Design and construction of a burglary alarm system for vehicles in Nigeria

Abstract

Alarm system is made up of sections to detect, determine and deter criminal activities or other threatening situations. An alarm system can detect an event such as an intrusion, fire, gas leaks, or environmental changes. Therefore, this study presents a prototype for a vehicular burglary alarm system. The system integrates a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor and a piezoelectric sensor, functioning collaboratively to detect unauthorized intrusions. The design incorporates a 555 timer IC configured in the monostable mode, interfaced with both a buzzer and an LED to promptly alert vehicle owners upon intrusion. The entire system operates on a 9-Volt DC power source. The operational principle is straightforward: upon detection of intrusion by either the PIR or piezoelectric sensor, the trigger pin of the 555 timer IC is activated, initiating the activation of the buzzer and illumination of the LED. The system was tested and found to be working to specifications and predictions. Based on the results of this study certain recommendations were provided for further studies: such as an amplifier be incorporated into the system in order to boost the signal powering the siren, more sensors should be installed at different locations in the vehicle to detect a myriad of intrusions and improving the system by interfacing the alarm system with a microcomputer to boost the effectiveness of the entire system.