DECLARATION

I, Cecylia Kuguru, declare to the best of my knowledge that, the project presented here
as

partial

fulfillment

of

Bachelor

of

Engineering

in

Electronics

and

Telecommunication course, it is my original work and has not been copied anywhere or
presented elsewhere, expect where explicitly indicated otherwise as all sources of
knowledge have been duly acknowledged.

Supervised by

CECYLIA KUGURU
Signature.

Signature.. .

Date

Date.

DEDICATION
I dedicate this project to my parents Mr. & Mrs. Kuguru and My beloved sisters.

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all, I thank God Almighty for giving me the strength to prepare this project. I
was in contact with many people, lectures, friends and family. They have contributed
towards my understanding thoughts. In particular, I wish to express my sincere
appreciation to my supervisor Mr. Ally, J for the encouragement, guidance, information
and motivation.
Special thanks should go to Dr. Grayson, Dr. Rugumira, Mr. Ngumuo, Mr. Lushaka and
all others whose thoughts and ideas have given me the exposure to the knowledge I have
placed in this report.
Sincere thanks to management of Harbour view towers LTD for their remarkable
assistance which they gave me during my data collection and be there for me whenever I
need/ wish to consult them.
Lastly, my special thanks should go to my beloved family Mr. & Mrs. Kuguru and my
sisters for their moral and material support during the whole period of my course work.

iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATION
PIC- Programmable Interface Controller
GSM-Global System for Mobile Communication
PC-Personal Computer
CPU- Central Processing Unit
SMS-Short message service

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................. i
DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................................... iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATION .................................................................................................................. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................................. vii
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................... viii
CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................................ 1
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 1
1.1

Background information ................................................................................................ 1

1.2

Problem Statement ........................................................................................................ 2

1.3

Project Objective ............................................................................................................ 2

1.3.1

Main Objective ....................................................................................................... 2

1.3.2

Specific Objective ................................................................................................... 3

1.4

Significance of project .................................................................................................... 3

1.5

Limitation of project ...................................................................................................... 3

CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................... 4

LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................................... 4
2.0

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 4

2.1

The Existing system ........................................................................................................ 4

2.1.1
2.2

Disadvantage of existing system ............................................................................... 4

The proposed system ..................................................................................................... 4

2.2.1

Advantage of proposed system ............................................................................. 5

2.3

Block diagram of the proposed system ......................................................................... 5

2.4

Block Diagram Description for Proposed System in Security Module ........................... 6

2.4.1

Power supply .......................................................................................................... 6

2.4.2

Type of Sensor to be used ...................................................................................... 7

2.4.3

PIC Microcontroller .............................................................................................. 10

2.4.4

Wireless device .................................................................................................... 11

2.4.5 Relay .......................................................................................................................... 14

2.5

Security module flow chart .......................................................................................... 15

2.6

Security module ........................................................................................................... 16

CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................................................... 17

METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................... 17
3.0

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 17

3.1

Literature review.......................................................................................................... 17

3.2

Data collection ............................................................................................................. 17

3.3

Data analysis and design .............................................................................................. 17

3.4

Consultation with Supervisor, Lectures, Engineers ..................................................... 18

3.5

Simulation .................................................................................................................... 18

3.6

Building prototype and testing .................................................................................... 18

CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................................ 19

DATA COLLECTION ....................................................................................................................... 19
4.1

Data are collected at different sources .......................................................................... 19

4.1.1 System related data ................................................................................................. 19

CHAPTER FIVE .............................................................................................................................. 20
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 20
5.1

CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 20

5.2 COST ESTIMATES .............................................................................................................. 21

References ................................................................................................................................... 22

vi

LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Show differences between Bluetooth and Zigbee..13
Table 4.1: Show the total no. of cars per day and cars stolen per year19
Table 5.1: Cost estimate table..21

vii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1

Block diagram of the proposed system..5

Figure 2.2

Block diagram of power supply6

Figure 2.3

Photodiode...7

Figure 2.4

PIC Microcontroller.11

Figure 2.5

Security module flow chart.15

viii

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
This chapter introduces and gives the background information of the problem to be
solved, also explains briefly what is going to be done so as to solve the existing problem,
and states the measurable objectives of the project. Explanation of who can benefit on
the design of this new system is also given.

1.1

Background information
As the number of vehicles increasing day by day, the vehicle theft is also getting
increased on a same scale. The main problems that the vehicle users facing everyday are
finding out empty parking lots for their vehicle and security for their parked vehicle.
HARBOUR VIEW TOWERS LTD is the parking area allocated at Dar es Salaam near
PPF HOUSE, this company provide car parking services. The parking is able to
accommodate the maximum number of about 255 slots. But the parking is driven
manually that need a watchman at the gate so as to open and close the gate during the
entrance and exit time. The security for vehicles can be provided by appointing
watchperson for the parking area but for a multilevel car parking area multiple watch
persons should be appointed which is not cost effective.
An automated parking lot management system will provide a solution for these issues.
As we observed that security is done manually by watchpersons, which is not cost
effective and also does not provide full scale security to the vehicles. This proposed
system will solve this issue by providing two way password securities, and the system
will be very much cost effective.

This system includes two modules,

a. Reservation module
b. Security module
The second part of the system, which is only to provide security to the cars packed in
parking slots.

1.2

Problem Statement
HARBOUR VIEW TOWERS LTD parking place which is focus of our project faces
with many problems.
(i)

System is driven manually.

The security for vehicles can be provided by appointing watch person for the parking
area but for multilevel car parking area multiple watch persons should be appointed
which is not cost effective.
(ii)

Security.

Security for vehicles can be provided by appointing a watch person for parking area
which is not efficient.

1.3

Project Objective
The objectives of this project are divided into main and specific.

1.3.1 Main Objective

To design the automatic system that will control the security of the cars in the parking
area using GSM based system.

1.3.2 Specific Objective

a) To design automatic system that will control security of the cars in the parking
area by using GSM based system.
b) To implement system prototype
c) Testing prototype

1.4

Significance of project
At the end of this proposed system the following will be attained,
i)

The security system of the parked cars is driven automatically no need of

appointing watch person, which is cost effective.

ii)

Security, because the security system is controlled automatically the system is

more efficient compared to existing system.

1.5

Limitation of project
i) The system operates well where GSM network is covered.
ii) It requires the user to park the car to the exactly slot number been provided by
the system.

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0

INTRODUCTION
This chapter describes the features, operation and limitation of the existing system. It
also explains about the proposed system. Furthermore it will provide necessary
knowledge and information which will help to attain the objectives of the project.

2.1

The Existing system

The current existing system used in Harbour view towers LTD parking place is driven
manually, that needs the watchman to be at the parking area to ensure the security of the
parked cars.

2.1.1

Disadvantage of existing system

a) Not cost effective
The security for vehicles can be provided by appointing watch person for the parking
area but for multilevel car parking area multiple watch persons should be appointed
which is not cost effective.
b)

Security

Security for vehicles can be provided by appointing a watch person for parking area
which is not efficient.

2.2

The proposed system

The limitations of the existing system can be overcome by designing a new system that
will be functioning automatic to control the security of parked cars at the parking area
using GSM system.

2.2.1 Advantage of proposed system

i)

Cost effective.

The security for vehicles can be provided by automatic system which reduces the
number of watching person needed for security purpose.
ii)

Security

By employing the automatic system the security system is improved compared to

existing system where watch person needed to control the security.

2.3

Block diagram of the proposed system

Wireless data
Transmission
Car

Car

PIC

Wireless
device

Car
Wireless
device
Barrier gate
GSM

Coordinator
system (PC)
CPU, keypad
& display

SMS

Figure 2.1: Block diagram of the proposed system

2.4

Block Diagram Description for Proposed System in Security Module

In the block diagram for proposed system in security module contain four parts which
are:
a) Power supply
b) Sensor
c) PIC Microcontroller
d) Wireless device
e) Relay

2.4.1

Power supply
The designed system uses a 12Vdc power supply. A 240V, 50Hz ac supply is stepped
down by a transformer to a secondary voltage of 6V ac. The stepped down voltage is
then rectified by using bridge rectifier. In designing power supply the following things
must be considered, first is the voltage required by the device, and second is power
supply that should meet the maximum current requirement of the three loads (Sensor,
PIC, and Zigbee) (Rams haw, 1993).
Power supply is designed to convert high voltage AC mains to a suitable low voltage
supply to drive the system. It consists of :a)

Transformer: - A 220/240V transformer is used with output voltage of

12V.

b)

Rectifier circuit.

c)

Filter circuit.

d)

Regulator circuit.
INPUT

OUTPUT
TRANSF
ORMER

RECTIFI
ER

FILTER
OUTP

REGULA
TOR

Figure 2.2: Block diagram of power supply

2.4.2

Type of Sensor to be used

The type of sensor to be used in this system for detecting the presence or absence of the
car is described below.

2.4.2.1 Photodiode
Photodiode is a type of photo detector capable of converting light into electrical signal.
A photodiode is based on a junction of oppositely doped regions (pn junction) in a
sample semiconductor. This creates a region depleted of charge carriers that result in
high impedance. Since light is used as an input, the diode is operated under reverse bias
conditions. Under the reverse bias condition the current through the junction is zero
when no light is present. When light present there will be signal at which a PIC will
recognize that there is a vacancy, otherwise the PIC will recognize slot is occupied
(Braley, 2012).

Figure 2.3: Photodiode [source: (Braley, 2012)]

2.4.2.1.1

Disadvantage of using a photodiode

It is not suitable for this system simply because of environmental conditions, as its
operations depend on the intensity of light focused to the photodiode. When no source of
light either from the sun or from TANESCO it becomes difficult for the photodiode to
detect absence of car at which it will be detecting car presence in the slots.

2.4.2.2

Ultrasonic sensor
Ultrasonic sensors (also known as a transceiver when they both send and receive) work
on principle similar to radar which evaluate attribute of a target by interpreting the
echoes from radio or sound waves respectively, Ultrasonic sensor generates high
frequency sound waves and evaluate the echo which is received back by the sensor.
Ultrasonic sensor is a transducer that converts energy into ultrasound, or sound waves
above the normal range of human hearing (Braley, A. 2012).

2.4.2.2.1 Principle of operation

Ultrasonic sensor operates by emitting and receiving high-frequency sound waves. The
frequency is usually in the order of 200 kHz, which is too high for the human ear to
hear.
2.4.2.2.2 Modes of operation
There two basic modes of operation
a) Opposed mode
In opposed mode, one sensor emits the sound wave and another mounted opposite the
emitter receives the sound wave.
b) Diffuse (echo) mode
In diffused mode the same sensor emits the sound wave and then listens for the echo that
bounces off an object.
2.4.2.2.3 Sensing range
The sensing range is the distance within which the ultrasonic sensor will detect a target
under fluctuation of temperature and voltage.

Blind Zone
Ultrasonic sensors have an inherent blind zone located at the sensing face. The size of
the blind zone depends on the frequency of the transducer. Objects located on the blind
spot cannot be reliably detected.
2.4.2.2.4 Target considerations
Certain characteristic of targets must be considered when using Ultrasonic sensors.
These include Target shape, material, size and positioning. Soft materials such as fabric
or foam rubber are difficult to be detected by diffuse ultrasonic technology because they
are not sound-reflective.
The standard target for a diffuse type ultrasonic sensor is established by the International
Electrotechnical Commission standard IEC 60947-5-2. The standard target is a square
shape, having a thickness of 1mm and made from metal with a rolled finish. The size of
the target is dependent upon the sensing range.
For opposed mode ultrasonic sensors, there is no established standard. Standard targets
are used to establish the performance due to non standard targets.
2.4.2.2.5 Advantage of ultrasonic sensor
The main advantages of ultrasonic sensors are due to the continuous interrogation of the
quantities of interest by a wave field and the immaterial sensing principle. These are,
i.

Excellence long term stability

ii.

Low power consumption and low cost realization

iii.

Directional sensitivity

iv.

High structural resolution due to large bandwidth

v.

Remote measurement, low interference with object to be detected, sensitivity to

virtually all kinds of objects,

vi.

Imperviousness to wetness, contamination or wear.

2.4.2.2.6 Recommendation
From above it is observed that the ultrasonic is the suitable one for this system although
it involves a lot of construction activities when implementing the system.
2.4.3 PIC Microcontroller
A PIC Microcontroller is a single integrated circuit small enough to fit in the palm of a
hand. Traditional microcontroller circuit contain four or five separate integrated
circuit, the microcontroller (CPU) itself, an EPROM program memory chip, some RAM
memory and an input/output interface. With PIC microcontrollers all these functions are
included within a one single package, making them cost effective and easy to use.
PIC microcontroller can be used as a brain to control a large variety of products. In
order to control devices like a ultrasonic sensors which is used to detected the presence
or the absence of a car, It is necessary to interface (or connect) them to the PIC
microcontroller.
A PIC microcontroller will then be interfaced with a Zigbee device so as to send status
of the parking slots to the other Zigbee node which is in the coordinator system(picaxe
manual 2011).

Figure 2.4: PIC Microcontroller [Source :( picaxe manual 2011)]

10

2.4.3.1 Factors to consider in the choice of a PIC

The following are the factors to be considered when choosing which PIC to use.
i)

Power consumed by the microcontroller and its form factor that the size and
characteristic of the physical package that must reside on the target design.

ii)

The amount of memory an application needs to run a program.

iii)

Clock frequency, this determines the speed at which the instructions are
executed. With the higher frequency the microcontroller will finish one task and
start another.

iv)

The peripheral which include serial communication peripherals.

v)

Number of interrupts and timer circuits required, for instance, how many number
of data EPROM is required.

2.4.4 Wireless device

Most people are well aware about Bluetooth technology and how it works between two
devices that are synced with each other. But Zigbee is another such technology that is
also used to communicate and transmit data between two or more devices, and it is a
technology that is a complementary to Bluetooth and the way it works. Both these
connections are known as WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network) and they both run
on the 802.15 standard set by the IEEE. Moreover, Bluetooth and Zigbee both work on
the 2.4 GHz frequency band, and are used when the synced devices are in close
proximity with each other (Baker 2005).
2.4.4.1 Bluetooth 802.15.1
Bluetooth simply implies a technology that enables two devices to interact with each
other wirelessly. Consumer electronics that are found in our homes make use of this
technology to the maximum, and this enables us to control mobile phones, headsets and
other peripherals without even touching them.
The newer standards of Bluetooth enable faster speeds and instant recognition of synced
products, and this has undoubtedly made our lives simpler.

11

2.4.4.2 Zigbee 802.15.4

Zigbee is widely used today in areas where low power consumption and low cost are
absolutely necessary. The primary purpose for which it is used is the automation and the
control of certain devices, in areas where using Bluetooth would have proven costlier
and consumed greater power as well.
As a result of this, while Bluetooth is commercially used in homes by individual parties,
Zigbee has found a niche in industries and manufacturing plants. In homes, something as
simple as controlling an air conditioner with a remote incorporates the use of Zigbee,
because installing Bluetooth for this purpose would prove to be highly unfeasible.

12

Attribute

Bluetooth

Range

of

devices

or

synced 10 meters

Zigbee
10-100 meters

personal

operating space (POS)

Speed of data transfer 1 MB per second (as 20-250 KB per second
and Network Latency

fast as it gets)

(relatively slower and

time consuming)

Frequency of Battery A few days at the A few months at least

Recharge

(Power most

consumption)
Operating

frequency 2.4 GHz

2.4 GHz

band
Maximum number of 8

2-65,000

devices
Complexity and Cost of Complex

and Simple

and

setting up

expensive

Primary focus

Enables user mobility More applicable for

and

eliminates

economical

the large

scale

remote

need for cables and controls and for largewires

scale

automation

purposes

Table 2.1: Technical differences between Bluetooth and Zigbee

From the above explanation above, makes a conclusion that Zigbee is more suitable than
Bluetooth, although it has lower speed than Bluetooth but its characteristic especially in
coverage will never change, also Zigbee can easily be interfaced with microcontroller
than a Bluetooth and other wireless device.

13

2.4.5 Relay
This relay switch opens and closes the control of another electrical circuit. When current
flows in the coil, the resulting magnetic field attracts an armature that mechanically
liked to moving contact. The movement either makes or breaks a connection with a
fixed contact. This relay will switch on the motor at which the gate will be opened and
closed automatically.

14

2.5

Security module flow chart

START

No
If car is taken
out from the
parking lot

Yes
SMS will be sent to the
user along with the exit
password
User should enter the exit
password
Correct
If
password
Wrong entered
Use is allowed to
exit the parking

Password Incorrect

Figure 2.5: Security Module Flow Chart

15

2.6 Security module

The flow diagram of security module is shown in the figure 3 above. When the user park
their vehicle in their respective reserved parking lot means, that particular parking lot
number and users phone number will be stored in the data base system for that
particular lot and the sensor will sense the presence of vehicle in the parking lot. If the
vehicle is taken out from the parking lot means the infrared sensor will indicate the
controller and the controller will turn indicate the coordinator system through zigbee
nodes. The coordinator system will in turn send an exit password to the users mobile
phone which is stored in the database system. If the vehicle is taken out from the parking
lot by the user means the user has to enter the exit password which he will be receiving
once he takes out the vehicle from the parking lot.
If the vehicle is taken out from the parking lot by an unauthorized person, (He/she may
think that the entry password and exit password will be the same but not so.)He/she is
not allowed to get open until correct exit password is entered. At the same time the
original user will receive an exit password in his mobile, and he will come to know that
some unauthorized person is trying to access his/her vehicle.

16

CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.0

INTRODUCTION
This chapter explains different steps and methods through which the objectives of the
project have been achieved. It includes literature review, different consultations, data
collection, data analysis and design, building and testing the prototype are steps and
methods that will be used to accomplishment the project.

3.1

Literature review
This part described the features, operation and limitations of the existing systems. It also
explained about the proposed system including all necessary information relating with
the accomplishment of the project design. And also this part provided the necessary
knowledge and information which help during design of the project.

3.2

Data collection
The data collection part describes the data collected. Data collection was done through
surveying the area which is Harbour view towers LTD, reading books, surfing the
internet and consulting some experts in car parking and security systems for more
technical data.

3.3

Data analysis and design

Data analysis and design shows how the various data that have been collected were
related to the design specifications.

17

3.4

Consultation with Supervisor, Lectures, Engineers

When approaching to the accomplishment of the goal, consultation with different people
including the experts on car parking and security systems will be done. Through
consultations, the existence of the problem was realized and the related data was
collected so as to solve the problem.

3.5

Simulation
The parts of this system as observed from the block diagram after design will be
simulated in order to observe results of each part in the block diagram before
implementing the complete circuit.

3.6

Building prototype and testing

Circuit will be implemented in the board and tested if it is working properly. In case of
any problem, then some corrections will be noted and done and then implementing the
circuit on the circuit board.

18

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA COLLECTION
This chapter deals with data which act as a guide towards designing of the system. These
data have been collected regarding to the system requirements. The data collected are
very important as far as designing and implementation of the system is concerned.

4.1

Data are collected at different sources

System related data that verifies the problem statement of the project

4.1.1 System related data

System data related shows how important the proposed system is needed. The data
justifies the problem of stolen cars in HARBOUR VIEW TOWERS LTD at which
shows the increase in stolen cars, as shown in summarized table below and data are
obtained by documentation.
Total Number of Slots For Parking Is 255 Slots
YEARS TOTAL NUMBER OF TOTAL NUMBER TOTAL
CARS DURING DAY OF
TIME

NUMBER

CARS OF STOLEN CAR

DURING

NIGHT PER YEAR

TIME
2009-

200-220

90-110

231-255

100-120

248-255

130-140

2010
20102011
20112012
Table 4.1: Shows total number of cars per day and number of car stolen in a year

19

CHAPTER FIVE
INTRODUCTION
This chapter gives the conclusion concerning what I have done on this project proposal.

5.1

CONCLUSION
In this report it is demonstrated that, the design of Security system using a GSM based
system at Harbour view towers LTD car parking will be successfully accomplished, so
as to fulfill the main and specific objective of the project.

20

5.2 COST ESTIMATES

NO

PROJECT

QUANT PRICE PER

COMPONENT

ITY

COMPONENT PRICE(Tshs)

Zigbee

42,000/=

84,000/=

PIC Microcontroller

20,000/=

20,000/=

Ultrasonic sensor

15,000/=

45,000/=

GSM Modem

52,000/=

52,000/=

Regulator

3,000/=

9,000/=

Transformer

8,000/=

8,000/=

Rectifier

2,000/=

4,000/=

Soldering wire

2,000/=

4,000/=

PCB board

10,000/=

10,000/=

10

Relay

4,500/=

4,500/=

11

Capacitor

2,000/=

2,000/=

12

AC power cable

1,500/=

1,500/=

13

Stationery

12

7,500/=

90,000/=

TOTAL

TOTAL

334,500/=

Table 5.1: Cost estimates

21

References
Internet surfing (website)
[1] Braley, S.J. (2012). Photodetectors University of Rhode of Island
[2] Nic, M. and J. Jirat (2006). Photodiode IUPAC compendium of chemical
Terminology
[3] http://www.picaxe.com;
[4] Bradley, A. (2012) Ultrasonic Proximit Sensors Rokwell Automation
[5] Baker, N. (2005) Zigbee and Bluetooth strengths and weakness for industrial
applications Computing and control engineering Journal.
[6] Thadan, R. (2011) Bluetooth Vs Zigbee Buzzle.
[7] Rams haw, R.S. (1993). Power Electronics Semiconductor Switches London
Champ & Hall.

22