CHAPTER 1THE PROBLEM STATEMENT

1.1.Background of the Study

Presently, there has been a world-wide spread use of cellular phones.
Cellular communication plays an important role in our daily life. It helps us locate and
be in
touchw i t h a n o t h e r p e r s o n i n a r e m o t e l o c a t i o n . S i n c e t h e P h i l i p p i n e s b
e i n g a d e v e l o p i n g country 33% of our population is under poverty (Senate
Economic Planning Office,2005).WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Company offered prepaid loading option that ishighly suitable in the
Philippine setting. Subscribers purchase consumable credits for their account
in preset denominations. These gave subscribers limited option to choose the
amount they will load up.Then in 2003, telecommunication companies addressed that
problem by launchinga nation-wide auto reloading stations through a retailer SIM card
that vendors can use to pass an amount of load as specified by the subscriber starting
at an appreciable amount of money with an increment of one peso. This new prepaid
loading service was introducedto capture the interest of budget minded Filipinos or blue
collared employees that prefersto load up in smaller denomination. It is difficult
for these people to purchase prepaidloads amounting to hundreds of pesos in
one transaction because of their daily budget. That is why people are in a day-today basis of buying prepaid loads and a wide-spread of auto loading services
nationwide. Subscribers can reload from a minimum of P25 up to a2

thousand with a P1 denomination. Business people are attracted to this service

because itis a low investment business which a person can manage on his/her own.
1.2.Statement of the Problem
The current process of e-load reloading is typing the password, recipients
phonenumber and the amount of prepaid credit. A mere 0 added to the amount could
lead toan enormous loss of income. There will be no means to cancel the transaction
once it has been sent. Considering that the earnings are small, any mistakes
made are devastating.Thats why it is very important to encode the proper

amount and number to the GSMdevice. A prepaid load can also not be
delivered properly when the vendor themselves commits mistake in encoding the
recipients number. Telecommunication companies arenot liable to the mistakes done by
the retailer. Thats why there is a need to eliminate thecause of this error.There is a
need to automate the current auto loading system implemented here inthe Philippines.
As seen in most stores, the prepaid auto reloading services are being
donem a n u a l l y w i t h t h e v e n d o r u s i n g h i s / h e r c e l l u l a r p h o n e t o m
a k e t h e t r a n s a c t i o n . Considering that the transaction is being processed
manually, there is the chance for theseller to commit unwanted mistakes, mistakes
which could lead to money loss or the lossof income. To avoid these unnecessary
mistakes, there is a need to automate (interview,2006).3

1 . 3 . O b j e c t i v e s
There is a need eliminate the cause of error in the conventional auto reloadingservices.
1.3.1.General Objective(s)
To automate the prepaid auto loading services implemented here in thePhilippines by
constructing a vending machine.
1.3.2.Specific Objectives
1.3.2.1. To use a microcontroller.1.3.2.2. To use GSM device interfaced with
microcontroller in sendingmasked SMS.1 . 3 . 2 . 3 . To b e a b l e t o a c c e p t b i l l s a n d
c o i n s . 1.3.2.4.To be able to give the proper change if necessary.1 . 3 . 2 . 5 . To
p r o v i d e a d o t m a t r i x L C D t o t h e s y s t e m . 1.3.2.6.To log all transactions
made in the microcontrollers internal memory.1.3.2.7.To use an
external keypad module as inputs to the system.1.3.2.8.It should be able to
run 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week.1.3.2.9. To use a CMOS battery to be the
back up battery memory storage.1.3.2.10. To provide security measures in case of
tampering.1.3.2.11. It should be able to perform self-diagnostics on its
components.1.3.2.12. To provide retrieval means of stored information on
memoryused.4

9
Figure3.System ProcessFlowChart(detailedbreakdownoffigure1)

1 . 7 . M e t h o d o l o g y The Methodology that will be applied will be classified

into three (3)different parts; Research, Hardware implementation, and
Softwareimplementation1.7.1. Research
The research would compose of statistical study on the usage of e-load inthe
Philippines. The group will be take advantage of the facilities inside campus.The
library for accurate research; Books and journals will be very much
used because of its legitimacy and advancements. The internet will also be used due
toits accessibility and up-to-date content like online articles, statistics, and
productcatalogs. Finally, consultation with the adviser will surely be considered.
1.7.2. Hardware Implementation
This would involve the familiarization of microcontrollers that
a r e available in the market. For the selection of the microcontroller the group will
bec o n s i d e r i n g t h e p r i c e a n d s p e c i f i c a t i o n s t h a t w o u l d f i t o u r a p p l i c a t i
o n . T h e hardware in the money collection module will be a coin feeder. The
display
will b e a n L C D d i s p l a y m a t r i x w i t h b a c k l i g h t . A k e y p a d w i l l a c c
e p t t h e i n p u t parameters to operate the vending machine. The housing will
be a stainless steelspecially fabricated to the dimensions that will contain the
whole system. The10

memory would likely have 60K x 4 pages, jumper selectable memory. If

morememory is needed then an extended memory module would be used.
1.7.3. Software Implementation
The software would entail the programming language that depends on
themicrocontroller chosen. Preferably C language would be explored by the
group.Other forms of programming language will be based on Nokia GSM
device andthe bill & coin validation section.11

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