International Journal of Computer Application (2250-1797)

Volume 5 No. 4, June2015

Child Tracking System Using GPS

Sindhuja H R1, Swathi R Upadhya2,Vrundha S3, Tushar Soni4
B.E Final Year Students1, 2, 3, 4
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
BMS Institute of Technology & Management, Bangalore- 64

ABSTRACT
Today, perhaps the most terrifying ordeal for individuals as parents is to lose sight of
their children. The reason for this being crime rate against children is rampant. It is high time to
offer safety support system for children.Thus, this proposed system aims in building a reliable
hardware & Android application which work synchronously to locate the position of the child
using embedded GPS receiver in the hardware and display the position on a digital map via the
Internet in real time on the application. Also send an SMS alert to the parents/guardians when a
mismatch in the position occurs. This proposed system also offers to extend help for the parents
of the specially challenged children to take care of them in a better way.
Key words:GPS, GSM, Accelerometer

Corresponding Author:Vishakha Yadav, Assistant Professor, Dept. of CSE, BMSIT&M

1. INTRODUCTION
India has the worlds largest child population at 400 million[7].In the last few years, it is
observed that there is a rampant growth in the statistics of crime against children in India. The
recent crime statistics published reveal that there is a noticeable increase in rape cases, kidnapping
and abduction, and other crimes against children. Fig 1 shows the increase in the crime rate
against children over the years [8]. Thus, it is high time to offer safety support system for all
children.

Fig 1: Statistics of Crime rate against children

Therefore, this project focuses on implementing children tracking system. Children
tracking system can be used to assure parents that their wards are safe from danger. The
proposed system includes tracking the childs movement to and from school. The information
pertaining to the missed child is sent to the school authorities as well as to their respective
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parents, if they move beyond the coverage area.The information about the childs whereabouts is
sent to parents through text message to their Android phones.
Many a times, physically handicapped children need special attention. Thus, our project
also aims to aid the physically handicapped children by providing features like voice play back
circuit and accelerometer.These features provided makes help for those children possiblein an
elementary way. Both of these features alert the onlookers whenever the child is in danger while
they themselves are unable to call for attention.
1.1 Background
In recent times, many articles are published in the newspapers and in the Internet
regarding the various crimes committed against children in India. The most alarming facts which
motivated usto propose this project and build it are as given below.
In India, nearly 40,000 children are abducted every year, out of which 11,000 remain
untraced National Human Rights Commission of India.
As per information available with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of
33,052 cases, 38,172 cases and 58,224 cases were registered under crime against children
during 2011-2013 respectively, showing an increasing trend. As stated by NCRB, every 8
minutes, a child goes missing in India.
India is the worlds hub of child trafficking Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. Govt.
These facts and figures justify that the most terrifying ordeal for an individual as parent is
to lose sight of their children. This project is thus proposed and developed to prevent panic
stricken situations for parents and school authorities& also to mitigate crime rate against children
in India.
2. APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
The system under consideration comprises of hardware and software components. The
requirements regarding the same are discussed below.
The above system consists of microcontroller interfaced withGPS Modem, Voice
Playback circuit,GSM modem, Accelerometer and an LCD.Initialization of the GPS, GSM and
LCD components is required.Since we are using GPS by using latitude and longitude we can find
out the childs position.Send an SMS alert to the parents/guardians and the school authorities in
case of location mismatch of the child. Set a maximum X and Y axes threshold and alert the
onlookers to extend help to the child, if the child tends to fall or initiate the alert explicitly.For
finer designing and testing purposes, our proposed system has been divided into 2 modules, viz.
Transmitter Module and Receiver Module as shown in Fig 2.

Fig 2: Component Diagram of the Proposed System

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2.1 Transmitter Module

The Transmitter Module is further divided into submodules, viz.
1. ARM7 Microcontroller
2. GSM Module
3. GPS Module
4. Voice Playback Circuit Module
5. Accelerometer Module
6. LCD Module
The block diagram for transmitter module of our system is as shown below in the Fig 3.

Fig 3: Transmitter Module of the Proposed System

2.1.1 ARM7 Microcontroller
ARM7 is the main component of the transmitter module. A 32-bit LPC2148
Microcontroller is employed for the construction of the hardware component of the system. The
functionalities of the microcontroller in our proposed system include:
Initializes the GSM and GPS.
Monitors the GPS values continuously to determine the current location and compares the
readings of the current location received with the predefined location of the destined
premises for the child. If both values are not matching then the child is outside the region, the
parent will receive an SMS alert from SIM card inserted in the GSM module.
The microcontroller also keeps a check on the accelerometer readings. It compares the
threshold values of both the X and Y-axes with the received readings from the accelerometer.
2.1.2 Global Positioning System (GPS) Module
The GPS Module is interfaced with the ARM7 Microcontroller via the UART1 Port. The
GPS receiver receives signals from the GPS satellite. A method of triangulation is used to
determine the accurate position on the earth wherein the GPS receiver receive the signals from
three different satellites. These receivers can only be used effectively outdoors only because they
require an unobstructed view of the sky.

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2.1.3 Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) Module

The ARM7 microcontroller is interfaced with the GSM Module at the UART0 Port. The
main functionality of this module is to receive and send messages. It is done so utilizing the AT
commands provided for the GSM such as AT+CGMS (send message), AT+CMGR (read
messages) and obtain notifications of newly received SMS messages (AT+CNMI).
2.1.4 Voice Playback Circuit Module
The Voice Playback Circuit has 8 channels (M0-M7) to record the voice messages. These
channels are used to interface the Voice Playback Circuit with the ARM7 microcontroller. On
receiving a signal from the microcontroller, the prerecorded voice message is played using the
speakers integrated with this circuit. The volume of the audio being played should be set in prior.
2.1.5 Accelerometer Module
The Accelerometer Module consists of the accelerometer. Accelerometer ADXL335 is
employed for this system. This module is basically provided to aid the physically challenged
children in case if they fall. The microcontroller is provided with the threshold values of the X
and the Y-axes. If the values obtained by the accelerometer reading exceed the threshold values,
then the message is sent to the parent. The parents can choose to play the prerecorded voice note
in the audio playback circuit to indicate to the onlookers in assisting the fallen child.
2.1.6 LCD Module
The LCD Module is of the configuration 2*16. This module is interfaced with the
microcontroller using the pin of the latter. Its functionality is to display the following:
Coordinates obtained by the GPS Receiver.
Message if the child is inside or outside the premises.
Accelerometer Readings.
2.2 Receiver Module
The receiver module of our system is an Android phone, which resides with the parent.
When the child is outside the desired premises the Parent/Guardian will receive a message.
Using the SIM card inserted in the GSM module of the hardware, the parent registers the child
using the application provided on the phone. On logging in with the right details, the Parent can
then track the childs current location using the Google Maps integrated in the application. The
application also allows the parent to trigger the Voice Playback Circuit and play the previously
stored voice notes to allow the onlookers to rescue the child.
The parents can track the childs current location by sending control signal to the
microcontroller through GSM communication. The parents can send three control signals
If they click on Child Track, the microcontroller will send current location of the child.
If they click on the button Track, the exact position of the child is located on the google
map.
If they click on the button Start Audio, the Voice Playback Circuit is activated. The
recorded audio message can be played for 50 to 60 seconds.
If the parents desire to stop the Voice Playback Circuit within 50- 60 seconds, then a
provision is given to send another control signal Stop Audio that will deactivate the Voice
Playback Circuit.

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(a) Login Page

(b) Register Page

(c) Tracking the Child

Fig 4: Android Application

3. CONCLUSION
This paper focuses on tracking a childs position and its location is sent to his/her parents.
It mainly aids in locating missing children. In addition to this, whenever any authorized person
or the parent sends message to GSM Modem placed in the transmitter which is with the missing
child, the location is tracked by the GPS module and these values are sent to the parent or
authorized person through the GSM at the transmitter. The proposed solution takes advantage of
the rich features offered in android smart phones. This project makes it easier for law
enforcement, thus keeping general public safer, ensures child safety and monitors the
whereabouts of physically challenged people.
4. REFERENCE
[1] A. Al-Mazloum, E. Omer, M. F. A. Abdullah, GPS and SMS-Based Child Tracking System
Using Smart Phone, International Journal of Electrical, Computer, Electronics and
Communication Engineering, 2013
[2] J.Saranya , J.Selvakumar, Implementation of Children Tracking System on Android Mobile
Terminals, International conference on Communication and Signal Processing, 2013
[3] M.Navya1, S. Mohammed Rafi, K. Niranjan Reddy, Android Based Children Tracking
System Using Voice Recognition, IJCSMC, 2015
[4] Dr/Ayman Mohamed Afifi, Using of Tracking systems for devices designing to face
children Kidnapping Phenomenon (GSM GPRS -GPS), International Journal of Scientific
and Research Publications, 2013
[5] Radhika Kinage , JyotshnaKumari , PurvaZalke , Meenal Kulkarni4, Mobile Tracking
Application, International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and
Technology, 2013
[6] G.Bharathi, L. Ramurthy, Implementation of Children Tracking system using ARM7
Microcontroller, International Journal of Industrial Electronics and Electrical
Engineering,2014
[7] Child Rights NGO in India, www.cry.org.
[8] Crime against Children, www.qz.com/229397/the-deadliest-vehicle-on-the-roads-and-sixother-sobering -facts-about-crime-in-india/
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