2018 IEEE Conference on Open Systems (ICOS)

Arduino-based Wireless Motion Detecting System

Siti Syaidatul Syazlina Mohd Soleh Mohamad Md Som Mohd Helmy Abd Wahab
Faculty of Computer Science Center of Diploma Studies Faculty of Electrical and Electronic
and Information Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Engineering
Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Parit Raja, 86400 Batu Pahat, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia,
Parit Raja, 86400 Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia Parit Raja, 86400 Batu Pahat,
Johor, Malaysia mohamads@uthm.edu.my Johor, Malaysia
ai150021@siswa.uthm.edu.my helmy@uthm.edu.my

Aida Mustapha Nurul Ain Othman Mohd Zainuri Saringat

Faculty of Computer Science Center of Language Studies, Faculty of Computer Science
and Information Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, and Information Technology,
Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Parit Raja, 86400 Batu Pahat, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia,
Parit Raja, 86400 Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia Parit Raja, 86400 Batu Pahat,
Johor, Malaysia nurulain@uthm.edu.my Johor, Malaysia
aidam@uthm.edu.my zainuri@uthm.edu.my

Abstract—This project aims to help the public in protecting of the house were not at home or even with the the possibility
and avoiding criminal cases that are likely to occur in their of occupants were in the house. Intruders can easily unlock the
neighbourhood. Such cases occur when the occupants are not house unnoticed by anyone. The existing alarm system may
at home or possibly even occur when the occupants are in the
house. Intruders can unlock the house unknowingly by anyone. be helpful or vice versa. Among the advantages that can be
The Arduino Security System is a technology that uses PIR seen is that if there are movements detected, the alarm system
(Passive Infrared Sensor) sensors to detect such motions. This will notify users with a sound. But if the occupants are not at
device has been created for home security systems. It uses home, how would they get the notification? It is because the
Arduino Uno as a data processor. When the PIR detector detects alarm system has no connection with the users.
movement, Arduino processes the data and triggers an alarm. At
the same time, Arduino will also send the data via Wi-Fi modules This project is set to develop an application of Wireless
to users via applications that have been uploaded to a user’s Motion Detection System by using Arduino platform and
smartphone. Only homeowners can turn off the alarm system performing User Acceptance Testing as well as implementing
using a smartphone. The connection between the application and external tester beta test (end user). This system application will
the circuit is connected using a Wi-Fi module. The application be used by homeowners. Only the homeowners can turn off the
of this detector system can be a suitable security system in
accordance with the current development. alarm system using a smartphone. The apps and the circuit are
Index Terms—security, motion, wireless, arduino connected using a Wi-Fi module. Wi-Fi module is connected
only within limited distances. The alarm system between
I. I NTRODUCTION the Arduino circuits will be connected with the application
developed for user. Wi-Fi module is used to connect the
The project developed is the Application of Wireless Mo- circuit and the application and it allows users to communicate
tion Detection System using Arduino. This system app uses between circuits through the developed applications.
Arduino with the aim to help users from becoming victims of The remaining of this paper is organized as follows. Section
criminal cases such as house breakage, theft and aggression. 2 presents systems similar to the proposed system. Section 3
The Arduino Security System is a technology that uses PIR presents the development methodology. Section 3 presents the
(Passive Infrared Sensor) sensors to detect the movement. This prototype implementation and Section 4 presents the testing.
device has been created for home security systems. Using Finally, Section 5 concludes with some indication for future
Arduino Uno as a data processor, it can be a suitable security works.
system in accordance with the current development. When the
PIR detector detects movement, Arduino processes the data II. R ELATED W ORK
and triggers an alarm. At the same time, Arduino will also Safety is defined as a condition that where one is protected
send the data via the Wi-Fi module to the user through the from physical, political, social, financial, and other related
application in user’s smartphone. matters involving undesirable events. Safety and security are
There were many criminal offenses such as house breakage, important aspects in today’s life as everyone needs security
invasion and theft. Such cases can be seen from the mass guarantee when they are not at home. Therefore, various
media or in the newspapers. They occurred when the occupants types of developments in technology were designed to provide

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 2018 IEEE Conference on Open Systems (ICOS)

security at all times to protect one’s assets. This system

application focuses on providing security when the users are
outside or even inside their houses [1].
The alarm system helped users to be more alert about their
home safety. Alarm system will warn the users if PIR sensor
detected movement via the Wi-Fi module. This way, users will
be notified if someone has intruded their residence and they
could take immediate action to prevent something bad from
happening. When the alarm system detected movements, users
can track those movements through the mobile application. Fig. 1. PIR sensor arduino alarm.
A. Arduino
Software is a generic term for various types of programmes France [6]. The alarm system used is LCD and the sensor used
used to operate computers and related devices. Software is was PIR type parallax detector. The system used two different
divided into system application software that consists of op- XBee model hardware namely XBeeSparkFun Explorer and
erating system and programmes that supports the application. XBee Adapter Kit. The system used advanced technology
Arduino is a computer hardware and software company, which was XBee, model hardware that can display messages
project, and open source consumer community that designs via the LCD. When the sensor detected movements, the alarm
and manufactures single microcontroller and microcontroller system will display the message through the LCD. This means
kits to build digital devices and interactive objects that can that users were aware of their home security when the user
detect and handle objects in the physical world. Arduino board sees the LCD screen. The system did not use alarm trigger
designs used a variety of microprocessors and controllers. The system.
board is equipped with digital and analog input/output pin
which can be connected with various expansion boards and
other circuits. The board has serial communication interface,
including Universal Serial Bus (USB) on some models that are
also used for loading programmes from personal computers
[2]. The microcontroller is usually programmed using C and
C++ programming language [3].
Android is a Linux-powered operating system developed
by Google and designed for touch screen mobile devices
like smartphones and tablets [4]. Android is an open source
operating system, and Google has issued its source code under
Fig. 2. Arduino controlled motion sensor.
the Apache License. Android is very popular with technology
companies that produces high-tech but low-cost devices.
This PIR sensor detected movement from a distance of 15
B. Comparison with Existing Systems feet that equals to 4 meters only. This alarm system triggered
alarm when the sensor detected movement and displays the
These existing systems have some advantages and disadvan-
message via the LCD but did not have any connection with the
tages. Based on the research done, these systems are selected
user. The user will only found out about their home security
to create new systems to be developed. The hardware and
only when they see it on the LCD display.
software used were also taken into consideration.
3) Arduino Based Security System using GSM: Arduino
1) PIR Sensor Arduino Alarm: PIR Sensor Arduino Alarm
Based Security System using GSM (Fig. 3) was created in
(Fig. 1) was created in June 2010 by John Edgar Park, an
August, 2017 by MaxPhi [7].
electrical engineer at Disney Research [5]. The alarm system
used was the alarm trigger and the sensor used was PIR
detector. This system did not use any other hardware or
software. This system only used the basic hardware to create a
motion detection system. This PIR sensor detected movements
from a distance of 20 feet that equals to 7 meters only. The
alarm system triggered the alarm when the sensor detected
movements but there were no connection from the system to
the user. This means that if the user was not in the area and
the alarm system make sounds, the user will not be notified.
2) Arduino Controlled Motion Sensor: Arduino Controlled Fig. 3. Arduino-based security system using GSM.
Motion Sensor (Fig. 2) was created in June, 2010 by Frank
G. Goethals working at IESEG School of Management, Lille, The alarm system used was the alarm trigger and the sensor

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used was PIR detector. This system used the Global System
for Mobile Communications (GSM) hardware model. The
system were using advanced technology with GSM modeling
hardware that can send short messages that were set prior to
the user. If the sensor detected movements, the alarm system
triggered the alarm and sends a short message to the user.
Users will only found out about their home security via short
message but the alarm system will not be shut down until a
specified time frame.
This PIR sensor detected movements from a distance of 20
feet that equals to 7 meters only. The detector distance value
depends on specific conditions. This alarm system will trigger
an alarm if the sensor detects movement and sends a short Fig. 4. Prototyping methodology.
message to the user. The user will only found out about their
home security when a short message is received but the alarm
system cannot be turned off directly by the user. materials to be used; and planning for the cost for each
4) Application of Wireless Motion Sensor System: This sys- hardware and electronics items to develop this project.
tem was developed as a result of the combination of existing • Analysis: Review and analyze any weaknesses and
systems that have been modified to facilitate users. The system strengths of existing systems, hardware and electronic
used ESP8266 NodeMcu Wi-Fi module technology to transmit gadgets to be used in this of this project.
data to the users through applications developed. The sensor • Design: Designing application interface and circuit inter-
system used was the same as the previous one which is the PIR face, schematic diagram, Arduino circuit flow charts and
sensor to detect the movements within a specified distance. applications, use case diagrams, sequences, state transi-
Communication between user-shared circuits was through the tion diagram, applications interface as well as circuit.
application developed and connected using Blutooth module. • Implementation: Application implementation, testing
Table I shows the comparison of existing systems with the the system application, testing document.
new system developed in terms of sensors, alarm systems, IV. P ROTOTYPE D EVELOPMENT
hardware and software used. Overall, the system to be devel-
oped has its own advantages and disadvantages depending on A. Application System Design
certain aspects. One of the advantages that can be stated, is Figure 5 illustrates the android application interface that
that this system can send data to users through the application has been developed using Android Studio 3.1 software. This
system that has been uploaded to user’s smartphone. application was developed to facilitate users to control the
Data transmission to the user is parallel with the alarm alarm system by simply pressing the buttons provided. This
system used. Applications that have been uploaded to users’ android app contains 3 modules which are the Wi-Fi connec-
smartphone will trigger an alarm if the alarm system detects tion (Enable Wi-Fi), turn off Wi-Fi connection (Disable Wi-Fi)
movements. However, this application can only send warnings and turn off the alarm (Turn Off).
to the user but the user cannot view or monitor their residence
area through this app because this system did not use camera
type alarm system.

III. M ETHODOLOGY
The motion detector sensie system developed in this project
is based on the Prototyping Methodology as shown in Figure
4. This model has four main phases namely planning phase,
analysis phase, design phase and implementation phase. The
testing phase is combined together in the implementation
phase for the purpose of simplifying the application and the
circuit developed.
The work flow process for the prototype model is as follows.
In each phase, there were certain activities that have been
carried out before proceeding the next phase. These activities
were set according to the correct flow of work to develop this
project.
• Planning: Identify the problems, objectives, purposes Fig. 5. Application interface.
and scope of the project; identify hardware and electronic

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 2018 IEEE Conference on Open Systems (ICOS)

TABLE I
C OMPARISON BETWEEN THE P REVIOUS S YSTEMS WITH THE P ROPOSED S YSTEM

Table Systems
Head PIR Sensor Arduino Alarm Arduino Controlled Motion Arduino-based Security Arduino Wireless Motion
Sensor System using GSM Detector
Sensor PIR Motion Sensor PIR Motion Sensor PIR Motion Sensor PIR Motion Sensor
Microcontroller Arduino Arduino Arduino Arduino
Alarm Trigger Sensor LCD Trigger Sensor Trigger Sensor
Connectivity None XBee GSM Wi-Fi

B. Arduino Circuit Design

Figure 6 illustrates the Arduino circuit interface that has
been created for this project by using the Fritzing software.
Arduino circuit was designed to detect movement. Compo-
nents used were Arduino Uno R3, ESP8266 NodeMcu Wi-
Fi module, alarm, Red Light Emitting Diode (LED) and PIR
Sensor. The connection between these components did not
require soldering but requires sufficient jumper wires [?].

Fig. 7. Application main and sensor page.

The tracking system was the hardware used to track move-

ment and send data to the application. This sensor system uses
sophisticated technology such as Arduino Uno R3 ATmega,
ESP8266 NodeMcu V3 Wi-Fi module, PIR sensor system,
Fig. 6. Arduino circuit interface. alarm and LED.

From the figure, the design board was used to facilitate V. C ONCLUSIONS
the components that were connected to the Arduino pins. This project was developed with the intention to help users
The components used must be connected with the Male-Male to keep their home safe. Security and safety including their
jumper wire or Male-Female jumper wire in order to connect personal belongings and property. Crime cases can occur unex-
to the design board and the Arduino involved. pectedly. To prevent criminal cases, the system was developed
to help solve the problem. This system application could detect
C. Implementation and Testing movements within specified distance and sends out data or
Android Studio 3.1 software was used to develop this notifications to the users through the application installed.
system application. The system application used Java pro- The system application was also developed to help users
gramming language. Arduino Software IDE 1.8.5 was used track movements using the Arduino platform that has been
to develop an alarm system and also to programme Arduino connected to users’ smartphone using Wi-Fi network. Among
Uno with the ESP8266 NodeMcu Wi-Fi module and other the advantages of this system application that has been iden-
components. The application homepage was a startup to the tified was that this system application can send a notification
application developed. On this page, users did not have to press message to the user if the motion sensor detects movement
any button to proceed to the next page. The sensor app page over a Wi-Fi network. Additionally, the application also has a
is a page used by users for connecting the Wi-Fi modules simple design that is easy to be used by the users.
and turning off the alarms. On this page, there were three In conclusion, the Application of Wireless Motion Detection
modules used, which were Wi-Fi connection (Enable Wi-Fi), System using Arduino can help users to ensure the safety of
Turn off Wi-Fi (Disable Wi-Fi), and turn off the alarm (Turn their home and properties. Using advanced technology such
Off). Figure 7 shows the main page as well as the site where as Arduino and Wi-Fi ESP8266 V3 as well as the connec-
the sensor application developed. tion between the alarm systems together with the developed

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applications, it allows users to be well informed about their [2] Y. Tawil, “Understanding arduino uno hardware design,” Allaboutcircuits.
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[3] A. G. Smith, “Introduction to arduino,” published in September, vol. 30,
within a predetermined time frame and achieved the objectives pp. 115–125, 2011.
outlined. However, there are still some weaknesses that need [4] “Android operating system,” https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/android-
to be improved to produce a better detection system in the operating-system.asp, accessed Septermber 21, 2018.
[5] J. E. Park, “Pir sensor arduino alarm,” https://makezine.com/projects/pir-
future. sensor-arduino-alarm/, accessed Septermber 21, 2018.
[6] “Arduino controlled motion sensor,”
R EFERENCES https://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Controlled-Motion-Sensor/,
[1] N. F. Sallehuddin, “Kesedaran terhadap amalan keselamatan dalam kalan- accessed Septermber 21, 2018.
gan pelajar di makmal kejuruteraan uthm,” Ph.D. dissertation, Universiti [7] A. Raj, “Arduino motion detector using pir sensor,”
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