Effective Remote Control of Several Outdoor Security Lights by SMS and Wifi Technology

Abstract

The aim of this study was to design and develop a control system using Short Message Service (SMS) and wireless networking (WiFi) technology to remotely control outdoor security lights in large organisations. The device comprises four main units, namely: the mobile phone or a computer system, the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) modem, the switching unit and the WiFi module. One feature that makes the developed system better than other related existing works is its ability to use two means of control. It makes use of WiFi when the operator is within the coverage area of the network of about 100 m to the device, at no cost, otherwise it uses SMS containing certain codes to control the lights. A Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card is placed in the GSM modem and SMS from the transmitter are sent to that mobile number. The module is also constantly checked by the microcontroller unit, processes the information, extracts the message and command from the GSM modem and WiFi module respectively and then acts accordingly. Owing to its simplicity, C programming is used to programme the microcontroller. The developed device when tested with three lighting points operating on 230V power supply, gives an impressive performance in terms of accuracy and promptness with both SMS and WiFi technology.

Keywords

• Microcontroller
• GSM modem
• module
• SMS
• mobile phone