SENTINEL DEV

In the context of IoT (Internet of Things), vehicle child safety has become increasingly significant and crucial due to the rise in reported cases of children accidentally left behind in vehicles. SENTINEL DEV was created as an innovative solution to this pressing problem by providing a smart, IoT-based warning system for alerting caregivers when their child is present in the vehicle and if the environment around them is abnormal. The system will use a combination of a force sensor to confirm the presence of a child in the baby seat, a PIR sensor to detect the caregiver's activity, and a temperature sensor to monitor the environment. If the child is present in the vehicle and abnormal condition(s) exist, a real-time notification will be sent to the caregiver through a mobile application and the system will sound an audible buzzer as a second alert. The technology is built using an ESP32 as a microcontroller, programmed with the Arduino IDE, built with an application developed with the MIT App Inventor platform for mobile applications, and storing/syncing data to a Firebase database in real time. This project proposes to use the SENTINEL DEV solution to improve child safety through the provision of timely alerts; allowing caregivers to quickly respond; while demonstrating the real-life integration of IoT technologies into daily life.