Zero-Power Fall Detection System for Smart Helmets

The widespread use of vehicles has led to an increase in traffic accidents. In these accidents, motorcyclists are exposed to more risks because they are more vulnerable than car drivers. With the development of technology, manufacturers have increased their work on vehicle security systems. Advancements in these studies which are being applied in daily life resulted in a reduction of risks in accidents. In this thesis, Zero-Power Fall Detection System is developed for smart helmets, which is a safety system for motorcycles. Since the lifetime of electronic devices has become one of the most important features of today, the aim of this study is to design a self-sustainable fall detection system that consumes as low power as possible. First, the system is designed with Piezoelectric Wake-up Circuits, a microcontroller unit with bluetooth low energy communication and a self-sustainable battery management system with high efficiency power recovery. Then, a fall detection algorithm is designed to send a message to a smartphone, tablet or etc. through bluetooth low energy connection when hazardous situations are detected. Based on this algorithm, the software of the system is prepared. Finally, field tests have been carried out and according to the results, it has been shown that the fall detection system developed is functional and has a very low power consumption.