Abstract
Keywords:
GPS, GPRS, embedded PC, CAN bus, GSM modem
ABSTRACT:
The objective of this paper is to present a monitoring system designed for cars. Our system can provide in any moment the location of a car with an error of few meters. Besides this, the system can provide information about the car status and, in some special cases about car loading. The system contains two parts: a hardware part and software one. The hardware is represented by an embedded PC, which will be installed in the client car(s). The software is made as a client/server application. The application runs on a server at the client headquarter. The job of the server is to show on a map the location of the client car’s and any other information provided by the client. The client application will run on the embedded PC from the car and its main purpose is to transmit to the server information about the carrier car. The embedded PC has dimensions of 116mm X 96mm and maximum 4 serial ports. On these ports we connect various devices, which communicate with the PC and provide essential information as: current position, state of the engine. Three main devices will be connected to the embedded PC: • A GPS device, for obtaining the exact location of the car; • A CAN bus device, for connecting to the car network and communicating with the car computer; • A GSM modem, which offers the capabilities of transmitting data to the server using GPRS. We developed software to make use of embedded hardware and the server software. Our software from the embedded PC, running on Linux operating system, provides the following features: • Collects information about car position and about car state from the car computer (as engine is running, doors are closed), • Provides a communication subsystem with the server application, allowing the client to view in any moment the location and the state of his car(s).