Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

With increasing need for better vehicle security, there is now a strong
emphasis on developing measures to prevent theft or misuse of vehicle. The
goal of this study is determining the location of a vehicle using different
methods like GPS and GSM systems operating through satellites and ground
based stations. The following sections discuss the literatures relating to
vehicle tracking system which uses different technology that have been
chosen as basis in the good outcome of this project.

Local Literature
Car vehicle is one of the most valued possessions nowadays and
having one of this in the Philippines most specially to ordinary company
employee is very difficult to become a reality and losing it is really a cruel
imagination if it happens. Therefore, looking for other means of securing cars
from theft using the present technology, Anti Car Theft System Using Android
Phones was realized. Android technology is increasingly being used on a
range of devices; the most common hardware to use this platform is mobile
phones.
Android technology system is open for modification. Google came up
with an innovative operation system termed as ANDROID, which is open
system

architecture

with

customizable

third

party

development

and

debugging environment which helps the users to manipulate the features

and it offers developers free platform to make their own applications. The
working mechanism of a car alarm system is such that if anybody tries to
touch the car or open the doors by unlawful means, the alarm starts out
loud, thus alerting the owner or anyone in the vicinity to take proper action .
Thieves have always been a scourge upon a civilized society, and the theft of
means of transportation has been a problem throughout history. There are
many alternatives to prevent the car theft, common car alarm system which
nearly all cars have the system installed, and also Global Positioning System
(GPS) where the whereabouts of the car can be traced. Recovering the car
stolen would be possible because this system allows capturing of video
through an interfaced IP cam when there is an intrusion and to determine the
location of the car through GPS. Short Message Service (SMS) is a good
choice of communication as an added feature to immediately determine that
something wrong is happening to the car. This study aimed to develop an
anti-car theft system using android phones that notifies the car owner by
sending SMS when someone illegally opens the door at the drivers seat. The
developed car security system via SMS is for car applications wherein target
users are people who have their own car as well as those people who are
using the vehicles of the company or someone who owned a taxi. The device
will be situated in a concealed place inside the car for the detection process
and for command of data. Car Security system via SMS contains
microcontroller as a main brain to control the whole system. It sends SMS

alert to the owner if an undesired incident of car-napped happened, another

use of the device which is the GPS will give the location of the car in place.
The prototype was an enhancement and development of the Anti-Theft
System

concept

to

attain

the

economic

environment

for

security,

maintenance and productivity basis. The prototype has a GPS to track and
locate position of the car. The input automatically sends warning message to
the owner when an intruder was detected. Automatically the system informs
the owner and block the possible car napped of the vehicle. The
maintenance form of the program allows the car owner to track, locate and
view the current changes within the car. Monitoring the whole area inside the
car will check for intruders attempting to steal.
The software design was constructed and developed to introduce the
car owner with a new system that allows tracking and determining the
location of the car. It also allows the car owner to use an android phone for
detecting an intruder in the vehicle. Updating the location of the car is also
one of the features of the software. The software was made in an Eclipse and
Arduino programming. Eclipse was derived from the android phone to enable
the rapid application development (RAD), using data access from the android
phone, it remotes data objects to control the objects. Through this Integrated
Development Environment (IDE) the researchers were able to make the
android phone useful to locate the car. In this software, the android phone
was interfaced to car to know the location of the vehicle.

The output is to satisfy the users needs and to monitor for intruders.
The design project was made in a purpose to change the common Anti Car
Theft System. Technology makes ways for security to tighten its system to be
more reliable and efficient to a car system.

International Literature

Vehicle Tracking System using GSM and GPS

Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) is the technology used to determine the
location of a vehicle using different methods like GPS and other radio
navigation systems operating through satellites and ground based stations.
By following triangulation or trilateration methods the tracking system
enables to calculate easy and accurate location of the vehicle. Vehicle
information like location details, speed, distance traveled etc. can be viewed
on a digital mapping with the help of a software via Internet. Even data can
be stored and downloaded to a computer from the GPS unit at a base station
and that can later be used for analysis. This system is an important tool for
tracking each vehicle at a given period of time and now it is becoming
increasingly popular for people having expensive cars and hence as a theft
prevention and retrieval device.
In this project AT89S52 microcontroller is used for interfacing to
various

hardware

peripherals.

The

current

design

is

an

embedded

application, which will continuously monitor a moving Vehicle and report the

status of the Vehicle on demand. For doing so an AT89S52 microcontroller is

interfaced serially to a GSM Modem and GPS Receiver. A GSM modem is used
to send the position (Latitude and Longitude) of the vehicle from a remote
place. The GPS modem will continuously give the data i.e. the latitude and
longitude indicating the position of the vehicle. The GPS modem gives many
parameters as the output, but only the NMEA data coming out is read and
displayed on to the LCD. The same data is sent to the mobile at the other
end from where the position of the vehicle is demanded. An EEPROM is used
to store the mobile number.
The hardware interfaces to microcontroller are LCD display, GSM modem and
GPS Receiver. The design uses RS-232 protocol for serial communication
between the modems and the microcontroller. A serial driver IC is used for
converting TTL voltage levels to RS-232 voltage levels. When the request by
user is sent to the number at the modem, the system automatically sends a
return reply to that mobile indicating the position of the vehicle in terms of
latitude and longitude.
Their team has successfully completed our Project on Tracking down
Vehicle and Locking it remotely using GPS and GSM technologies. They first
tried to understand the working of our project through the schematic and
then we proceeded to build the circuit as per the schematic. Initially we
faced few problems with the GPS modem, as it wont work efficiently inside
buildings. And also the GSM modem suffered problems with the coverage
area of the Mobile Service Provider. So, they used Airtel as it has maximum

coverage area. In order to solve this problem we can use dedicated servers
and purchasing satellite space so that we can track down the vehicle
anytime and anywhere. (Bharath et al., 2014)

Intelligent Anti-Theft and Tracking System for Automobiles

Despite the various technologies that have been introduced in recent
years to deter car thefts and tracking it, It was reported that as many as cars
were stolen yearly in the world. According to National Crime Information
Center (NCIC), in 2006, 1,192,809 motor vehicles were reported stolen, the
losses were 7.9$ billion.
Several security and tracking systems are designed to assist corporations
with large number of vehicles and several usage purposes. A fleet
management system can minimize the cost and effort of employees to finish
road assignments within a minimal time. Besides, assignments can be
scheduled in advanced based on current vehicles location. Therefore, central
fleet management is essential to large enterprises to meet the varying
requirements of customers and to improve the productivity.
However, there are still some security gaps where these technologies dont
prevent a vehicle from theft, dont assist to recover it and dont allow the
users to know the status of their vehicles. They cant permit the owner to
communicate with the vehicle online, even if the owner is certain that his
vehicle was stolen.

The system has two main units; the first is security unit which is
embedded in the vehicle. This unit consists of: a GSM modem, GPS receiver,
control relay, current sensor and Microcontroller as shown in Fig. 2 [10]-[12].
The current sensor will send an analog signal to the microcontroller when the
car is running. The microcontroller will send SMS directly to the owner to
confirm that. NC control relay contacts are connected with the hot line that
powers the fuel pump and ECM. The microcontroller can send a signal to the
relay to cut off the power, when received SMS contains code from owner
mobile to stop it. The GPS Receiver retrieves the location information from
satellites in the form of latitude and longitude readings in real-time. The
Microcontroller processes the GPS information and transmits it to the user
using GSM modem by SMS every 10 minutes when the user asked that from
the system by sending SMS contains code. The Microcontroller also reads
engine parameters from vehicle data port (OBD-II) and sends them to the
second module in the same SMS. The second module is a recipient GSM
modem that is connected to a PC or a laptop. The modem receives the SMS
that includes GPS coordinates and engine parameters. The modem receives
SMS text that includes GPS coordinates, engine parameters, and vehicle
engine status. This text is processed using a Visual Basic program to obtain
the numeric parameters, which are saved as a Microsoft Office Excel file. To
transfer this information to Google Earth, the Excel file is converted to KML
(Keyhole Markup Language) format. Google Earth interprets KML file and

shows vehicles location on the map. The systems efficiency is dependable

on the sufficiency of the used communication network.
In this paper, a low-cost vehicle tracking and monitoring system is
presented. The application included a transmitting module which contains an
embedded system to combine GPS and GSM devices to retrieve location and
vehicle status information and send it to the other stationary module; the
second part is the receiving module which collects the transmitted
information by SMS and process it to a compatible format to Google Earth to
view the location and vehicle status online. (Ramadan et al., 2012)

Tracking Vehicles with GPS: Is it a Feasible Solution?

In the recent years, new technologies such as Differential Global
Positioning Systems (DGPS) and Real Time Kinematic (RTK) have been
developed

and

applied

in

the

Global

Positioning

Systems

(GPS).

Consequently, GPS error has been reduced to the order of centimeters. The
new features of GPS make many applications possible, such as emergency
notification,

roadside

assistance,

stolen

vehicle

recovery,

navigation

assistance, real-time traffic alerts, and mobile yellow pages. Furthermore,

new vehicle management systems has been developed and deployed across
America with GPS based Computer Aided Dispatch/Automatic Vehicle
Location (CAD/AVL) systems, geographic information system (GIS), and/or
communication links to the Internet. Local transit systems, for example, are
seeing payoffs from investment in GPS and AVL technology. Milwaukee

County Transit cut off-schedule buses by 40% after the systems enabled
them to spot chronic bottlenecks causing delays. Onboard navigation
systems can give novice drivers or Para transit operators point-by-point
directions and instant connectivity to control center in case of trouble.
Another development is using IT to get more information to the riding public
about bus availability, service and routes (Carter 2002). Other similar
systems include Central Ohios Transit Authority (COTA) in Central Ohio,
Blacksburg Transit in Virginia, and Bus Dispatching System (BDS) in Portland.
Like most of the electronics products, the cost of the basic GPS chipset keeps
on declining steadily. In fact, the profit margin of the basic GPS chipset is
quite thin at present. Many GPS products with lower prices and smaller,
lighter units are available today in the market. On the other hand,
specialized software and integrating GPS on platforms typically cost much
more than the GPS equipment itself. For example, a $65 chip set provided by
a GPS original equipment manufacturer may be the core of a $600 car
navigation device that pays for itself in saved time and driver convenience
(International Trade Administration Office of Telecommunications 1998).
(Zheng et al.)

Real Time Vehicle Locking and Tracking System using GSM and GPS
Technology-An Anti-theft System
These days car theft cases are higher than ever, give your car an
excellent protection with the only reliable anti-theft device. Car central

locking system ensures the best guarantee to protect your car from different
kinds of theft cases. It is a car security device that offers excellent protection
to your car. A car with central locking security system helps the user to lock
and unlock doors at the press of a button. Mainly two types of central locking
systems are used in Auto industry - Automatic central locking system and
Manual central locking system that ensures smoother and secured operation.
Again this system could not prove to provide complete security and
accessibility of the vehicle in case of theft. So a more developed system
makes use of an embedded system based on GSM technology. The designed
& developed system is installed in the vehicle. The main concept in this
design is introducing the mobile communications into the embedded system.
The main aim of the project is to design and develop an advanced
vehicle locking system in the real time environment. The user can send a
STATUS message from his cell phone and as soon as the GSM module gets
the message, it will check for the users authentication and if found to be
valid, it will immediately send the details of the locations like the latitude and
the longitude using GPS module. So the user can get to know the exact
location of the vehicle. At the same time message will b sent to a personal
computer where user can get the exact location of vehicle pointed out on the
google maps.
This project deals with the design & development of a theft control
system for an automobile, which is being used to prevent or control the theft
of a vehicle. The simulation of the circuit design and its implementation is

done using PROTEUS software. This system is designed to improve vehicle

security and accessibility. With the use of wireless technology vehicle owners
are able to enter as well as protect their automobiles with more passive
involvement. Ideally, this project could be made more convenient and secure
with the use of satellite modems instead of cell phones as tracking device as
the system may fail when there is no network coverage. This design can be
made more enhanced in future to support camera, handset phone / hands
free, mobile data LCD display, web based tracking software, also PC based
stand-alone software. In our project the security system is based on
embedded control which provides security against theft. The GSM modem
provides information to the user on his request. The owner can access the
position of the vehicle at any instant. He sends a message in order to lock
the vehicle. The GPS receiver on the kit will locate the latitude and longitude
of the vehicle using the satellite service. This is reliable and efficient system
for providing security to the vehicles through GSM, GPS and serial
communication.

The

maximum

speed

according

to

the

standard

is

20kbits/sec. (Wankhade et al., 2011)

GSM Based Car Security System

Other security system prevent from unwanted and give information to
the nearer or recorded security system give late information, while GSM
based car security system give information at a time and this system also
inform the nearer people .This is GSM based car security system (GBCSS) so

it is send the sms and also generate the alarm when this security system is
break .So we can save our car and thief is failed. Thats why this system is
latest system up till now.
The features of the GSM Based

Car

Security are as follows: This

device will take a maximum current of 4 amps and 230 V AC LCD Display
AT89S52 microcontroller, vibration detector, optical detector, revolution
detector sending the sms when anybody try to steal the car of owner.(Shah
et al., 2012)
Android Application for Vehicle Theft Prevention and Tracking System
Despite the various technologies that have been introduced in recent
years to deter car thefts and tracking it, It was reported that as many as cars
were stolen yearly in the world. According to National Crime Information
Centre (NCIC), in 2006, 1,192,809 motor vehicles were reported stolen, the
losses were 7.9$ billion. Several security and tracking systems are designed
to assist corporations with large number of vehicles and several usage
purposes. A fleet management system can minimize the cost and effort of
employees to finish road assignments within a minimal time. Besides,
assignments can be scheduled in advanced based on current vehicles
location.

Therefore,

central

fleet

management

is

essential

to

large

enterprises to meet the varying requirements of customers and to improve

the productivity. However, there are still some security gaps where these
technologies dont prevent a vehicle from theft, dont assist to recover it and
dont allow the users to know the status of their vehicles. They cant permit

the owner to communicate with the vehicle online, even if the owner is
certain that his vehicle was stolen. In wireless data transporting, GSM and
SMS technology is a common feature with all mobile network service
providers. Utilization of SMS technology has become popular because it is an
inexpensive, convenient and accessible way of transferring and receiving
data with high reliability.
A simple system has been designed which helps the user exploit the
working of multiple processors in parallel. The system consists of modern
hardware and software components enabling one mobile to track their
vehicle online or offline. The Android mobile within the vehicle receives the
latitudinal information from the satellite through GPS and the GPRS enabled
sim sends message to the other sim. The user interface is on another
Android mobile where the user can track the vehicle on Google map. The
entire document should be in Times New Roman or Times font. Type 3 fonts
must not be used. Other font types may be used if needed for special
purposes.
The vehicle tracking application is installed in the android mobile of the
owner. There is a GSM modem in the vehicle tracking and locking system
installed in the vehicle. As soon as the engine starts the system installed in
the vehicle sends a confirmation message to the owner using the sim in the
GSM modem. In case there is a theft the owner can react accordingly using
the application installed in his android phone.

In this study, a low-cost vehicle tracking and monitoring system is

presented. The application included a transmitting module which contains an
embedded system to combine GPS and GSM devices to retrieve location and
vehicle status information and send it to the other stationary module; the
second part is the receiving module which collects the transmitted
information by SMS and process it to a compatible format to Google Earth to
view the location and vehicle status online. (Madhu C G et al., 2014)

Locking and Unlocking of Theft Vehicles Using CAN

Todays Automobiles, invariably comply with digital control systems as
a consequence of constant growth in technology. Recent Vehicles contains
large number of Electronic Control Systems and already there are large
numbers of Electronic Control Units present. The growth of automotive
electronics is the result parties of the customers wish for better safety and
greater comfort and also for other requirements like improved emission
control and reduced fuel consumption. Electronic Control Units (ECUs) are
increasingly being deployed in automobiles to control one or more electronic
subsystems to realize various functions .When someone drives a car there
are many signals that are passed between the various ECUs embedded
inside the car. Output signals from an Electronic Control Unit contain
information about the current state of the car as the driver interacts
continuously with the car. A modern day automobiles can consists up to 80
ECUs, sensing and taking tabs of the various parameters of the automobiles.

This rapid and complex exchange of signals ensures the proper functioning of
the car.
Automotive industry uses Controller Area Network (CAN) as the in-vehicle
network for the Engine Management, the body electronics like door and roof
control, air conditioning and lighting as well as for the entertainment control.
Nowadays all most all car manufacturers have also started implementing
CAN based vehicle automation. CAN networks used in engine management
to connect several ECUs.
A vehicle tracking system combines the installation of an electronic
device in a vehicle, or fleet of vehicles, with purpose-designed computer
software atleast at one operational base to enable the owner to track the
vehicle's location. Collecting data in the process from the field and deliver it
to the base of operation. The terms cover a range of products which, by use
of communications technology, or a combination of technologies, identify a
stolen vehicle and its real-time location and present this information to a
Systems Operating Centre (SOC) or to the police. Tracking systems also
continue to update the data and differentiate between a particular stolen
vehicle and all other vehicles, which may or not be stolen. It is recognized
that such systems may be a facility within fleet management/logistics
systems or part of services known as vehicle telemetric. Modern vehicle
tracking systems commonly use GPS technology for locating the vehicle and
also other types of automatic vehicle location technology can also be used.

Vehicle information can be viewed on electronic maps via the Internet or

specialized software.
Controller Area Network (CAN) is a serial data communications bus for
real-time applications, developed by engineers at Bosch. Evaluated existing
serial bus systems regarding their possible use in passenger cars and found
that none of the available network protocols were able to fulfill the
requirements of the automotive applications in 1980s. CAN is based on the
broadcast communication mechanism, which is based on a messageoriented transmission protocol. The Controller Area Network (CAN) is used in
a broad range of embedded as well as automation control systems.
Application of CAN includes in the area of CAN in cars & Truck Engine,
Maritime Applications, Avionics System Networks, Building Automation etc.
Commercially

available

anti-theft

vehicular

systems

are

very

expensive. The paper act towards with the design & development of a Theft
Control System for an automobile, which is being used to prevent or control
the theft of a vehicle. The developed system makes use of an embedded
system and n GSM /GPS technology. The proposed system, installed in the
vehicle can be easily controlled by the owner of the vehicle by sending a
message from his/her mobile to the vehicle engine by interfacing with CAN
bus and GSM modem. Once, the vehicle is being stolen, the information is
being used by the vehicle owner for further processing, where by sitting at a
remote place, a message is sent to the interfacing GSM modem that is
interfaced with the ECU which is installed in the vehicle. By reading the

signals received by the mobile, the engine is locked automatically and speed
of the vehicle reduced to zero. Again it will come to the normal condition only
after entering a secured password by the owner of the vehicle.
The main idea behind the design is to introduce the Mobile
technologies into the embedded system. The designed unit is very cost
effective. The entire designed unit is on a single chip (ECU). When the
vehicle is stolen, owner will send a message to the mobile which is
embedded in the car showing the exact location using GPS. To stop the
vehicle, owner sends a message to control system placed in vehicle as an
ECU that automatically stops the flow of the fuel in the vehicle by sending
message through CAN Bus thus automatically engine speed reduce to zero.
(Manjunath T K et al., 2013)

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF GPS-GSMBASED TRACKING SYSTEM

WITH GOOGLEMAP BASED MONITORING
In

this

urban

life

transportation

is

very

common.

lot

of

mishappenings occur on the road every day. Therefore the need of security
and monitoring is developed. To resolve such problems, a system is
developed using GPS and GSM technologies and an application is introduced
in this research work.
This system has Global Positioning System (GPS) which will receive the
coordinates from the satellites among other critical information. Tracking
system is very important in modern world. This can be useful in soldier

monitoring, tracking of the theft vehicle and various other applications. The
system is microcontroller based that consists of a global positioning system
(GPS) and global system for mobile communication (GSM). This project uses
only one GPS device and a two way communication process is achieved
using a GSM modem. GSM modem, provided with a SIM card uses the same
communication process as we are using in regular phone.
The system is not limited to find the location of the target but also
calculates the distance travelled b/w two stations. This system is user
friendly, easily installable, easily accessible and can be used for various
other purposes. After installation system will locate target by the use of a
Web application (HTML based application) in Google map. The system allows
to track the target anytime and anywhere in any weather conditions. (Verma
et al., 2013)

Synthesis
Based on the study of Rohitaksha K , Madhu C G et al. (2014), the
application of vehicle tracking system has included a transmitting module
which contains an embedded system to combine GPS and GSM devices to
retrieve location and vehicle status information and send it to the other
stationary module. Most of the study about our project was using
Microcontroller, GPS and GSM module to locate the position of the vehicle
and receives sms from the device attached to the vehicle. You take control
the switching mechanism of the engine of your car. When the car starts

running, the client receives a confirmation SMS that it is running now. If this
is illegal operation or any intruders try to run the car, the owner can send
SMS to switch off the car. Afterwards, the system will check the mobile
number for received message, to confirm that the phone number could
access the security system; if the phone number is legal the system will turn
off the car. If the owner needs to track the vehicle, he/she have to send SMS
contains special code, after that he/she will receive a SMS containing the GPS
coordinates of the car, the SMS updating its content every predetermined
period. Also the car owner can connect another GSM modem with laptop to
track the vehicle immediately using Google Earth.