Zhansheng Huang¹, Garret Washburn², ¹USA, ²California State Polytechnic University, USA

Children face dual risks during school activities: safety concerns from inadequate supervision and health risks from carrying heavy backpacks exceeding recommended weight limits. BackTracked addresses both through an integrated IoT system combining GPS location tracking with real-time weight monitoring [9]. The solution comprises Particle Boron firmware interfacing with GPS and pressure sensors, a cloud backend for data processing and secure storage, and a cross-platform Flutter mobile application for parental monitoring [10]. Key technical components include NMEA sentence parsing for location extraction, analog pressure sensing with calibrated weight mapping, and token-based authentication for data security. Experimental evaluation demonstrated 3.2 meters outdoor GPS accuracy and 2.98% weight measurement error, validating system reliability for intended use cases. Compared to existing solutions, BackTracked uniquely combines health and safety monitoring, provides cellular connectivity independent of Wi-Fi, and supports both iOS and Android platforms. The system enables parents to monitor their children's location and backpack weight through a single, comprehensive solution.

IoT Monitoring, GPS Tracking, Weight Sensing, Child Safety Systems