International conference on Signal Processing, Communication, Power and Embedded System (SCOPES)-2016
ELECTRONIC NOTICE BOARD WITH
MULTIPLE OUTPUT DISPLAY
Kruthika Simha, Shreya, Chethan Kumar,
Parinitha C, Shashidhar Tantry
Department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering, PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore
South Campus, Karnataka – 560100, India
Email : stantry@pes.edu
Abstract – The paper aims at iterating the results of a
project focused on developing a wireless electronic notice
board, which offers the flexibility to control information
display within a given range on multiple displays. The
notice board will display information being transmitted
to it from a central controlling unit, using a serial
communication protocol.
Keywords – RS485 Communication Protocol, MAX 232,
MAX 485, GSM Module, Control Centre, 32x4 LCD
Module.
I. INTRODUCTION
As technology improves, efficient, financially
affordable and highly productive output becomes an
absolute necessity, and this leads us to be more
inclined towards using automated control systems.
Human intervention, although it offers variety,
adaptability and interactivity, could lead to errors, as it
is a natural and inevitable result of this variability.
Hence, automation of a system is an accepted means
to minimize human error and its impact.
Applying this to the situation under scrutiny now, the
traditional methods of writing/ typing the notice on
paper, and having a man/woman deliver the notice to
the respective groups, or having him/her paste the
notice on the notice board, is prone to errors. The
person delivering could deliver it to the wrong group,
or tamper with the information being sent, etc.
With the electronics industry moving at a fast pace, we
are able to solve many such problems with digital
replacements. Our project, Multi Electronic Notice
Board, aims at eliminating the use of paper in offices,
schools & colleges, and other institutions; also
minimizing the risk of errors, by replacing paper with
LCD displays.
The circuit that we are using contains a control center
with a GSM module, which is used for receiving the
notices as SMSs. With our preset template used for the
message, the system determines whether the message
must be displayed on all or just a few of the displays.
978-1-5090-4620-1/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE
We use only one control center to control all the
display centers. The communication between the
control center and the display centers is achieved using
a wired serial communication protocol, while the
notices themselves can be sent from anywhere in the
world. The use of GSM is advantageous, as the
sending point doesn’t have to be tied down to a fixed
location, increasing the range of communication
substantially.
Easy installation and low power consumption are
some of the advantages that the system provides. The
display unit itself can vary in size and specification,
from the very small 16x2 LCD display to the very
large LCD Monitors. [1][2]
II. PRESENT TECHNOLOGY
The wired electronic notice boards today, which can
be found in shopping malls, educational institutes,
traffic control, banks etc., are controlled by a
microcontroller. The microcontroller contains the
program code to show the message on the display,
which is static. To change the message on the display,
one needs to change the code on the microcontroller.
All these processes are generally hardwired and
complex. The introduction of a GSM module into this
system makes the displayed message dynamic, i.e., the
notice being displayed on the board changes as and
when messages are sent.
The electronic Notice boards that are there today
display static messages, and if the message has to be
changed, the code on the controlling unit must be
changed. This is definitely not an efficient method of
displaying notices in real time. [3][4][5][6][7]
STATIC DISPLAY
Fig.1 Static Display that needs to be reprogrammed every time a
new message has to be displayed.
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III. DESIGN IV. FLOW DIAGRAM

Fig.2 Block Diagram of the product Fig.3 Flow Diagram of the control [8]

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V. SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES VI. MESSAGE TEMPLATE

SPECIFICATION VALUE Priority Message String

Termination
Power Supply 220V Character
1-256 Eg.: ECE Dept. ‘#’
Meeting on
Control Center Required Power 12V, 1A Monday

Fig.5 Message Template used for sending the messages

Display Center Required Power 5V, 1A VII. APPLICATIONS AND FEATURES

A. APPLICATIONS
The electronic notice board can effectively be used in:
Display System 20x4 LCD 1. Airports: To display flight information and at
arrival terminals to display flight information
at the baggage claim area.
2. Hospitals: To send alerts from a patient
monitoring system, or for other purposes
Display Unit Displays the such as meeting notices, operation notices
received etc.
3. Courier Service Offices: To display transport
message manifests
Communication Protocol Used RS485 4. Corporate Offices: To display
announcements and Daily schedules.
5. Schools and Colleges: To display
announcements and academic calendars, etc.

Maximum Signal Distance of 1.2Km B. FEATURES

RS485 (THEORETICAL) 1. Ability to send a text message containing
information to be displayed on the notice
board, from a mobile phone to the control
Maximum number of display 256 unit.
2. Ability to access each LCD independently
nodes for one control center and collectively.
(THEORETICAL) 3. Ability to drive multiple slaves using one
control centre.(Can drive up to 256 slaves)
Messaging Unit Mobile Phone, [11]
GSM Module
VIII. CONCLUSION

The prototype of the proposed GSM based

Fig.4 Specifications Table for the product [9][10]
electronic notice board was successfully designed. It
can be easily integrated with all general-purpose
display board thus proving its mobility. The system
accepts the message to be displayed in the form of
Short Message Service (SMS) stores it, checks for its
validation and then displays it on the display unit if it
meant for that particular display unit, decided based on
address. This system supports only one message at a
time. The proposed system can be efficiently used for
transfer of message instantly on campus.

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The SMS based smart electronic notice board is
efficiently designed. The smart electronic notice board
system accepts new SMS, validate it, store it and
display it on 20x4 LCD panel. It reduces the overall
development cost and also minimizes the complexity.
Therefore, smart electronic notice board system
becomes smarter, efficient, robust and portable.
Fig.6 Product Prototype
IX. FUTURE SCOPE
The display unit can range from LED scrolling
displays to LCD monitors. The LED scrolling displays
can be set up at public transport places such as bus
stations, railway stations and airports. They can also
be used in offices and similar organizations for
sending notices. The LCD monitors can be setup on
school and college campuses for sending out notices.
Also, as an extension to the current message-
displaying template, multiple messages can be
displayed at a time, by dividing the screen to the
required number of parts.
Acknowledgment
We would like express our sincere gratitude to Dr. J.
Surya Prasad, Director/Principal of PESIT(BSC), Dr.
Subhash Kulkarni, Head of Department Electronics
and Communication, PESIT(BSC), Mr. K Pattabhi
Raman and Mr. R Sastry, and all the lecturers and staff
of the department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering.
References
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[8] “RS-232, RS-422 [1], RS-485 Serial Communication General
Concepts," National Instruments, p. 4, 29 June 2016
[9] RS485 serial information.
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April 2015
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[11] A. J. S. D. Y. K. V. Ankita Dashora, Scribd, Rajasthan.
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