSIT since May, 2014, IACT since December, 2014 and of Institute of Electronics and Communications

Engineers of the Philippines.

Jennifer L. Santos was born on August 6,

1980. She obtained her Masters in Information Technology in Centro Escolar University in

March 2012 and her Master of Arts in

Education in Major in Mathematics Education in New Era University in March 2005. She

graduated Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering at University of the East

(Caloocan Campus) in April, 2001.

She is an Assistant Professor. She serves as a Full-time Faculty Member of Computer Education Department of

Centro Escolar University (CEU), Manila, Philippines from 2003 until present, handling professional and research subjects in Computer

Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology courses.

Engr. Santos is a member of IACSIT since July 2014 and of Philippine Society for Educational Research and Evaluation, Inc.

Ken M. Alberto was born on June 14, 1988.

He obtained his Bachelor of Science in

Computer Engineering in Centro Escolar University in April, 2015.

His paper “Developmental of Smart Home Alarm System” won as Best Undergraduate

Research during the Centro Escolar University

School of Science and Technology Search for the Best Undergraduate Research 2015 for

paper presentation and 2nd place for poster presentation. He had been a finalist for 2015 Centro Escolar University

Search for the Best Undergraduate Research for paper and poster

presentation. His major field of research interest falls with microcontroller projects, sensor based systems and circuit designs.

Patrick O. Kua was born on April 27, 1992.

He obtained his Bachelor of Science in

Computer Engineering in Centro Escolar University in April, 2015.







Reynan C. Muncada was born on February

22, 1992. He is currently taking up his

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering in Centro Escolar University.







Kevin R. Pontiveros was born on April 27,

1992. He is currently taking up his Bachelor

of Science in Computer Engineering in Centro Escolar University.









Development of Multi-Home Alarm System Based on … of Multi-Home Alarm System Based on GSM...

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