Design and Implementation of an IoT

Based Baggage Tracking System

Abstract. Missing pieces of baggage, loss of luggage, and damage to customers’ belongings are
the common flaws faced in the aviation industry around the world. Passengers in other transportation
sectors are also at risk of luggage theft as they transit from location to another. Therefore, a system
needs to be designed and developed to combat these problems. The system has a GSM/GPS module
that is integrated into the tracking system to keep it actively connected at all times. Also, an Arduino
microcontroller is added to the system for information processing. The system provides the location of
luggage on a map for real-time tracking and, that can be achieved when the GPS module retrieves the
location coordinates of the bag and sends it to the microcontroller for processing. Afterward, the
processed infor- mation is sent as an SMS through the GSM module, which provides a connection
between the bag and the passenger using the GSM communication system. This IoT based device
gives passengers the advantage of seeing the current location of their baggage from anywhere in the
world. And, if implemented, this system will reduce the stress experienced by both passengers and the
aviation industry in locating missing, misled, or stolen suitcases.

Keywords: Baggage tracking · IoT · Arduino · Map · GPS module

1 Introduction
Internet of Things (IoT) is the networking of physical objects that integrate electronics embedded in their structure
to communicate and detect interactions between themselves or concerning the external environment. It is a network
of objects such as structures, cars, etc. equipped with sensors, electronics, and other things related to the system
that help these objects gather and exchange information. IoT allows objects to be sensed and managed from a
remote access point, maximizing financial benefit, precision, and performance. This involves devices like smart
homes, car tracking, health management , monitoring and regulating home appliances, and, eventually, smart cities
as IoT is paired with sensors. Everything is distinctive and recognizable, and easily accessible when extended by
the internet and computer infrastructure. IoT-based technology will provide robust service quality in the future,
practically changing our daily lives and adding to them. In this project work, a device that is smart and connected
using IoT based technology is developed for tracking missing bags. This will help resolve the issue of cases
involving luggage and assets mishandling, theft, or loss in the travel sector.
 Luggage loss can occur with anyone irrespective of circumstances and conditions. Baggage
misplaced, mislaid baggage, and damage to a customer’s belongings are the most common shortcomings
encountered in the aviation industry. With more than 2 billion passengers registered annually, the airline
industry is the most effective means of international transport and inter-state transport in most countries
around the world. More than 31 million passengers and 34 million bags are impacted each year by
baggage mishandling, which has resulted in a loss of up to $3.3 billion in the airline industry. A
passenger is also losing about 1.7 days of his holiday or business trip waiting for the mishandled bag.
Some of the lost luggage is identified after several hours of monitoring and tracking, while other items
are confirmed to be permanently lost. Huge resources are drawn upon in airports and airlines to trace
and return the lost luggage to passengers at a high price. This is a constant source of stress for
passengers, as well as waiting for the baggage claims to wonder if their bag in the aircraft might be very
frustrating. Passenger satisfaction is the most crucial factor for any airport in its facilities. As stated by
the airport authorities, the time is taken to gain access to their baggage is typically not a satisfactory
factor for passengers. This delay could emanate from a number of reasons such as lack of facilities and
equipment, insufficient personnel, sluggish operations and procedures, and information flow delay. This
also affects the passengers waiting for the conveyor system to pick their luggage. Although individuals
and some organizations have taken many approaches to provide luggage monitoring, a completely
homogeneous tracking system is far from being implemented.
Luggage and bags with relevant documents or valuable objects such as keys, money,
credit cards, probably medication, cell phones, etc. can be misplaced or stolen, such that people can
lose these essential things. In general, people are frequently robbed in public areas, such as train stations,
bus stands, and other public and private areas. People often seem to forget their bags and luggage, which
may have essential and vital items inside. Therefore, in case of loss and robbery, it is very important to
track the bags down.
To confront this issue, a tracking device that is based on IoT is developed in this
project, which can be embedded in travel bags in order to aid passengers using the travel sector or
victims of luggage theft or loss to locate their luggage with the possibility of real-time monitoring on a
map. This article is divides into sections starting with the introduction. Section gives the brief background
of the baggage tracking technologies; Sect. gives a critical literature review of the IoT based baggage
tracking systems with the comprising technologies such as the RFID, IoT, the related works, and the
problem we want to solve, Sect. provides the system description, the components and how the device
works, Sect. describes the materials and the methodology, Sect. shows the testing of the device and the
results obtained while the last part gives the conclusion, acknowledgment, and the references.
2 Background
Even though there has been a reduced rate of luggage mishandling reported in Airports over the years, millions
of passengers are still affected. It is vital for people to know the location of their luggage at all times so that
when cases of mishandling, theft, or loss occur, passengers can have some control over the situation. Anyone
can be a victim. Intelligent baggage or smart bag systems have been implemented using the capacity of the
raspberry pi processor to retrieve data from tracked objects as implemented in for plate number identification,
to build smart luggage carrying robot according to . The authors in developed an intelligent school bag that
utilizes the RFID, Raspberry Pi, and the GPS to maintain and modify the lists of books according to the daily
school activities.
Other authors in also presented a graphical user interface (GUI) model to control
different smart devices automated by Bluetooth in conjunction with the IoT. IoT has the capacity to connect vast
devices all over the world to a central database using sensors. Data are collated from these databases to achieve
a special objective or make a vital decision in various forms of intelligent systems.

3 Literature Review
Present technological advancements like the Internet of Things (IoT) have paved the way for fully functioning
smart cities worldwide. However, this will require the simultaneous enhancement of infrastructure and facilities
in many sectors, such as industries, educa- tion, and governments. Communication between the real world and
the virtual world is an essential part of the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) smart systems. The sample data
collected is transformed into insightful data to be used for real data. This increases the exchangeable data usage
between different sectors. There are, however, a few categories that lack the use of IoT. One such area is the
aviation industry.
Airport baggage management is a crucial part of the aviation industry. However, many bags are mishandled
every year for many reasons, which costs the aviation indus- try a lot of money and causes annoyance and
dissatisfaction for the passenger. Common baggage malfunctions are: left behind at the airport of origin, missed
connecting flight, loss of luggage, a wrong destination for the package, etc. A bag must go through several
measures when moving to the final destination from the airport of origin. These mea- sures include check-in,
inspection, sorting, paying, airport transit switch, arrival, etc. Mismanagement at either of these stages may be
the explanation for the mishandling of the container. Diverse innovations such as IoT have been introduced to
reduce baggage mismanagement in the aviation sector, and it is predicted to reduce by 10% when fully
implemented in the industry.
1. Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things (IoT) is known to offer connectivity to everything at any time and in any location. We are
moving into a world with the advent of technology, where all and everyone will be connected. The IoT is known
to be a potential Internet evaluation, which carries out machine-to-machine (M2M) learning . The fundamental
concept of IoT is to enable safe and free communication between devices and applications and to share data
among real-world devices. It can be viewed as a global network that allows for connectivity and interaction
between human-to-human, human-to-things, and things-to-things. This is done by providing a unique identifier
for each object. Like any other system, the Internet of Things needs a few required components to allow
communication between devices and objects. It includes gadgets, sensor devices, communication networks,
computer units, and processing units that can be set up on the cloud. Decision-making and action invoking
systems are also required .IoT has found application in all facets of human existence enabling communication
between humans and smart devices. Some of these applications are in the health sector , the agricultural sector
for the smart irrigation systems, object tracking systems , road navigation systems, and the vehicle tracking and
identification systems.

2. Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)

RFID is listed among the most successful fields for research in recent years and has been increasingly attracted
attention. The three primary components of an RFID device include a Transponder/Tag, Editor, and Backend
Function. The tag is made up of an antenna, and a data storage microchip where details such as price, period,
date, manu- facture, and composition of the product can also be stored. For identifying the object, a unique serial
number is allocated. The most significant purpose of RFID technology is for all physical objects to join the
virtual environment formed by an RFID networked system. The RFID tags can also be identified as a unique unit
in the Internet of Things infrastructure. A great number of researchers implemented the RFID technology in their
methodologies in an attempt to resolve the issue of baggage mishandling, loss, or theft. In, the authors proposed a
system that involves an interactive digital bracelet that is worn around the passenger’s arm to support the RFID in
a baggage-tracking device. In this method, the RFID signal is processed, and text messages are sent to the
passenger bracelet when the baggage moves from station to station. A button is installed in the bracelet from
which the passenger may use to send an emergency message. The authors in proposed a smart bag designed to
deliver information on the bag location in real-time. The proposed system will consist of a RASPBERRY PI,
which collects the location information through different modules and forwards the information to the
surveillance station, where it stores the data in the database and displays the information in a user-friendly
graphical user interface (GUI).
3. Related Studies on IoT Based Baggage Tracking System
Sarkar et al. (2017) designed a radio-frequency identification (RFID) based smart bag tracking system using
microcontrollers. This device automates the process of luggage tracking by attaching the RFID tag containing the
owners’ information to the luggage with an appropriate feedback mechanism to ascertain if the parcel has reached its
desti- nation or not. However, the system saves time and cost, but the lack of IoT in the setup that allows for device-
to-device communication signifies the need for improvement . Singh (2016) used RFID tags containing the owners’
details to identify and track luggage to prevent loss or theft. The product improved security and efficiency over the
contem- porary barcode-based enabled over the UHF range. The weakness of this product was its inability to
support mobile devices due to the lack of IoT in the setup. Other RFID-based tracking systems have been identified
in. In the aforementioned tracking systems, there were security concerns that could be figured out from the tags, and
there was also an issue of tracking during transit due to a limited range.
The limitations of the above RFID based tracking systems have been addressed over
the years by the combination of the RFID technology with IoT, according to. The IoT based tracking technologies
saved cost, improved efficiency, enables flexibility, support mobile device to device communications, and human-to-
device communication.

4. The Problem
The problem developed with the loss or mishandling of luggage at any customer baggage- oriented place is a huge
matter of consent. Every year, 1% of the luggage is lost in Airline travel itself, which is a huge stat in the aviation
industry. Passengers wondering whether their bags got in the right place at the right time after releasing their luggage
for processing and loading at any customer baggage-oriented site can be very frustrating. Many bags are mishandled
every year for many reasons, which costs the aviation industry a lot of money and causes annoyance and
dissatisfaction for the passenger. Common baggage malfunctions are: left behind at the airport of origin, missed
connecting flight, loss of luggage, a wrong destination for the package, etc. This project intends to help passengers
monitor their luggage at all times to prevent such from happening and reduce further baggage mishandling or loss
faced by the travel sector in the coming years. This project also addresses baggage theft and loss, which occur in
other travel sectors.

5 System Description
The system is built using GSM/GPS module, which activates after the system finishes initializing; the GSM module
sends a message to the end-user requesting whether to retrieve the luggage location. The GPS module retrieves the
luggage location when the end-user sends the right command, which will be discussed later on. It then sends the
information, which is the luggage location, to the Arduino Nano microcontroller for processing. After processing the
information, the microcontroller sends the information to the GSM module, which receives it and sends it to the end-
user via SMS (Short Mes- sage Service). The end-user can use the information displayed on the device, preferably a
mobile phone, to find the location of the luggage on Google Maps or other mapping APIs preferred by the end-user.
This process is shown below.
 Fig. 1. Proposed system block diagram.

Materials and Methods

The system consists of four major components working together to achieve the intended function. The major
components include an Arduino Nano Microcontroller, A GSM SIM900 Module, A DC Power Supply Unit, and a
GPS Module. Figure below shows the block diagram of the methodological flow diagram of the system.

1. Circuit Design and Simulation

Luggage refers to bags that hold personal belongings of passengers while in transit. This signifies the portability
and the ease of conveyance of these pieces of luggage. Incorporating an AC power supply into the bag will cause a lot
of inconveniences for the passenger. For example, the system will not function unless it is plugged into an AC supply
outlet. Also, it will be substantial, thereby causing additional weights that the passenger may not welcome. Hence,
during circuitry designing of the system, which was carried out using proteus software, a 36 V lithium-ion battery,
which acts as a DC supply unit, was used to power the system. However, an Arduino Nano Microcontroller only
needs as little as 5 V to perform its intended function.
Fig. 2. Methodological flow chart.
voltage generated from the battery to 5 V, a 7805 5 V voltage regulator was added to the circuit. To power, the
Arduino Nano microcontroller, the input pin of the microcontroller is connected to the voltage output of the
regulator, where an input voltage of 5 V is supplied to the system. The GSM module requires a SIM card that
must be inserted to establish an active connection between the GSM communication system. The TXD pin of
the SIM900D GSM module, which is used for transmitting, is connected to the Digital Pin 2 of the
microcontroller. The pin for receiving RXD is connected to digital pin 3 of the microcontroller. The GPS
module TX pin is connected to pin 4 of the microcontroller as shown above to complete the circuit. The
schematics diagram for the system is shown below :

Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of the system

After completing the circuit design using Proteus 8 software, simulations were car- ried out to ensure proper
circuit connection and functionality of the system. During the simulation, the voltmeter in the circuit showed
a reading of 5 V, which verifies the voltage regulation from 36 V to 5 V. The GPS module activates, showing
the location coordinates on the simulation logs, as shown below. Furthermore, A virtual map that uses Google
API displays the location of the luggage on a map as the project simulation continues, as shown in Fig. below
Fig. 4. GPS coordinates generated results during simulations

Fig. 5. Virtual map during

simulations
6 Testing and Results
The system testing was carried out after construction to ensure its functionality and accu- racy. The GSM/GPS
module in the system was initialized by the Arduino microcontroller when the system was switched on (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6. Welcome screen before initialization during system testing

This was done to ensure the components were functioning as intended before pro- ceeding to the next step.
After initialization, the system remained on standby for the next instruction, which involved sending an SMS
to the phone number registered to the GSM module in the device (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7. GSM module during testing stage

When the Arduino receives the SMS from GSM module, it prompts the GPS module to retrieve the luggage
coordinates as instructed. These coordinates were sent back to the Arduino, which processes the information and
proceeds to generate an SMS containing a google map link of bag’s location. Through the GSM module, the SMS
was sent back
 to the device, as shown in the diagram below. Furthermore, the google map application is opened when the
link was clicked. It showed the current location of the bag as the blue dot indicates the current location of the
bag owner while the red pin indicates the current location of the bag (Fig. 8 and Fig. 9).

Fig. 8. SMS showing a link that directs the user to google map application software
to view the location on a map.

Fig. 9. User’s location and bag’s location shown on google map application software
7 Conclusion
There has been an alarming rate of luggage location confusion, misplacement,
misman- agement, delay, and theft at the airports of most developing economies like
Nigeria before planes are boarded by passengers or on arrival. This often leads to
customer dis- satisfaction and frustration. Hence, the IoT based luggage tracking
device will help to completely eradicate these hitches and provide a first view of the
luggage coordinate and identification. It will effectively combat luggage mishandling,
misplacement, and theft, thereby conserving time and forestalling stress experienced
by travelers. The sys- tem utilizes the GSM communication system using the GSM
module, which keeps the luggage’s location on the map at all times. It can be accessed
using a smartphone from anywhere in the world. The device has been appropriately
tested and can be installed at strategic points of the airport close to scanning machines
and load conveyors to ensure efficient luggage tracking on arrival or departure.