Development of a Zigbee-Based Tyre Pressure Monitoring System

Abstract

Tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) are crucial in vehicle safety and
performance. Direct TPMS use sensors within the tyre assembly for real-time
monitoring of the tyre pressure and transmits it to report on an onboard display.
Most TPMS technology uses 315 or 434 MHz Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Signal.
In Nigeria, this frequency is used in the television spectrum which could result in
interference. This paper, used an innovative low-power, low-cost ZigBee
alternative to develop the TPMS. It covers the design, implementation and testing
of the TPMS. The system comprises ZigBee sensors placed in the tyre assembly to
measure tyre pressure and temperature and transmit the data to a ZigBee
coordinator in the car. In turn, the ZigBee coordinator sends the aggregated data
to a graphical Liquid crystal display, (GLCD) to show the real-time data of each
tyre to the driver. A GSM module helps report the tyre’s state to the user if the
vehicle is parked and the tyre pressure is below 26 psi. The hardware circuit was
designed in Proteus 8.7 and the printed circuit board (PCB) for the transmitter
and receiver was developed and fabricated. MPXHZ6400AC6T1 piezoresistive
pressure sensor and DS18B20 temperature sensor were used to sense the tyre
pressure and temperature respectively. The software was developed using the C
programming language. The developed system was installed in a 2000 model-year
Toyota Camry for operational testing. A standard gauge was used to measure the
tyre pressure and compare it with the developed system to determine the accuracy
of the TPMS data. The results show the accuracy of the TPMS data. Future work
will explore sensor accuracy optimizations and integration with advanced vehicle
diagnostics systems and a mobile application.