A real time fuel theft detection and alert system for vehicles

Abstract

Fuel theft in vehicles is a persistent challenge that leads to significant operational losses, especially in fleet management. This project presents a Real-Time Fuel Theft Detection and Alert System for Vehicles, designed to detect suspicious fuel activity using sensor-based monitoring and real-time data storing. The system employs ultrasonic sensors to measure fuel levels in both the main tank and reserve tank, interfaced with an Arduino Uno microcontroller for continuous data collection. A Wi-Fi module transmits sensor data to a remote server via an API, enabling real-time monitoring. On the backend, PHP and MySQL manage data storage and processing, while the frontend dashboard developed using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Bootstrap displays live fuel metrics and triggers alerts based on defined theft detection algorithms. These include conditions such as fuel being removed from the reserve tank while the main tank is not empty, or when the quantity withdrawn from reserve tank exceeds the amount added to the main tank. A grace period mechanism is also implemented to reduce false alerts during normal fuel transfers. Upon detecting theft, the system triggers real-time alerts for immediate response. This solution enhances fuel security, accountability, and operational efficiency in vehicle fuel management.