2

Child Passenger Safety Warning

System
Leow Pei Ling, Shafisuhaza Sahlan, Norhaliza A. Wahab

2.1

INTRODUCTION

Car has become one of the most important needs of most of the
families in Malaysia. Cars are needed for all family members to
travel from home to nursery, schools, markets and offices. Usually,
morning time is most hectic hour for working parents to send their
children to nursery or schools before they proceed with their daily
chores or to offices. One of the frequent tragic accidents related to
vehicles nowadays is children dying of suffocation after being left
in the car. Safety has always been an important concern in our life.
This includes the safety at the workplace, home, and also vehicles
where the number of incidents that jeopardizes safety keeps
increasing by days.
Overloaded, exhausted, distracted or confused by a change
in routine, working parents can completely forget that they've left
their children unattended. Others may leave sleeping children in
car seats while they exit their vehicles for what they believe will be
a quick errand. Yet, left alone for only a few minutes, a small child
would be abducted, set the vehicle in motion, or even on a
seemingly mild day, suffer a deadly heat stroke. Cars are definitely
inappropriate places for children to be left without adult
supervision.

Since the invention of automobile, more and more

intelligent devices and systems have been integrated in vehicles to
warn careless drivers whether they have left their headlights on,
keys in ignition and even remind the driver to fasten their safety
belts. Therefore, similar concept of smart device should be
installed in the vehicles to remind the drivers about children who
are left behind in the car that the driver should have noticed.
Up to 2014, there are at least twenty-three heatstroke deaths
of children in vehicles cases reported. Meanwhile, from the
statistics, in 2013, there were at least forty-four deaths of children
in vehicles, thirty-nine, which has been confirmed as heatstroke
and five which, based upon the know circumstances, are most
likely heatstroke. In 2012, there were 34 deaths of children due to
hyperthermia (heat stroke) after being left in or having gained
access to hot cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs. Since 1998 there have
been at least 629 documented cases of heatstroke deaths of
children in vehicles.
This chapter proposed a safety device that would alarm
parents who inadvertently leave their infants and children strapped
in car seats based on several investigation and studies conducted
that include STEEP analysis. The whole process of the device
development is based on C-D-I-O framework. Each step of the
framework is discussed and shown in the following topics. This
proposed product uses precision materials and electronics to sense
when a child is seated in a car after the driver has left the vehicle.
Besides, the product developed will alert the driver that a child has
been left in the car.
Many cases on death of children in the car caused by
heatstroke are mainly the careless mistake done by the adults who
left their children unattended for long period. The total of children
died is increasing from year to year as busy parents were too
rushed to get their work done that they forgot of their children that
are left alone in the car. In order to solve this, an intelligent system
or device urgently need to be invented for the purpose of helping to
prevent such accidents from happening.

Based on the feedbacks and the data acquired from the

public collected during the interview sessions, many suggested that
having a gadget with the ability to remind them if they accidentally
left someone in the car. However, cost is one of the major concern
of the public especially those who have already owned a car and
would not want to buy a new one too soon. Therefore, a plug and
place device is more suitable. Based on the collected ideas and
suggestion, a conceptual design following STEEP analysis that
involves social, technology analysis, economic, environment, and
political is proposed.
2.2

CONCEIVE

This project is to help parents manage their daily routine and get
all their jobs done while feeling secure to leave their children in the
car. Thus, the project is divided into multiple sections with
objectives as follows:
(i)

(ii)

To design a sensor system that is used to detect whether the

children are inside the car or not, when their parents left
them. This feature can ensure the safety of the children and
reduce the tendency of children doing something bad inside
the car because they are wearing seat belts.
To design a reminder system that is able to send messages
and even call the parents to let them know that their
children are left inside the car.

This product is designed for all users that have their own
car. Therefore, the system is designed to help to increase the safety
of the child passenger in the car. So, the intended users are mostly
parents whose children with age below than 12 years old.
The main use of this product is to increase the safety of
child in car with the help of the system that can act as reminder to
the users. This product is affordable for all users and can be easily

installed in the car without having to modify the current car

system. The product is designed to plug and play mode, which is
an easy way for users to use this device. The device will act as a
reminder that reminds the users that their child left in their car.
This project focuses on the development for child passenger
warning system. Meanwhile, this chapter describes the project
requirements and conceptual prototype based on STEEP analysis
and comprehensive discussion within the group and opinion from
the panel. At the beginning of the development of the conceptual
prototype, information gathered from the interview sessions was
categorized according to seven areas as shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 The information arranged by category

According to Figure 2.1, all the key information suggested

by interviewees are categorized according to the cost, the root
problems, the targeted users, the possible solutions, the attitude of
the users, the environment and also the activities that can increase
the awareness of leaving children unattended in the car.

Based on these key information, the conceptual design

model is built and presented to show the actual size and look of the
prototype. STEEP analysis is included in this design.

Figure 2.2 STEEP analysis for prototype design

STEEP analysis is based on five categories which are

social/cultural analysis, technological analysis, economic,
environment/ecological and political/legal/ethical. The details of
STEEP analysis for the project are listed below.

Social / Cultural analysis

o Based on the social and cultural analysis of Malaysian,
most of the parents are working. One of the partners will
have to send their children to nursery or school. Since

morning is the most hectic hour for working parents, they

have to complete many tasks within a short period.
Therefore, there is always some possibilities to forget
something. The most crucial task to be left out is leaving
their children unattended in the car. For example, there
have been at least twenty-three heatstroke deaths reported
in vehicles for the year of 2014.Therefore, a system that
could remind forgetful parents is very helpful.

Technological analysis
o In order to have this reminder system, it has to be portable
and easy to be installed in the existing car.
o The system was designed with the use of microcontrollers
and sensors. In a prototype design proposal, we proposed to
use Arduino UNO as a controller, GSM to communicate by
sending a reminder to the user and Force Sensitive Resistor
to sense the presence of children at the back seats.

Economic
o Based on the economic analysis, most of the consumers are
willing to pay not more than RM200 for the products.
Therefore, the development of the product needs to take
cost into account.
o The system is not too expensive. The cost of prototype
development is estimated to be more than RM300 but the
price is corresponded with the function of the system and
the components used. It is believed that, by using mass
production, the price to manufacture this product will be
lower. With this, more users would afford buying this
system.

Environment or Ecological
o Its guaranteed that this product is a very environmentalfriendly product. The power supply used is power bank and
does not interrupt the system in the car. The product is safe

to be plugged and implemented at any place and in any

cars.
o The system can be used by all people especially for parents.
It is very important for the safety of their children.

Political or legal or ethical

o The system uses the goods approved by the government
and are not harmful to consumers.

Several important information were extracted and have

been written down on a sticky note and displayed on the provided
papers and boards. All listed information was then rearranged
under the various categories. The categories are problems, target
users, cost, activities, solutions, attitudes and environment
respectively.
After that, a users persona is designed to give a better
imagination of the user's needs. In designing persona character, all
details includes users daily life routines, and also users problems
about his/her daily life is considered.
After finalizing the persona, a design statement is
constructed in order to identify or to clarify all the questions
regarding the users problems. Figure 2.3 shows the persona
character and the design statement.

Figure 2.3 Personas and Problem Statement

Persona is based on three categories which are profile, pain

point and needs of the persona. From the details of persona, we can
conclude a design statement .The design statement is very
important as a guide for the team to design a prototype of the
project. Figure 2.4 shows the prototype design of the project.

Figure 2.4

Prototype Design

According to Figure 2.4, prototype design is based on five

categories which are pressure sensor, limit switch, controller and
hand phone. The idea of this prototype is to build a system that
helps parents with a child as a passenger.

2.3

DESIGN

This project is designed to fit within RM 500 budget. Therefore,

each group needs to plan their expenses within the stated budget.
For this project, the total cost spent on the proposed Safety Alarm
system is RM380 .The materials used in the project are also listed
out in BOM. With this the following is the function of the some
materials.
1) Arduino Uno
o To process the data, link up with force resistive force
(FSR), KW11 micro switch, Global system for mobile
communication (GSM) and display board.

2) Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR)

o Used to detect whether the driver and passenger is
sitting on the seat or not.
3) Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)
o A device used to send info or reminder to the user
(driver) by using Sim card.
4) Limit switch
o Installed at passenger seat belt used to ensure whether
its a person who sitting on it instead of any foreign
objects.
Then, the vehicle safety features of this project are list out
in Figure 2.5.
Reminder
system

Safety Sensor

VEHICLE SAFETY
FEATURES

Global System for

Mobile Communication

Rear Passengers
Sensor

Figure 2.5 Vehicle Safety Features

According to Figure 2.5, the vehicle safety features is based

on four categories which are safety sensor, rear passenger sensor,

Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) and reminder

system.
2.4

IMPLEMENTATION

Before building this system, the schematic circuit was designed

first. Schematic are our map to designing, building and
troubleshooting circuits. The schematic circuit is shown in Figure
2.6.

Figure 2.6 Schematic Circuit

This schematic circuit is design by using Fritzing software.

Schematic circuit is made up of two things: symbols that represent
the components in the circuit, and lines that represent the
connections between them. This circuit is very important to show
how a circuits components are connected together by line
drawing. It served as a map or plan for assembling this project.
This project was finalized with all the features stated in the
objective. For this system, we tried to produce a compact and a
helpful system for users. This drawing was produced by using solid

works in order to get the full idea picture of the project. Whereas,
this box was built up with a several holes around it order to set up
for LED and USB. All components were set up to test if all
component is functioning accordingly or not. Some of the
components such as Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR), Light
Emitting Diode (LED) and Resistors are set up in a bread board.
These components were connected to another component. The
overall circuit design is shown in Figure 2.7.
CODIN
G

DATA

LIMIT
SWITCH

GSM

ARDUINO
UNO

FORCE
SENSITIVE
RESISTOR

Figure 2.7 Overall Circuit Design

In overall circuit design, it shows that the all component in

bread board was connected to the Arduino Uno, GSM and limit

switch. In the meantime, the coding is also very important because

the circuit operates step-by-step with the command in the coding.
In order to ensure that the system functions well, all the
circuit and components are tested. The results of the test before and
after of the circuit is shown in Figure 2.8.

Before

After

Figure 2.8 Before and After testing the circuit

Figure 2.8 shows the result before and after testing the
circuit. If FSR does not detect any pressure and limit switch is not
pushed down, the LED will light up with RED color for which, this
indicates that there is no passenger at the rear seats. Then, when the
FSR at driver seat does not detect any pressure meanwhile FSR at
the passenger seat detects pressure while the limit switch is pushed
down, the green LED will light up for which, it indicates that there
are passengers left at the rear seats and the driver is not around.
The system will then wait for 10 minutes, if the green light is still
lighting up, the GSM will send SMS to the driver of the car and
then call to driver after 15 minutes later as reminder to them.

2.5

OPERATE

After circuit testing, the first prototype of the Child Passenger

Safety Warning System was successfully completed and is shown
in Figure 2.9.

BOX
POWER
BANK

USB

Figure 2.9 Final Product

Figure 2.9 shows the box, power bank and USB installed in
the car. The box is for keeping the processor Arduino, GSM,
Resistor and all components. Then, Power bank as a power supply
for the system and USB is the connection between power supply
and the circuit to turn the system on off. Figure 2.10 shows the
installation of the limit switch at the rear passenger seats.

LIMIT
SWITCH
Figure 2.10 Limit switch

According to Figure 2.10, it shows the limit switch that is

installed in safety belt. The passenger needs to wear the safety belt
to push the limit switch down. This is to differentiate the weight
applied on the seats are human or things. Meanwhile, figure 2.11
shows the force sensitive resistor installed at the rear and driver
seats to detect weight on the seats.

FORCE
SENSITIVE
RESISTOR AT
DRIVER SEAT

FORCE
SENSITIVE
RESISTOR AT

Passenger Seat

Driver Seat

Figure 2.11 Force Sensitive Resistors (FSR)

Figure 2.11, it shows Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR) at driver seat

and passenger seat. If drivers presence is detected, the system will
turn OFF. However, its a different case if no driver presence is
detected, the system will automatically turn ON. Then, the system
will detect if there is any passengers and whether they wear safety
belts, the system will send message and call.
If a child is left in the car unattended for 10 minute, the
system will detect and alert the adult. The total average delay time
is 10 minute for the GSM to send an SMS to the user. Then, 5
minute later, if the person take no action yet, the GSM will call the
user.
So, the flow graph of hows the system working is shown in
Figure 2.12

Figure 2.12 Flow graph of hows the system working

2.6

RESULT & DISCUSSION

Our safety warning system is built with features of reminder

system that is able to send messages and call the user. The
advantage of our product are it is portable and easy to be installed
in any existing car and its guaranteed that the product is a very
environmental-friendly product since the power supply used is
power bank besides does not interrupt the system in the car. The
product is safety to be plugged and implemented at any place and
any car.
However, the system also comes with some limitations. Below
are the limitations for the system.

When the passengers do not wear safety belts, the system does
not function.
When the users turn off their smart phone or run out of battery,
they will not receive the SMS and call.
When users leave their cars at the place with no network
signals, the system will not function well to call and SMS.
The power bank needs to be checked for at least once in two
days to ensure that the power is always enough to feed the
system.
In the meantime, a survey has been done to observe the
willingness of potential users to purchase this specific product. The
set of questionnaire is shown in Figure 2.13.

Figure 2.13

Survey the Willingness of Potential Users

According to the 30 potential users the outcome obtain is shown in

Figure 2.14.

Figure 2.14

Potential Users

According to Figure 2.14, it shows that 70% out of 30 potential

users are willing to buy this system Child Passenger Safety
Warning System.

2.7

CONCLUSION

This product is designed for all users that own a car for which the
system is designed to help to increase the safety of the child
passenger in the car. So the intended users are mostly parents with
children of age below than 12 years old. The main purpose of this
product is to increase the safety of child in car with the help of a
system that acts as a reminder to the user. This product is
affordable for all users and can be easily installed in the car
without having to modify the current car system. The product is
designed to plug and play mode, which is an easy way for users to
use this device. The device reminds the users that there is someone
or their child is left in their car and feeling secure leaving children
in the car. Some of items can be improved such as the type of the
box can be improved by using a more suitable material. Power
supply of the system can be improved by using the car battery
instead of using a power bank. Some alert system like alarm could
be added in this system. Add some voice messages for call
function. Use more accurate sensor than limit switch.
2.8

ACKNOWLEGEMENT

The authors would like to express sincere gratitude to all the

interviewees and publics who have provide great suggestions and
ideas that have made this project a successful one. In addition,
special thanks to our students which are Zul Azzrie bin Tarmizi,
Nurazizah Mahmod, Andreas Nuleh, Muhammad Faiz Muhammad
Rozi for completion of this project.

REFERENCES

(2009).Fritzing Download. In google. Retrieved March 3, 2015

from http://fritzing.org/download/
(2015).Cytron Technologies. Retrieved March 9, 2015 from
www.cytron.com.my
(2015).FSR 402 Data Sheet. Retrieved March 12, 2015 from
http://www.steadlands.com/data/interlink/fsr402.pdf
(2015).SIM900 GSM/GPRS Module. Retrieved March 12, 2015
from http://www.propox.com/download/docs/SIM900.pdf
(2015).GSM/GPRS Module. Retrieved April 14, 2015 from
https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Cellular%20Modules/CEL09533-User's%20Manual.pdf
Ryan J, (2012, July 31). Govt study: Devices that alert parents
they left a child in car deemed unreliable. Retrieved from
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/govt-study-devices-that-alertparents-they-left-a-child-in-car-deemed-unreliable/