Soldier Health Monitoring and Position Tracking System Using LoRaWAN

This project presents the design and implementation of a real-time IoT-based Soldier Health Monitoring and Position Tracking System using LoRaWAN technology. The system is developed to address the critical challenge of monitoring soldier health and location in remote and infrastructure-denied environments such as battlefields. The proposed system integrates multiple hardware and software components into a unified architecture. The transmitter unit consists of an ESP32 microcontroller interfaced with a MAX30102 sensor for heart rate monitoring, a DHT11 sensor for body temperature measurement, and a NEO-6M GPS module for real-time location tracking. The collected physiological and positional data are transmitted over long-range, low-power LoRa communication using the SX1278 module operating at 433 MHz. At the receiver side, an Arduino Nano processes incoming LoRa packets and forwards the data to a backend system. A full-stack software pipeline consisting of Python, Node.js, and Socket.io enables real-time data streaming to a web-based dashboard. The dashboard provides live visualization of vital parameters, GPS tracking using an interactive map (Leaflet.js), and a threshold-based SAFE/DANGER alert system. Experimental results demonstrate reliable communication with zero packet loss under test conditions and an end-to-end latency of approximately 5 seconds. The system successfully performs continuous monitoring and real-time alerting, making it suitable for defense and emergency applications. Key Features: - Real-time heart rate and body temperature monitoring - GPS-based live location tracking - Long-range communication using LoRaWAN (~10 km range) - Low power consumption suitable for wearable deployment - Web dashboard with live updates and alert system - SAFE/DANGER classification based on threshold values Technologies Used: ESP32, MAX30102, DHT11, NEO-6M GPS, SX1278 LoRa Module, Arduino Nano, Python, Node.js, Socket.io, Leaflet.js Applications: - Military and defense monitoring systems - Remote patient monitoring - Disaster management and rescue operations - IoT-based wearable health systems Future Scope: The system can be extended with additional sensors such as SpO2, ECG, and fall detection modules. Future improvements may include cloud integration, AI-based predictive analytics, and multi-device LoRaWAN gateway support for large-scale deployment. Contributors: M. Tamil Selvan, J. Logesh, S. Gobinath, S. Thirisha Institution: Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering PGP College of Engineering and Technology, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India