LED-LDR Based Railway Crack Detection Scheme

Basic rationale:
Transport is a key necessity for specialization that allows production
and consumption of products to occur at different locations. Transport has
throughout history been a spur to expansion as better transport leads to
more trade. Economic prosperity has always been dependent on increasing
the capacity and rationality of transport. But the infrastructure and
operation of transport has a great impact on the land and is the largest
drainer of energy, making transport sustainability and safety a major issue.
In India, we find that rail transport occupies a prominent position in
providing the necessary transport infrastructure to sustain and quench the
ever-burgeoning needs of a rapidly growing economy. Today, India
possesses the fourth largest railway network in the world. However, in
terms of the reliability and safety parameters, we have not yet reached truly
global standards. The principal problem has been the lack of cheap and
efficient technology to detect problems in the rail tracks and of course, the
lack of proper maintenance of rails which have resulted in the formation of
cracks in the rails and other similar problems caused by anti-social
elements which jeopardize the security of operation of rail transport. In the
past, this problem has lead to a number of derailments resulting in a heavy
loss of life and property. Cracks in rails have been identified to be the main
cause of derailments in the past, yet there have been no cheap automated
solutions available for testing purposes. Hence, owing to the crucial
repercussions of this problem, we have worked on implementing an
efficient and cost effective solution suitable for large scale application. We
hope that our idea can be implemented in the long run to facilitate better
safety standards and provide effective testing infrastructure for achieving
better results in the future.
Statistics to justify the problem:
The Indian Railways, today has 113,617 kilometres (70,598 mi).of
total track over a route of 63,974 kilometres (39,752 mi) and 7,083 stations.

It has the world's fourth largest railway network after those of the United
States, Russia and China. The railways traverse the length and breadth of
the country and carry over 30 million passengers and 2.8 million tons
of freight daily. It is the world's second largest commercial or utility
employer, with more than 1.36 million employees. Despite boasting such
impressive figures, we find that Indian rail network is still on the growth
trajectory trying to fuel the economic needs of our nation. Though we find
rail transport in India growing at a rapid pace, the associated safety
infrastructure facilities have not kept up with the aforementioned
proliferation. Our facilities are poor when compared to the international
standards and as a result, we have been having frequent derailments that
have resulted in severe loss of valuable human lives and also property. To
demonstrate the gravity of the problem, statistics say that there have been
11 accidents in 2011 till the month of july alone, which leaves much to be
desired regarding rail safety. On further analysis of the factors that cause
these rail accidents, recent statistics reveal that approximately 60% of all
the rail accidents have derailments as their cause, of which about 90% is
due to cracks on the rails either due to natural causes (like excessive
expansion due to heat) or due to anti- social elements. These cracks and
other problems with the rails generally go unnoticed due to improper
maintenance and the currently irregular and manual track line monitoring
that is being carried out in the current situation.
Survey of contemporary solutions:
The prompt detection of the conditions in rails that may lead to a
crack or rather a break now plays a critical role in the maintenance of rails
worldwide. The understanding of these mechanisms is constantly
improving and the evolution of a range of complementary (Non Destructive
Testing)NDT techniques has resulted in a number of tools for us to choose
from. Among the inspection methods used to ensure rail integrity, the
common ones are visual inspection, ultrasonic inspection and eddy current
inspection. Ultrasonic Inspections are common place in the rail industry in
many foreign countries. It is a relatively well understood technique and was
thought to be the best solution to crack detection. However, Ultrasonics can

only inspect the core of materials; that is, the method cannot check for
surface and near-surface cracking where many of the faults are located.
Eddy currents are used to tide over this limitation associated with
ultrasonics. They are effectively used to check for cracks located at the
surface of metals such as rails. Further, (Magnetic Particle Inspection) MPI
is also used in the rail industry but there are a number of problems inherent
with this technique, some of which are mentioned below:

Surface of the rail or component must first be cleaned of

all coatings, rust and so on.

To get a sensitive reading, contrast paint must first be

applied to the rail, followed by the magnetic particle coating.

The same inspection must then be carried out in two

different directions at a very slow overall speed.
However, in the Indian scenario, we find that the visual form of
inspection is widely used, though it produces the poorest results of all the
methods. It is now becoming widely accepted that even surface cracking
often cannot be seen by the naked eye.
Justification of the proposed solution:
As mentioned in the literature survey, we find that the commonly
employed rail crack detection schemes in foreign countries are usually
ultrasonic or eddy current based techniques which boast of reasonably good
accuracy in most cases. However, the one characteristic which the above
mentioned methods have in common is that they are both expensive, which
makes them ineligible for implementation in the current Indian scenario.
Also, ultrasonics can only inspect the core of materials; that is, the method
cannot check for surface and near-surface cracking where many of the
faults are located. In addition, ultrasonic inspection of rails is usually
restricted to low speeds of around 20-30mph, which limits the viability
of testing many tracks regularly. Many of the most serious defects that can
develop in the rail head can be very difficult to detect using the currently
available inspection equipment. Generally, one of the reasons for slow

inspection speeds using conventional NDT is the need for couplant between
the transducer and the track using either liquid or dry couplant materials.
The Laser solution that we considered initially, offered some advantages in
terms of cost but altogether it was inefficient due to the high power needed
to power the laser and also the limitations inherent to laser. The main
problem was that as lasers generally have long wavelengths, they tend to
cut through reflecting surfaces instead of getting reflected back which poses
a serious problem in a rail crack detection system. Furthermore human
eyes are sensitive to laser light and therefore in case of a problem with the
operation, the exposure to harmful laser light poses a safety hazard. Thus
after having weighed up all our options, we have chosen the cheaper means
of a LED-LDR based detection which provides us with ruggedness and
reasonably accurate crack detection.
Advantages of the proposed solution:
The currently existing technical solutions offered by many companies
in the detection of cracks in rails involve periodic maintenance coupled
with occasional monitoring usually once a month or in a similar timeframe.
Our project however possesses the inherent advantage of facilitating
monitoring of rail tracks on a daily basis during nights when the usual train
traffic is suspended. Further, we believe that the simplicity of our idea and
the easy-availability of the components make our project ideal for
implementation on a large scale with very little initial investment. The
simplicity of our project ensures robustness of operation and also the
design has been carefully modified to permit rugged operation. Another
disadvantage that can be attributed to the conventional commercially
available testing equipments is that they are heavy which poses a practical
limitation. However, this important disadvantage has been rectified in our
project as the design is simple and sensible enabling the device to be easily
portable. While designing the mechanical parts of the robot, due
consideration has been given to the variable nature of the tracks and the
unique challenges posed by the deviations in the Indian scenario. For
example, in areas near road-crossings the outer part of the track is usually

covered with cement. Also, there is always the problem of rocks obstructing
the path on the inside parts of the rails. The specialized wheels that have
been provided in our robot have taken this into account and are specifically
designed to overcome the aforementioned problem.
Mechanical design:

Technical overview:
The core of our proposed crack detection scheme basically consists of
a Light Emitting Diode (LED)-Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) assembly

that functions as the rail crack detector. The principle involved in this crack
detection is the concept of LDR. The LED will be attached to one side of the
rails and the LDR to the opposite side. During normal operation, when
there are no cracks, the LED light does not fall on the LDR and hence the
LDR resistance is high. When the LED light falls on the LDR, the resistance
of the LDR gets reduced and the amount of reduction will be approximately
proportional to the intensity of the incident light. As a consequence, when
light from the LED deviates from its path due to the presence of a crack or a
break, a sudden decrease in the resistance value of the LDR can be
observed. This change in resistance indicates the presence of a crack or
some other similar structural defect in the rails. In order to detect the
current location of the device in case of detection of a crack, we make use of
a GPS receiver whose function is to receive the current latitude and
longitude data. To communicate the received information, we make use of a
GSM modem. The GSM module is being used to send the current latitude
and longitude data to the relevant authority as an SMS. The
aforementioned functionality has been achieved by interfacing the GSM
and GPS modules with the ATMEGA328 microcontroller on-board the
Arduino Uno board. The arduino integrated development environment is
an open-source project which simplified the coding greatly. The robot has
four wheels which are powered by two 12V batteries.
Block diagram:

LED
LDR
Power DC
Motors

H BRIDGE
GSM module
GPS module

ATMEGA328
(Arduino Uno)

Explanation of the algorithm:

After the bot is powered on it executes the following algorithm:

1) The following steps are done to calibrate the Light Dependent Resistor
(LDR). This step is necessary to compensate for the variation of ambient
light.

a) Set LOWleft=0, LOWright=0, HIGHleft=0, HIGHright=0

b) Switch off the left LED.
c) Average the signal from the left LDR and store it in LOWleft. To do
this read the signal from the left LDR and accumulate it in LOWleft, i.e.
keep adding the
signal from the left LDR to LOWleft. Then
divide LOWleft by total number of times the signal from left LDR is read
(in our case 10).
d) Switch off the right LED.
e) Average the signal from the right LDR and store it in LOWright.
f) Switch on the left LED.
g) Average the signal from the left LDR and store it in HIGHleft.
h) Switch on the right LED.
i) Average the signal from the right LDR and store it in HIGHright.

2) GSM is turned ON. For this the baud rate is set as 9600 bps and the
required parameters are set.

3) Motors are turned ON.

4) The signal from the left and the right LDR is read.

5) The values of the left and the right LDR are mapped between 0 and
1000. To do this use the following two formulas:

INTENSITYleft=1000.0*(analogRead(LDRleft)-LOWleft)/(HIGHleftLOWleft)
INTENSITYright=1000.0*(analogRead(LDRright)LOWright)/(HIGHright-LOWright)

analogRead(LDRleft) and analogRead(LDRright) are the signal from the

left and the right LDR. INTENSITYleft and INTENSITYright are the
mapped values.

6)

If INTENSITYleft<LowThreshold (200 for our case)

INTENSITYright<LowThreshold (200 for our case) then

and

a) Motors are powered on

7)

If INTENSITYleft>HighThreshold (800 for our case)

INTENSITYright>HighThreshold (800 for our case) then

and

a) Motor is powered off.

b) The coordinate of the bot is found using the onboard GPS reciever.
c) This coordinate is then sent to a predefined mobile number using the
onboard GSM shield.

8) Jump to step 4.

Our code:
#include<string.h>
#include<ctype.h>
#include <GSM_Shield.h>
#include<string.h>
char number[]="+919790721683";
char text[50];
char TEXT[25];
byte type_sms=SMS_UNREAD;
GSM gsm;
int byteGPS=-1;
char linea[300] = "";
char comandoGPR[7] = "$GPRMC";
int cont=0;
int bien=0;
int conta=0;
int indices[13];
int flag=1;
int f=0;
int logic=0;
double LOWleft=0;

double HIGHleft=0;
double LOWright=0;
double HIGHright=0;
double INTENSITYleft=0;
double INTENSITYright=0;
int LEDleft=8;
int LEDright=9;
int LDRleft=2;
int LDRright=0;
int MPIN1=7;
int MPIN2=10;
int MPIN3=11;
int BrightLED=3;
void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);
pinMode(MPIN1,OUTPUT);
pinMode(LEDleft,OUTPUT);
pinMode(LEDright,OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(MPIN1,LOW);
digitalWrite(LEDleft,LOW);
digitalWrite(LEDright,LOW);
for (int i=0;i<300;i++)
{

linea[i]=' ';
}
gsm.TurnOn(9600);
gsm.InitParam(PARAM_SET_1);
gsm.Echo(0);
delay(3000);
for (int k=1; k<=10; k++)
{
delay(500);
LOWleft+=analogRead(LDRleft);
}
LOWleft/=10.0;
delay(3000);
for (int k=1; k<=10; k++)
{
delay(500);
LOWright+=analogRead(LDRright);
}
LOWright/=10.0;
digitalWrite(LEDleft,HIGH);
delay(3000);
for (int k=1; k<=10; k++)
{
delay(500);

HIGHleft+=analogRead(LDRleft);
}
HIGHleft/=10.0;
digitalWrite(LEDright,HIGH);
delay(3000);
for (int k=1; k<=10; k++)
{
delay(500);
HIGHright+=analogRead(LDRright);
}
HIGHright/=10.0;
Serial.println(LOWleft);
Serial.println(LOWright);
Serial.println(HIGHleft);
Serial.println(HIGHright);
digitalWrite(BrightLED,HIGH);
delay(10000);
digitalWrite(BrightLED,LOW);
analogWrite(MPIN2,0);
analogWrite(MPIN3,255);
digitalWrite(MPIN1,HIGH);
}
void loop()
{

do
{
INTENSITYleft=1000.0*(analogRead(LDRleft)-LOWleft)/(HIGHleftLOWleft);
INTENSITYright=1000.0*(analogRead(LDRright)LOWright)/(HIGHright-LOWright);
if (INTENSITYleft<200 && INTENSITYright<200)
{
if (logic==1)
{
digitalWrite(MPIN1,HIGH);
flag=1;
digitalWrite(BrightLED,LOW);
}
if (f==1)
{
digitalWrite(MPIN1,HIGH);
}
logic=0;
f=0;
}
else
if (INTENSITYleft>800 || INTENSITYright>800)
{

digitalWrite(MPIN1,LOW);
logic=1;
f=0;
while (bien!=6 && flag==1)
{
conta=0;
for (int i=0;i<300;i++)
{
linea[i]=' ';
}
do
{
byteGPS=Serial.read();
if (byteGPS == -1)
{
delay(100);
}
else
{
linea[conta]=byteGPS;
conta++;
}
}
while (byteGPS!=13);

cont=0;
bien=0;
for (int i=1;i<7;i++)
{
if (linea[i]==comandoGPR[i-1])
{
bien++;
}
}
if (bien==6)
{
for (int i=0;i<300;i++)
{
if (linea[i]==',')
{
indices[cont]=i;
cont++;
}
if (linea[i]=='*')
{
indices[12]=i;
cont++;
}
}

strcpy(text,"Latitude: ");
int k=10;
for (int j=indices[2];j<(indices[3]-1);j++, k++)
{
text[k]=linea[j+1];
}
text[k]='\n';
text[k+1]='\0';
strcpy(TEXT,"Longitude: ");
for (int j=indices[4], k=11;j<(indices[5]-1);j++, k++)
{
TEXT[k]=linea[j+1];
}
strcat(text,TEXT);
Serial.println(text);
flag=0;
gsm.SendSMS(number,text);
cont=0;
bien=0;
}
}
}
else
{

f=1;
digitalWrite(MPIN1,LOW);
}
}
}

Our team's effort in implementation:

We proceeded with our idea of creating a rail based crack detection
scheme using a LED-LDR assembly for detection because, after conducting
an extensive review of the existing solutions, we found our idea to be simple
but effective. We used an ATMEGA328 on-board on the Arduino Uno
board and henceforth the open source arduino IDE was used to program
our microcontroller. The arduino board was selected for ease of use-as it is
basically a plug-in board with a built-in bootloader that greatly simplified
the coding process. When we set about trying to find a wireless
communication technique suitable to our task, we encountered a number of
problems regarding the feasibility and ruggedness parameters. Our initial
idea of using FM transmission did not materialize owing to the inherent
complexity of the associated circuitry which we tried to avoid as it would
seriously jeopardize our claims of mass production of the proposed testing
device and its subsequent implementation. Second, for a brief period of
time, we considered using Zigbee protocol. But, it was later rejected due to
its short range of operation which limited its utility in the practical
scenario. Therefore, after considering all the available options, we decided
to go for implementation using a GSM modem that exploits the ubiquitous
nature of mobiles in todays India. The GSM module is utilized in our
project to send data as an SMS to the relevant authority in case a crack or
break is detected in the rail lines. The GPS receiver that we have used can
detect the current location of the robot with an accuracy of 2-5 meters and

its output has been suitably converted into text format through code, so
that it can then be transmitted to a remote mobile device by means of the
on-board GSM modem.
Details on testing the product:
The test plan formulated involved initial testing in a simulated track
to study the feasibility of crack detection. The arrangement utilized some
wooden planks kept in the form of tracks and the robot was made to
traverse it. We included a break manually and found that the device
successfully detected that user-created crack and the current latitude and
longitude values were received by the GPS receiver, converted into a
suitable text format and then finally transmitted to a mobile phone by
means of the GSM module. This process, carried out in MITs workshop
helped ascertain that the basic functionality was successfully achieved.
After this initial simulated trial, the robot was tested on an actual track by
making it traverse a small distance (equal to the length of the platform of
chrompet- chennai). However, as the rail tracks did not contain any cracks,
we were not able to test the GSM and GPS modules on field. But the
previously mentioned simulated trial validates the project. Thus, the field
trials indicate a fairly good degree of accuracy and also the GSM and GPS
modules worked properly by transmitting the current latitude and
longitude data to a mobile phone on detecting our simulated crack.

Resources and bibliography:

Appendix:
Arduino Uno:

O V E R V I EW :
The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on
the ATmega328 (datasheet). It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6
can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator,
a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It
contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect
it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or
battery to get started.
The Uno differs from all preceding boards in that it does not use the
FTDI
USB-to-serial
driver
chip.
Instead,
it
features
the Atmega8U2 programmed as a USB-to-serial converter. Revision 2 of
the Uno board has a resistor pulling the 8U2 HWB line to ground, making
it easier to put into DFU mode.
S U M MA R Y :
Microcontroller
Operating Voltage
Input Voltage
(recommended)
Input Voltage (limits)

ATmega328
5V
7-12V
6-20V

Digital I/O Pins

Analog Input Pins
DC Current per I/O Pin
DC Current for 3.3V Pin
Flash Memory
SRAM
EEPROM
Clock Speed

14 (of which 6 provide PWM output)

6
40 mA
50 mA
32 KB (ATmega328) of which 0.5 KB used by
bootloader
2 KB (ATmega328)
1 KB (ATmega328)
16 MHz

POWER:
The Arduino Uno can be powered via the USB connection or with an
external power supply. The power source is selected automatically.
External (non-USB) power can come either from an AC-to-DC
adapter (wall-wart) or battery. The adapter can be connected by plugging a
2.1mm center-positive plug into the board's power jack. Leads from a
battery can be inserted in the Gnd and Vin pin headers of the POWER
connector.
The board can operate on an external supply of 6 to 20 volts. If
supplied with less than 7V, however, the 5V pin may supply less than five
volts and the board may be unstable. If using more than 12V, the voltage
regulator may overheat and damage the board. The recommended range is
7 to 12 volts.
The power pins are as follows:

VIN. The input voltage to the Arduino board when it's using an
external power source (as opposed to 5 volts from the USB connection or
other regulated power source). You can supply voltage through this pin, or,
if supplying voltage via the power jack, access it through this pin.
5V. The regulated power supply used to power the microcontroller
and other components on the board. This can come either from VIN via an
on-board regulator, or be supplied by USB or another regulated 5V supply.
3V3. A 3.3 volt supply generated by the on-board regulator.
Maximum current draw is 50 mA.
GND. Ground pins.
MEMORY:

The ATmega328 has 32 KB (with 0.5 KB used for the bootloader). It

also has 2 KB of SRAM and 1 KB of EEPROM (which can be read and
written with the EEPROM library).
I N PU T A N D O U T PU T :
Each of the 14 digital pins on the Uno can be used as an input or
output, using pinMode(), digitalWrite(), and digitalRead()functions. They
operate at 5 volts. Each pin can provide or receive a maximum of 40 mA
and has an internal pull-up resistor (disconnected by default) of 20-50
kOhms. In addition, some pins have specialized functions:

Serial: 0 (RX) and 1 (TX). Used to receive (RX) and transmit (TX)
TTL serial data. These pins are connected to the corresponding pins of
the ATmega8U2 USB-to-TTL Serial chip.
External Interrupts: 2 and 3. These pins can be configured to trigger
an interrupt on a low value, a rising or falling edge, or a change in value.
See the attachInterrupt() function for details.
PWM: 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11. Provide 8-bit PWM output with
the analogWrite() function.
SPI: 10 (SS), 11 (MOSI), 12 (MISO), 13 (SCK). These pins support SPI
communication using the SPI library.
LED: 13. There is a built-in LED connected to digital pin 13. When the
pin is HIGH value, the LED is on, when the pin is LOW, it's off.
The Uno has 6 analog inputs, labeled A0 through A5, each of which
provide 10 bits of resolution (i.e. 1024 different values). By default they
measure from ground to 5 volts, though is it possible to change the upper
end of their range using the AREF pin and the analogReference() function.
Additionally, some pins have specialized functionality:

TWI: A4 (SDA) and A5 (SCL). Support TWI communication using

the Wire library.
There are a couple of other pins on the board:

AREF. Reference
with analogReference().

voltage

for

the

analog

inputs.

Used

Reset. Bring this line LOW to reset the microcontroller. Typically

used to add a reset button to shields which block the one on the board.
C O M M U N I C A TI O N :

The Arduino Uno has a number of facilities for communicating with a

computer,
another
Arduino,
or
other
microcontrollers.
The ATmega328 provides UART TTL (5V) serial communication, which is
available on digital pins 0 (RX) and 1 (TX). An ATmega8U2 on the board
channels this serial communication over USB and appears as a virtual com
port to software on the computer. The '8U2 firmware uses the standard
USB COM drivers, and no external driver is needed. However, on Windows,
a .inf file is required. The Arduino software includes a serial monitor which
allows simple textual data to be sent to and from the Arduino board. The
RX and TX LEDs on the board will flash when data is being transmitted via
the USB-to-serial chip and USB connection to the computer (but not for
serial communication on pins 0 and 1).
A SoftwareSerial library allows for serial communication on any of
the Uno's digital pins.
The ATmega328 also supports I2C (TWI) and SPI communication. The
Arduino software includes a Wire library to simplify use of the I2C bus; see
the documentation for details. For SPI communication, use the SPI library.
P R O G R A M M IN G
The Arduino Uno can be programmed with the Arduino software
(download). Select "Arduino Uno from the Tools > Board menu (according
to the microcontroller on your board). For details, see
the reference and tutorials.
The ATmega328 on the Arduino Uno comes preburned with
a bootloader that allows you to upload new code to it without the use of an
external hardware programmer. It communicates using the
original STK500 protocol (reference, C header files).
You can also bypass the bootloader and program the microcontroller
through the ICSP (In-Circuit Serial Programming) header; see these
instructions for details.
The ATmega8U2 firmware source code is available . The ATmega8U2 is
loaded with a DFU bootloader, which can be activated by connecting the
solder jumper on the back of the board (near the map of Italy) and then

resetting the 8U2. You can then use Atmel's FLIP software (Windows) or
the DFU programmer (Mac OS X and Linux) to load a new firmware. Or
you can use the ISP header with an external programmer (overwriting the
DFU bootloader). See this user-contributed tutorial for more information.
A U T O M A TI C (S O FT W A R E ) R E S E T
Rather than requiring a physical press of the reset button before an
upload, the Arduino Uno is designed in a way that allows it to be reset by
software running on a connected computer. One of the hardware flow
control lines (DTR) of theATmega8U2 is connected to the reset line of
the ATmega328 via a 100 nanofarad capacitor. When this line is asserted
(taken low), the reset line drops long enough to reset the chip. The Arduino
software uses this capability to allow you to upload code by simply pressing
the upload button in the Arduino environment. This means that the
bootloader can have a shorter timeout, as the lowering of DTR can be wellcoordinated with the start of the upload.
This setup has other implications. When the Uno is connected to
either a computer running Mac OS X or Linux, it resets each time a
connection is made to it from software (via USB). For the following halfsecond or so, the bootloader is running on the Uno. While it is programmed
to ignore malformed data (i.e. anything besides an upload of new code), it
will intercept the first few bytes of data sent to the board after a connection
is opened. If a sketch running on the board receives one-time configuration
or other data when it first starts, make sure that the software with which it
communicates waits a second after opening the connection and before
sending this data.
The Uno contains a trace that can be cut to disable the auto-reset. The
pads on either side of the trace can be soldered together to re-enable it. It's
labeled "RESET-EN". You may also be able to disable the auto-reset by
connecting a 110 ohm resistor from 5V to the reset line; see this forum
thread for details.
USB O V E R CU R R EN T P R O TE C T I ON
The Arduino Uno has a resettable polyfuse that protects your
computer's USB ports from shorts and overcurrent. Although most
computers provide their own internal protection, the fuse provides an extra
layer of protection. If more than 500 mA is applied to the USB port, the

fuse will automatically break the connection until the short or overload is
removed.
P H Y S I C A L C HA R A C T E R IS TI C S
The maximum length and width of the Uno PCB are 2.7 and 2.1
inches respectively, with the USB connector and power jack extending
beyond the former dimension. Four screw holes allow the board to be
attached to a surface or case. Note that the distance between digital pins 7
and 8 is 160 mil (0.16"), not an even multiple of the 100 mil spacing of the
other pins.
From Arduino to a Microcontroller on a Breadboard
Burning the Bootloader
If
you
have
a
new ATmega328 (or ATmega168),
you'll
need to burn the bootloader onto it. You can
do this using an Arduino board as an insystem program (ISP). If the microcontroller
already has the bootloader on it (e.g.
because you took it out of an Arduino board
or ordered an already-bootloaded ATmega),
you can skip this section.
To burn the bootloader, follow these steps:
1. Upload the ArduinoISP sketch onto
Using an Arduino board to
your Arduino board. (You'll need to
burn the bootloader onto
select the board and serial port from
an ATmega on a breadboard.
the Tools menu that correspond to
your board.)
2. Wire up the Arduino board and
microcontroller as shown in the
diagram to the right.
3. Select "Arduino Duemilanove or Nano

w/ ATmega328" from the Tools >

Board menu. (Or "ATmega328 on a
breadboard (8MHz internal clock)" if
using the minimal configuration
described below.)
4. Run Tools > Burn Bootloader > w/
Arduino as ISP.
You should only need to burn the bootloader
once. After you've done so, you can remove
the jumper wires connected to pins 10, 11,
12, and 13 of the Arduino board.
Uploading Using an Arduino Board
Once your ATmega328p has the Arduino bootloader on it, you can
upload programs to it using the USB-to-serial convertor (FTDI chip) on an
Arduino board. To do, you remove the microcontroller from the Arduino
board so the FTDI chip can talk to the microcontroller on the breadboard
instead. The diagram at right shows how to connect the RX and TX lines
from the Arduino board to the ATmega on the breadboard. To program the
microcontroller, select "Arduino Duemilanove or Nano w/ ATmega328"
from the the Tools > Board menu (or "ATmega328 on a breadboard
(8 MHzinternal clock)" if you're using the minimal configuration described
below). Then upload as usual.

Uploading sketches to an ATmega on a breadboard. Remember to remove

the microcontroller from the Arduino board!

Minimal Circuit (Eliminating the External Clock)

If you don't have the extra 16 MHz crystal and 18-22 picofarad
capacitors used in the above examples, you can configure
the ATmega328 to use its internal 8 MHz RC oscillator as a clock source
instead. (You don't really need the 10K pullup resistor on the reset pin
either, so we remove it to get a truly minimal configuration.)
You'll need to install support for an additional hardware configuration:
1. Download this hardware configuration archive: breadboard.zip
2. Create a "hardware" sub-folder in your Arduino sketchbook folder
(whose location you can find in the Arduino preferences dialog). If
you've previously installed support for additional hardware
configuration, you may already have a "hardware" folder in your
sketchbook.
3. Move the "breadboard" folder from the zip archive to the "hardware"
sub-folder of your Arduino sketchbook.
4. Restart the Arduino software.
5. You should see "ATmega328 on a breadboard (8 MHz internal clock)"
in the Tools > Board menu.
Once you've done this, you can burn the bootloader and upload programs
onto your ATmega328 as described above. Be sure to select
"ATmega328 on a breadboard (8 MHz internal clock)" when burning the
bootloader. (If you select the wrong item and configure the microcontroller
to use an external clock, it won't work unless you connect one.)

Uploading
sketches
to
Using an Arduino board to burn the
an ATmega on a breadboard.
bootloader
onto
an ATmegaon
a
breadboard (w/o an external clock).
Getting Rid of the Arduino Board
Once you've programmed the ATmega on the breadboard, you can
eliminate the Arduino. To do so, you'll need to provide an alternative power
supply for the microcontroller.

Light Emitting Diode:

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs
are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for
other lighting. Introduced as a practical electronic component in
1962, early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modern versions are
available across the visible, ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, with very
high brightness.
When
a
light-emitting diode is
forward biased (switched
on), electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the device,
releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is
called electroluminescence and the color of the light (corresponding to the
energy of the photon) is determined by the energy gap of the
semiconductor. LEDs are often small in area (less than 1 mm2), and
integrated optical components may be used to shape its radiation pattern.
LEDs present many advantages over incandescent light sources
including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness,
smaller size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability. LEDs

powerful enough for room lighting are relatively expensive and require
more precise current andheat management than compact fluorescent
lamp sources of comparable output.
Light-emitting diodes are used in applications as diverse as
replacements for aviation lighting, automotive lighting (particularly brake
lamps, turn signals and indicators) as well as in traffic signals. The
advantages of LEDs mentioned above have allowed new text and video
displays and sensors to be developed, while their high switching rates are
also useful in advanced communications technology. Infrared LEDs are also
used in the remote control units of many commercial products including
televisions, DVD players, and other domestic appliances.
Motors:
To control the motor we need a motor driver as the current drawn by
the motor is large to be provided from the micro-controller. Thus a motor
driver IC L298N is mounted on the shield. This IC can control two motors.
An H- Bridge setup is needed to provide the sufficient power to the motor.
The driver controls the motors through this H- Bridge. The motors could be
connected to the shield through the screw terminals which are named as
MOTOR A and MOTOR B. The screw terminals in between these two
motors are the dedicated power source to the motor. The MOTOR A is
connected to Pin 6 and 5. The MOTOR B is connected to 10 and 11.
H- Bridge

The term H bridge is derived from the typical graphical

representation of such a circuit. An H bridge is built with four switches
(solid-state or mechanical). When the switches S1 and S4 (according to the
first figure) are closed (and S2 and S3 are open) a positive voltage will be

applied across the motor. By opening S1 and S4 switches and closing S2 and
S3 switches, this voltage is reversed, allowing reverse operation of the
motor.
Using the nomenclature above, the switches S1 and S2 should never
be closed at the same time, as this would cause a short circuit on the input
voltage source. The same applies to the switches S3 and S4. This condition
is known as shoot-through.

IC L298N

The L298N ia a high-voltage, high-current dual full-bridge driver

designed to accept TTL logic levels such as those from a PIC, BASIC Stamp,
or similar microcontroller and drive inductive loads like motors (DC and
stepper), relays, and solenoids. Also features current sensing outputs for
each half of the bridge to detect current draw.
Features Include :

Oprating Voltages up to 46 V

Total DC current up to 4 A

Overtemperature Protection

High noise immunity

Large heatsink tab

Pin Outs :

Connection of the IC to the motors through the H- Brigde:

The connections are made through the following diagram:

Atmega328:
Features
High Performance, Low Power AtmelAVR 8-Bit Microcontroller
Advanced RISC Architecture
131 Powerful Instructions Most Single Clock Cycle Execution
32 x 8 General Purpose Working Registers
Fully Static Operation

 Up to 20 MIPS Throughput at 20MHz

On-chip 2-cycle Multiplier
High Endurance Non-volatile Memory Segments
4/8/16/32KBytes of In-System Self-Programmable Flash program
memory
256/512/512/1KBytes EEPROM
512/1K/1K/2KBytes Internal SRAM
Write/Erase Cycles: 10,000 Flash/100,000 EEPROM
Data retention: 20 years at 85C/100 years at 25C(1)
Optional Boot Code Section with Independent Lock Bits
In-System Programming by On-chip Boot Program
True Read-While-Write Operation
Programming Lock for Software Security
Atmel QTouch library support
Capacitive touch buttons, sliders and wheels
QTouch and QMatrix acquisition
Up to 64 sense channels
Peripheral Features
Two 8-bit Timer/Counters with Separate Prescaler and Compare Mode
One 16-bit Timer/Counter with Separate Prescaler, Compare Mode, and
Capture
Mode
Real Time Counter with Separate Oscillator
Six PWM Channels

 8-channel 10-bit ADC in TQFP and QFN/MLF package

Temperature Measurement
6-channel 10-bit ADC in PDIP Package
Temperature Measurement
Programmable Serial USART
Master/Slave SPI Serial Interface
Byte-oriented 2-wire Serial Interface (Philips I2C compatible)
Programmable Watchdog Timer with Separate On-chip Oscillator
On-chip Analog Comparator
Interrupt and Wake-up on Pin Change
Special Microcontroller Features
Power-on Reset and Programmable Brown-out Detection
Internal Calibrated Oscillator
External and Internal Interrupt Sources
Six Sleep Modes: Idle, ADC Noise Reduction, Power-save, Power-down,
Standby,
and Extended Standby
I/O and Packages
23 Programmable I/O Lines
28-pin PDIP, 32-lead TQFP, 28-pad QFN/MLF and 32-pad QFN/MLF
Operating Voltage:
1.8 - 5.5V
Temperature Range:
-40C to 85C

 Speed Grade:
0 - 4MHz@1.8 - 5.5V, 0 - 10MHz@2.7 - 5.5.V, 0 - 20MHz @ 4.5 - 5.5V
Power Consumption at 1MHz, 1.8V, 25C
Active Mode: 0.2mA
Power-down Mode: 0.1A
Power-save Mode: 0.75A (Including 32kHz RTC)

LDR (Light Dependent Resistor):

The LDR is a light dependent resistor ie. the resistance of the LDR is
inversely proportional to the intensity of light incident on it. It is provided
on board to interface the board with the real world luminous intensity as
the parameter. It is connected in the lower half of a potential
divider configuration with a 10K ohm resistor, so that the resistor-ldr
junction voltage is inversely proportional to the amount of light incident on
it. This potential divider is connected on analog pin 3. The corresponding
jumper is on the right side of the LDR.

GSM Module:

GSM Playground - GSM Shield for Arduino

Description:
GSM Playground is a GSM Shield designed for Arduino based boards
(Arduino Duemilanove, Arduino MEGA, Seeeduino Mega...). It is built on a
well known and reliable GSM/GPRS Module GE-863 QUAD from Telit.
This Module is pretty small so it is placed directly on the Shield printed
circuit board. The GSM Playground offers next to the GSM capabilities lots
of other features like recognizing of DTMF signal, measuring of ambient
temperature and others. It will show you the way how there is possible to
use GSM network in your application built on the great Arduino board.
The GSM Playground can be used for:

Security devices - listening of protected area, scanning of sensors,

controlling of door lock or klaxon, measurement of ambient
temperature, remote controlling of other devices using SMS or DTMF
signal, remote shouting at a burglar using embedded amplifier.

Domestic automation - remote opening of doors or gates using DTMF

or just a call, switching of lights or sauna, controlling of heating,
handsfree voice communication with somebody at home, emergency

controlling of a house water inlet, full duplex baby sitter device

working around the world.

General M2M applications - the GSM Playground can be used also for
wireless GSM/GPRS Machine to Machine application or M2A
(Machine to Arduino) communication.

Features:
Embedded GSM/GPRS Module GE-863 QUAD features a Quad-Band
GPRS Class 10 (GSM 850, 900, DCS 1800, PCS1900 MHz) as well as
extended temperature range and RF Sensitivity. It is soldered directly on
the bottom side of the Shield PCB using the through hole technique. This
method is more reliable for development boards and allows accessing of all
module signals. The module is equipped with the chipset V3 (firmware
6.04.104).

Power supply for GSM Module is able to handle high ripple current
(2A) when the GSM Module is active. It is designed with Micrel MIC29302.
The Shield is powered from an Arduino board so it can be powered either
directly from USB or from an adaptor through Arduino board. The setting
of supply path is automatic. A large capacitor is used for voltage filtration
so that you can easily supply the board directly from USB (guaranteed for
calls and CSD data). We recommend to use an AC-DC adaptor or LiPol
battery for GPRS connection.
Connector for 3,7V LiPol battery and Charging circuit it is possible to
connect 3,7V LiPol battery so that it can be used for supplying power to the

GSM Module and also to the Arduino board. The battery is charged during
normal operation of the GSM Shield from USB or adaptor with a current
of 200mA. Battery operation can be selected from a switch. This feature is
also helpful if the computer is not able to deliver the current required by the
GSM module (during class 10 GPRS connection). It is recommended to
use 3,7V LiPol battery with capacity from 500mAh to 1000mAh with a JST
connector. An appropriate battery is 1000mAh LiPol battery or 860mAh
LiPol battery.
Electret Microphone the mike feature is based on a sensitive electret
microphone that offers together with other circuits and particular PCB
layout the clear sound. Even the GSM noise is quite aggressive but there is
no typical GSM noise in the microphone path at all.
800mW Fully-Differential Audio Amplifier with connector the Shield has
a connector for loudspeaker 8 so you can use it together with embedded
microphone as a handsfree phone. The chosen power amplifier
(TPA6203A1) is especially suitable for noisy GSM environment so the
sound is completely clear and free of any typical tdn-tdn-tdn :-). We
provide suitable Loudspeaker or Mini Loudspeaker - both are equipped by
appropriate connector.
Embedded DTMF Receiver this feature allows controlling of any other
function of GSM Playground using of an ordinary phone. DTMF circuit
(based on Holtek HT9170) is able to recognize up to 16 different signals
(buttons on your mobile phone) and transfer this information to Arduino
board for other evaluation. It is possible to control just a relay but also
increase a volume of loudspeaker or mute the microphone using this
feature.
Electrodynamic Buzzer embedded buzzer (85dB) can be used as a simple
ringer if the loudspeaker is not used. It is possible to choose from up to 32
ring tones that are stored in the GSM Module.
ON/OFF Button there is a button for turning ON and OFF of the module.
It is possible to do the same directly from the Arduino board. The reset

signal of the GSM module is connected to the Arduino. This feature

can help to improve a reliability of the whole application.
Enhanced serial communication this feature can help you to develop your
Arduino application faster and better. There is a switch for controlling of
the way of serial communication. In the first position you can
communicate from PC terminal software directly to the GSM Module. This
is very useful for trying and learning of the GSM Module AT commands.
The second position switches to communication between Arduino - PC and
Arduino - GSM Module. In this position the Arduino board can
communicate with PC application as we are used to but also with the GSM
module.
Back up capacitor for time and alarm features the adjustment of time can
be quite annoying so there is a back up capacitor 0,22F on the PCB. It is
able to backup Real Time Clock embedded in the GSM Module for
minimally 24 hours. The GSM Module offers also Alarm related functions
Alarm signal can wake up an Arduino board in desired time by a reset, then
the board can do something (send SMS) and go sleep again...
Temperature
Sensor
built
in
temperature
sensor LM61BIM3 allows measuring of the temperature from 25C to
+85C with accuracy 2.0C at 25C. The LM61's output voltage is linearly
proportional to Celsius (Centigrade) temperature (+10 mV/C) and it
makes it very easy to use.
User Button and User LED this simple user interface can be used for
different purpose (e.g. make a call, send a SMS, indicate a call...).
User Connector this connector offers 4 digital inputs or outputs and
several supplying voltages so it can be easily used to make your application
more versatile.
Standard SMA Connector for GSM antenna there is a right angle SMA
female connector soldered on the PCB so the connection of antenna can be
very simple. This Quad-band Antenna is suitable because it is pretty small.

Embedded SIM card holder the quality SIM card holder equipped with
the contact for safe removing of SIM card is soldered directly on the Shield
PCB.
Stackable feature GSM Playground accepts prototype shields or other
boards with Arduino compatible interface. The GSM Shield uses digital pins
0 to 9 but the pins 6,7,8 and 9 can be also used for other purpose (they can
be
switched
to high
impedance).
The
GSM
Playground is
compatible with Arduino Ethernet Shield.

PCB Layout is made with a special care of well grounding and noises
elimination even though it is still only cheap two layer PCB.
Creative Commons Attribution the whole project is released under Share
Alike 3.0 License

Dimensions: 53,5 x 74 mm

Initial setup AT commands:

We start working with AT commands to setup and check the status of the
GSM modem.

AT
AT+CPIN="xxxx"
AT+CREG?
AT+CSQ

Returns a "OK" to confirm that modem is working

To enter the PIN for your SIM ( if enabled )
A "0,1" reply confirms your modem is connected to
GSM network
Indicates the signal strength, 31.99 is maximum.

we should try sending a few SMS using the Control Tool above to make sure
your GSM modem can send SMS before proceeding.
AT commands:
AT+CMGF=1
AT+CSCA="+xxxxx"

To format SMS as a TEXT message

Set your SMS center's number. Check with your
provider.

To send a SMS, the AT command to use is AT+CMGS

AT+CMGS="+yyyyy" <Enter>
> Your SMS text message here <Ctrl-Z>
The "+yyyyy" is your recipient's mobile number.
Receiving SMS using AT commands
The GSM modem can be configured to response in different ways when it
receives a SMS.
a) Immediate - when a SMS is received, the SMS's details are
immediately sent to the host computer (DTE) via the +CMT command
AT+CMGF=1
AT+CNMI=1,2,0,0,0

To format SMS as a TEXT message

Set how the modem will response when a SMS is
received

When a new SMS is received by the GSM modem, the DTE will receive the
following :

+CMT : "+61xxxxxxxx" , , "04/08/30,23:20:00+40"

This the text SMS message sent to the modem
The computer (DTE) will have to continuously monitor the COM serial
port, read and parse the message.
b) Notification - when a SMS is received, the host computer ( DTE ) will be
notified of the new message. The computer will then have to read the
message from the indicated memory location and clear the memory
location.
AT+CMGF=1
AT+CNMI=1,1,0,0,0

To format SMS as a TEXT message

Set how the modem will response when a SMS is
received

When a new SMS is received by the GSM modem, the DTE will receive the
following ...
+CMTI: "SM",3
AT+CMGR=3
<Enter>

Notification sent to the computer. Location

3 in SIM memory
AT command to send read the received SMS
from modem

The modem will then send to the computer details of the received SMS
from the specified memory location ( eg. 3 ) ..
+CMGR: "REC READ","+61xxxxxx",,"04/08/28,22:26:29+40"
This is the new SMS received by the GSM modem
After reading and parsing the new SMS message, the computer (DTE)
should send a AT command to clear the memory location in the GSM
modem ..
AT+CMGD=3 <Enter> to clear the SMS receive memory location in the
GSM modem

if the computer tries to read an empty/cleared memory location, a +CMS

ERROR: 321 will be sent to the computer.
Connecting a Parallax GPS module to the Arduino
(Adapted from Igor Gonz

lez Mart n's Spanish language tutorial here.)

This tutorial shows how to connect a Parallax GPS module to the Arduino,
and how to use Arduino code to read information like date, time, location
and satellites in view from the standard NMEA data streams that the
module produces.
Hardware Connections:
The module connects to the Arduino through a 4800 bps TTL-level
interface (8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, non-inverted). Only four wires
are needed to read the module's GPS data.

Understanding NMEA GPS strings

GPS modules typically put out a series of standard strings of information,
under something called the National Marine Electronics Association
(NMEA) protocol.
The tutorial code at the bottom of this page demonstrates how to decode
and display the most common string, called $GPRMC. If all you need is
date, time and position, you can to skip reading this, and just run the code
below.
While you can write software to serially request other strings from the
Parallax module, the following strings are automatically transmitted when
the "/RAW" pin is pulled low.

$GPGGA: Global Positioning System Fix Data

$GPGSV: GPS satellites in view

$GPGSA: GPS DOP and active satellites

$GPRMC: Recommended minimum specific GPS/Transit data

Each of these sentences contains a wealth of data. For example, here are a
few instances of the $GPRMC string, aka the "Recommended minimum
specific GPS/Transit data" string:
Eg1.
$GPRMC,081836,A,3751.65,S,14507.36,E,000.0,360.0,130998,011.3,E*62
Eg2.
$GPRMC,225446,A,4916.45,N,12311.12,W,000.5,054.7,191194,020.3,E*68
225446
A
4916.45,N
12311.12,W

Time of fix 22:54:46 UTC

Navigation receiver warning A = Valid
position, V = Warning
Latitude 49 deg. 16.45 min. North
Longitude 123 deg. 11.12 min. West

000.5
054.7
191194
020.3,E
*68

Speed over ground, Knots

Course Made Good, degrees true
UTC Date of fix, 19 November 1994
Magnetic variation, 20.3 deg. East
mandatory checksum

Eg3:
$GPRMC,220516,A,5133.82,N,00042.24,W,173.8,231.8,130694,004.2,W*7
0
1 2 3 4 5
1 220516
2 A

6 7 8

Time Stamp

validity - A-ok, V-invalid

3 5133.82 current Latitude

4 N

North/South

5 00042.24 current Longitude

6 W
7 173.8

East/West
Speed in knots

10 11 12

8 231.8

True course

9 130694

Date Stamp

10 004.2

Variation

11 W

East/West

12 *70

checksum

eg4. for NMEA 0183 version 3.00 active the Mode indicator field is added
$GPRMC,hhmmss.ss,A,llll.ll,a,yyyyy.yy,a,x.x,x.x,ddmmyy,x.x,a,m*hh
Field #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

UTC time of fix

Data status (A=Valid position, V=navigation receiver
warning)
Latitude of fix
N or S of longitude
Longitude of fix
E or W of longitude
Speed over ground in knots
Track made good in degrees True
UTC date of fix

9
10

Magnetic variation degrees (Easterly var. subtracts from

true course)
E or W of magnetic variation

11
Mode indicator, (A=Autonomous, D=Differential,
E=Estimated, N=Data not valid)

12
13

Checksum