A Smart IoT System for Enhancing Safety in School Bus Transportation

Abstract

School districts globally implement comprehensive and expensive strategies to offer safe bus transportation to and from school. However, these technologies are unfeasible to schools with limited financial resources, thereby leaving students at risk of serious injury. This study focuses on five major obstacles to safe school transportation: 1) forgetting students on the bus unattended; 2) students’ abnormal behavior; 3) overcrowding; 4) abnormal driver behavior; and 5) the risk of a bus running over children after they have disembarked. This paper developed an intelligent system using the Internet of Things, including rule-based and mathematical solutions to overcome the five transportation safety issues in student buses mentioned above, and to enhance student safety, using a bracelet system, short- and long-RFID sensors, and a processing unit to monitor the bus and its surrounding area. Therefore, in this paper, the proposed solution is superior to previous works in the same field. It is distinguished by its comprehensiveness and reasonable cost, making it affordable and easy to both install and maintain.