The Official Journal of Engineering Research

Security on Doors and Windows

with Alarm System using GSM
Eric Paul N. Lucena, Marlon A. Bentulan, Cristyl G. Felipe,
Elizar J. Buog and Cromwell M. Castillo

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a system that can provide security on

home through the integration of different security devices. The study
sought to determine the following: (a) the features of the security
system, (b) efficiency of the security devices used in the system in terms
of its inputs, namely, biometrics fingerprint scanner, human motion
sensor and keypad, as well as to determine the response of its output,
namely, GSM, intrusion alarm, and LCD. A two-phase method was
employed in this study to assess the reliability of the developed system,
namely, the experimental development and descriptive method. There
are thirteen purposively chosen evaluators of this study which are
composed of three home security experts, five engineers, five selected
students and residents. The implemented system was evaluated and
the system features enumerated was found to be effective. Biometric
fingerprint scanner read the fingerprint accurately. Human motion
sensor was able to detect human presence. Keypad could activate
and deactivate the security system and worked accurately in terms
of password recognition. GSM was able to send a text message to the
homeowner. Intrusion alarm gave a warning when the sensor detects
human presence. LCD displayed the status of the system. Through the
integration of various security devices better security assurance can be
achieved.

Keywords: Engineering, alarm system, doors and windows, GSM,

security, design project, Philippines

University of the Immaculate Conception Pulsar•317

The Official Journal of Engineering Research

Introduction

Engineers play a major role in the society that paves the way for
people to view the world in a new perspective through inventions and
innovations of technological advancements. The creation of every
engineer gives a big impact to the people that change their lives into
more convenient way. With the emergence of technology, these could
aid life such as for security and safety.

In the past, homeowners relied on the lock of their door and they
would ask a favor to their neighbors to watch over their property when
they were away. In today’s society, locks on the doors and the presence
of neighbors provide a little security for the home. Locks can easily be
picked and in communities most are at work or school during the day.
The modern homeowner must turn to electronics to ensure a security
system installation for the home. Through the utilization of electronics,
home security can be achieved by anyone. The more advanced security
system is, the better quality of security may be achieved. (Rodriguez,
2010)

Security in homes is very important since it makes every household

safer and more secure. This comprises several important reasons to
consider a home security system. In personal safety, as thieves break into
a house, they are not likely concerned with the personal safety of anyone
in the house. There are people who are just interested in hurting people
inside. By its property, at any time, a house may be broken into even if
there’s no very valuable material. Thieves can find value in things that
every household might not. With this security system, households may
have a peace of mind as they leave their houses and can sleep better,
knowing that if someone wants to break in, they would be alerted. Any
strange noise in the middle of the night can likely be relegated to the
house settling or something less serious. (Amon, 2011)

In Philippines, there are many home stealing crime cases that happen.
One report in Manila Bulletin (2009) stated that there are four minors
that were nabbed by community watchmen early Sunday morning for

318•Pulsar University of the Immaculate Conception

 The Official Journal of Engineering Research

stealing laptops inside two houses in San Juan City last November 16,
2009. The community watchmen found from their possession a backpack
containing the laptop which was taken by the suspects at a residence on 4
Mahinhin St., St. Joseph. Police said the minors were immediately taken
to the Department of Social Welfare and Development center for proper
disposition. The posted report is one of the proofs that stealing happens
in Philippines. (Manila Bulletin, 2009)

A peasant leader was killed in Davao through a gun shot in

front of his child inside his house in Sitio Narra, Barangay Paquibato
Proper in Davao City. Labrador was the seventh activist killed under
the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III. He was also the
second victim of extrajudicial killing in Paquibato (Umil, 2010). The
mentioned crime is not just one. Many individual have already presented
that there are a lot of homicides that happened in Davao City.

To minimize or even prevent the risk of the household or employees

of a company from danger due to criminal acts, security system gadgets
widely exist all over the world such as the CCTV cameras, keyless door
lock using code numbers, and intrusion alarm. They are used to protect
houses and business establishments from any dangerous acts.

Using ideas and concepts of those existing security devices, the

researchers came up of an innovation to put together into one security
system the different ways in securing the house. This Security on Doors
and Windows with Alarm System using GSM is introduced by the
researchers to help solve the problems in home killings and give threat
to the intruders.

This study aimed to develop a security system with Biometric

fingerprint scanner for home use and to provide security using alarm
and GSM. In particular, the study sought to answer the following
questions:

1. What are the features of the Security on Doors and Windows

with Alarm System using GSM?

University of the Immaculate Conception Pulsar•319

The Official Journal of Engineering Research

2. How efficient is the system in terms of the following aspects?

a. Input
i. Biometric finger print towards the locking
mechanism
ii. Human motion sensor
iii. Keypad

b. Output
i. GSM
ii. Intrusion alarm
iii. LCD

Method

The first phase was the experimental development which comprises

the integration of different electrical and electronic components so as to
come up with the desired function of the system. The second phase was
the descriptive method which will evaluate the level of functionality of
the different features of the security system.

The study was developed and the design project was evaluated by
some security experts, engineers, residents and students. It was tested
and implemented at Lucena residence located at De Guzman St. Toril,
Davao City. The house consists of five (5) corners and the floor area is
85 square meters. The height of the house is approximately 3 meters
above ground level.

The system consists of Arduino Duemilanove, Biometric Finger

Print, Electronic Locks, GSM, LCD, Keypad Module, Human motion
sensor, and Intrusion alarm.

The Arduino Duemilanove serves as the heart of the entire system

and it is supplied by a 9 to 12Vdc source. Arduino has 14 digital outputs,

320•Pulsar University of the Immaculate Conception

 The Official Journal of Engineering Research

6 analog inputs, and has transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX). It controls
the operation of the GSM and LCD of the system. Biometric Finger Print
is the key to unlock the door which is installed with an electronic locks
that has an input and output of 12Vdc. The electronic locks used in
the system comprises of two types: Electric Strike and Electromagnetic
Lock. Electric Strike is a fail-safe electronic lock which means that when
power is loss, the lock will be at unlock state. It will be used at the main
door of the house. The other type of lock is a mini electromagnetic
lock which is also a fail-safe lock. It will be used at the backdoor and
two windows. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) will be used to display the
status of the security system (activated or deactivated) and to display
the status of the door (locked or unlocked). The size of the LCD is 20x4
and is supplied by 5Vdc. The keypad module is used to control the
security system and it must be set into ARM mode to activate the system.
Security system comprises human motion sensor, intrusion alarm, and
GSM. The system will use a PIR (Pyroelectric InfraRed) sensor to detect
human presence that is supplied with 12Vdc. It has an output voltage
of 5Vdc when it detects human presence and 3Vdc when it’s not. Once
the sensor detects human presence provided that the keypad is set into
ARM, the intrusion alarm will give a warning in a form of noise and
GSM will be also activated. Through this device, the owner of the house
will be notified that there is a burglar inside.

The functionality test procedure will serve as a guide of proper

handling and installation of the system. The first thing to do is to put
the biometric finger print outside the house and the LCD and keypad
inside. The three devices must be mounted near the main door. Install
the electronic locks to the doors and windows. After which, the PIR
sensor will be installed approximately 2.5 meters above the ground
level and is connected to the keypad module. The sensor must not be
directly exposed to sunlight. The next thing to do is to place the keypad
near the entrance but not close enough to the sensor. The intrusion
alarm must be placed inside or outside the house provided that it can
be heard easily. The GSM, microcontroller and keypad module will be
put together into one melt box. The keypad module and power supply
will be plugged into a 220V AC outlet. After setting up the devices, the

University of the Immaculate Conception Pulsar•321

The Official Journal of Engineering Research

system is now ready for usage. To unlock the door, place the registered
finger print at the biometric reader. After verifying the finger print, the
electronic locks will be unlocked. With the use of keypad, the owner
can activate or deactivate the security system.

There are thirteen purposively chosen evaluators of this study

which are composed of three home security experts, five Engineers, five
selected students and residents.

The home security experts evaluated the quality assurance that the
system offers in which the efficiency of the system was rated. Engineers
evaluated the prototype of the system and will check the reliability of
the system as well. The selected students and residents were part of the
evaluators that verifies the effectiveness of the system in terms of its
performance.

The evaluation of the designed system used a purposive sampling.

The system was evaluated by a set of home security experts in which
the designed system is in line with their specific field of profession.
They were capable in giving new ideas and perspective in home security
system installations. The designed system was also evaluated by a set of
engineers that have an idea on the flow of the operation of the system and
its connections. There were residents and selected students as evaluators
for they were the primary beneficiaries of the designed system.

Scale in Determining the Mean Description

Range Description

4.51 – 5.00 Strongly agree

3.51 – 4.50 Agree
2.51 – 3.50 Moderately agree
1.51 – 2.50 Disagree
1.00 – 1.50 Strongly disagree

322•Pulsar University of the Immaculate Conception

 The Official Journal of Engineering Research

Likert scale was used to measure the level of operability and

functionality of the system entitled Security on Doors and Windows
with Alarm System using GSM. The matrix above shows that the highest
rating is 5 which is equivalent to the description of “Strongly agree” and
a lowest rating of 1 which is equivalent to the description of “Strongly
disagree”. This level of scale describes the response of the evaluators
with regards to the stated statements on the evaluation forms.

Results and Discussions

Table 1. Biometric Fingerprint Scanner

Biometrics
Question Mean Description

1. Enrolls user’s fingerprint easily. 4.7 Strongly agree

2. Verifies finger print accurately. 4.8 Strongly agree
3. Triggers the locking mechanism to 4.7 Strongly agree
unlock.
4. Durable. 4.7 Strongly agree
5. Helps to provide security at home. 5.0 Strongly agree

Overall Mean 4.8 Strongly agree

Table 1 shows that the biometric fingerprint scanner has an overall

mean of 4.8 which interprets that its efficiency as part of the security
system was strongly agreed by the evaluators. It synchronizes with other
device connected to operate at its desired application. The lowest mean
for biometric has a mean value of 4.7. This shows the response of the
evaluators on its accuracy in terms of its operations and also assesses
its durability. Among the five operations presented in the above table,
it was strongly agreed that it helped to provide security on home with
a highest value of mean.

University of the Immaculate Conception Pulsar•323

The Official Journal of Engineering Research

Table 2. Human Motion Sensor

Human Motion Sensor

Question Mean Description

1. Detects human presence. 4.7 Strongly agree

2. Disregards the presence of pet and 4.3 Agree
any form of material.
3. Detects accurately the presence of 4.7 Strongly agree
human according to its specification
(horizontal and vertical range).
4. Durable. 4.7 Strongly agree
5. Helps to provide security at home. 4.9 Strongly agree

Overall Mean 4.7 Strongly agree

Table 2 shows that the human motion sensor has an overall mean
of 4.7. This represents how efficient it is as part of the security system
which was strongly agreed by the evaluators. However, among the
operations of this device, its immunity to pets and any form of materials
was only agreed by the evaluators which has a mean value of 4.3 in
terms of its accuracy.

Table 3. Keypad

Keypad
Question Mean Description

1. Easy to operate. 4.8 Strongly agree

2. Convenient to use. 4.9 Strongly agree
3. Effective. 4.9 Strongly agree
4. Can activate and deactivate the 4.8 Strongly agree
security system.
5. Works accurately in terms of 4.8 Strongly agree
password recognition.

Overall Mean 4.9 Strongly agree

324•Pulsar University of the Immaculate Conception

 The Official Journal of Engineering Research

In this table, the overall mean of the keypad is 4.9 which proved
the level of performance it provides in the system. This table also shows
that its functionality as a whole in the security system is efficient and
effective. It was strongly agreed by the evaluators and clearly presented
that the keypad is one of the devices that got the highest value of means
used in the system.

Table 4. GSM

GSM
Question Mean Description

1. The signal is reliable. 4.2 Agree

2. Activates when the sensor has 4.9 Strongly agree
detected human presence.
3. The message is sent successful to 4.5 Agree
the home owner.
4. The message is not delayed. 4.2 Agree
5. The message received is exact. 4.7 Strongly agree

Overall Mean 4.5 Agree

Table 4 presents the level of performance of GSM in the system.

The overall mean of this device is 4.5 which interprets that it was only
agreed by the evaluators. Its weakest operability is the reliability of
the signal and if the message sent to the user is not delayed that has a
mean value of 4.2. In this part, the main basis of the result is due to the
stability of the network connection.

University of the Immaculate Conception Pulsar•325

The Official Journal of Engineering Research

Table 5. Intrusion Alarm

Intrusion Alarm
Question Mean Description

1. Fast reaction when the sensor has 4.7 Strongly agree

detected human presence.
2. It will not stop alarming unless it is 4.8 Strongly agree
turned off using the keypad
3. The loudness of the sound is 4.8 Strongly agree
audible enough to be heard.
4. Stable. 4.8 Strongly agree
5. Helps to provide home security. 4.9 Strongly agree

Overall Mean 4.8 Strongly agree

Table 5 above shows the response of the evaluators towards the

operation of the intrusion alarm as part of the system. It was strongly
agreed by the evaluators that all operations of this device are working
effectively that has an overall mean of 4.8 and a lowest mean of 4.7.
Totally, the device helped to provide security on home.

Table 6. Liquid Crystal Display

LCD
Question Mean Description

1. Accepts signal from the 4.8 Strongly agree

microcontroller.
2. Display the status of the system 4.8 Strongly agree
(activated or deactivated).
3. Display the status of the door locked 4.8 Strongly agree
(locked or unlocked).
4. Clear and visible to read. 5.0 Strongly agree
5. Stable and durable. 4.8 Strongly agree

Overall Mean 4.9 Strongly agree

326•Pulsar University of the Immaculate Conception

 The Official Journal of Engineering Research

Table 6 shows that LCD got an overall mean of 4.9. Stability,

durability and its visibility strongly agreed by most of the evaluators.
Based on the result, this device helped the user to secure the status of
the system and as well as the locking mechanism of the door.

According to the evaluators of the project, the security system that

the researchers have implemented is well done. The performance of every
feature worked properly according to its purpose and specifications.
The best part of the system that the evaluators mostly appreciated is the
biometric fingerprint scanner and the locks that have been used.

However, there are instances that are needed to be considered

where the security system cannot offer. Even though the performance
is satisfactory for every feature, there are still some factors that do not
meet perfectly to its maximum performance. In addition, the project
is a bit costly but has good quality where security assurance can be
achieved.

Totally, as what the evaluators have observed and commented on

the project, it was successfully implemented and the project provides
better security to the house for it has a various type of integrated
security devices.

University of the Immaculate Conception Pulsar•327

The Official Journal of Engineering Research

Literature Cited

Amon, L. 2011. Why are home security systems important. from

hhtp://www.ehow.com/facts_5011416_why-home-security-
systems-important.html

ArticlesBase. 2010, June 30. Digital lock system for the security
of your home and vehicle. From http://www.articlesbase.com/
automotive-articles/digital-lock-system-for-the-security-of-
your-home-and-vehicle-2750522.html

Aycock, S. 2011, January 19. How do i design keyless door lock

using microcontroller. From http://www.ehow.com/facts_
7818388_do-door-lock-using-microcontroller.html

Benezeth, Y., et.al. 2010, March. Towards a sensor for detecting

human presence and characterizing activity. From http://www.
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778810003348

Berlin, H., et.al. 2011. Advance home security. From www.

wattpad.com/24463-advance-home-security?p=1

Cao, Y., et.al. 2009. Home security project report. From http://
www.seminarprojects.com/Thread-home-security-system-a-
project-report

Gib, A. 2011. Home security: effective steps for protecting your

family and possessions. From http://www.articlesnatch.com/
Article/Home-Security-Effective-Steps-For-Protecting-Your-
Family-And-Possessions/1307723

Haun, L. 2011. Production-line jamb setting and door hanging.

From http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=pnqqL6c3Zp4C
&pg=PA115&lpg=PA115&dq=door+locking+theory&source
=bl&ots=VBiOVT3a&sig=XtQeJoL8jHzqXxSnDmkAEYqUyX8
&hl=tl&ei=faubTamOBcTQceWdmNgF&sa=X&oi=book_res

328•Pulsar University of the Immaculate Conception

 The Official Journal of Engineering Research

ult&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CGoQ6AEwCQ#v=onepa
ge&q=door% 20locking%20theory&f=false

Hsieh, C. J., et.al. 2010, January 3. Home security system.

From http://www.seminarprojects.com/Thread-home-
security-system-a-project-report

Manila Bulletin. 2009, November 16. 4 minors nabbed for

stealing laptops, from http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/
manila-bulletin/mi_7968/is_2009_Nov_16/4-minors- nabbed-
stealing-laptops/ai_n42109682/

Ragunath, K., et.al. 2009, April. GSM based banking security

system. From http://www.scribd.com/doc/25428872/Gsm-
Based-Banking-Security-System

RadCom Academy. 2011. CDMA and GSM cellular technology. From

http://www.protocols.com/pbook/cellular.htm

Rodriguez, F. 2010. Home security - more important than ever.

From http://www.buzzel.com/articles/home-security-more-
important-than-ever.html

Seminarprojects. 2008. Biometrics and finger scan. From http://

www.seminarprojects.com/Thread-biometrics-and-finger-scan

The Columbia Enclyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2011, May 7. Lock and

key, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/lock_
and_key.aspx

Umil, A. M. 2010, September12. Peasant leader killed in davao,

7th extrajudicial killing under noynoy. From http://davaotoday.
com/2010/09/12/peasant-leader-killed-in-davao-7th-
extrajudicial-killing-under-noynoy/

University of the Immaculate Conception Pulsar•329