The project aims to enhance package delivery security by utilizing IoT technology. It includes a prototype that incorporates sensors to monitor the package's orientation and temperature, a cloud-based database for data storage, and a mobile application for real-time monitoring and remote control of the package's locking mechanism, ultimately providing a more secure and interactive delivery experience.
To address the needs of ensuring the security of a package delivery, keeping the contents inside safe, the completion of the prototype “DelBox” provides a demonstration of a promising solution that incorporates Internet of Things (IoT) technology to create a harmonious cyber-physical system. The problem of concern is in regards to “porch pirates”, which have been on the rise in correlation to the increase in online shopping, where one willingly steals a package that typically sits on the porch of one’s house or apartment building. DelBox is an IoT system that takes in sensed data from its environment that includes the perception of its orientation and ambient temperature, to provide the user with information on the status of the package. The system assumes a 3-layered IoT architecture, using ThingSpeak for a cloud-based database, deployed with Google's Firebase platform to run the developed Android mobile application. Additionally, DelBox incorporates a locking system in which a user is provided a password to unlock the package and access the contents inside. The package communicates the information wirelessly in order to store its sensed data in the database that holds the vital parameters of the system. To provide insight to the user, an application allows for the viewing of the real-time characteristic parameters, such as if the box is open or close, locked or unlocked, and the ambient temperature as well as to control the locking mechanism remotely. Overall, DelBox takes a step in the direction of making the delivery process more secure.
