A Real-Time Motion Based Fuel Monitoring Technique For Vehicle Tracking Systems

Fuel monitoring is an integral part of a vehicle tracking system. It allows a user to track the fuel status of a vehicle, such as fuel level, refill, leak or theft, and analyze the consumption behavior. In this paper, we present a novel technique for improving the fuel monitoring service of vehicle tracking systems. We integrate the motion parameters of a vehicle (orientation, acceleration, and vibration) into the tracking device to increase the accuracy of the fuel level measurement. Additionally, we detect suspicious activities, such as tank leaks and fuel theft, and discern fuel refill by conducting a temporal analysis of the measured fuel level data. We design a hardware module for data collection and analyze the collected data to explore the relationship between fuel usage and motion parameters of a vehicle. We also develop a smartphone application for the real-time observation of the fuel data. Our experiments yield an 80 % success rate in determining the accurate fuel level value and a 100% success rate in detecting both refill and suspicious consumption activity. These findings can help reduce the errors in the fuel monitoring report and consequently improve the efficiency of the device as well as the benefit of the user.

I. Introduction

The growing economic development in Bangladesh has tremendously promoted the usage of motor vehicles. As a result, the consumption of fuel has also escalated. Increasing demand for motor vehicles has triggered a rapid decrease in natural resources and a consistent rise in fuel prices. At the same time, the stealth of fuel is also increasing as a means of quick and low-risk illegal income. Therefore, monitoring and ensuring proper usage of fuel is a paramount issue in our country. As a solution, vehicle tracking system (VTS) has been a welcome trend in the country. It is a prospering technology with more than 20 companies competing in the national market. However, only a handful of them currently offer the fuel monitoring service.