Capacity Limit Measuring Tool on Children's School Bags Using Esp32 Microcontroller and 
GPS Tracker 
Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Teknologi, Vol. 5, No. 6 June 2024                                                   2799 
  
to it in order to continue to prioritize the health of the child (Putri, Oktarin, & Setiawan, 
2020). 
Pain in the back of the body can be described as discomfort that is felt locally or 
involves nerve roots, or both, that are localized around the thoracolumbar or lumbosacral 
region (Handayani, 2023). The results of a survey conducted by the Archives of Disease 
in Childhood on 1,403 students showed that as many as 61.4% of them experienced pain 
in the lower back. This incident is more commonly experienced by students aged 12-17 
years (Setiaji, 2020). These findings reflect that pain in the lower back is a common 
complaint, especially in 12-17-year-olds, which is a period of rapid growth.  Another 
factor that plays a role is the habit of carrying backpacks with excessive weight when 
children should not carry more than 10% of their body weight [2]. 
The  American  Occupational  Therapy  Association  (AOTA)  and  the  American 
Physical Therapy Association (APTA) recommend that students do not carry backpacks 
that weigh more than 15% (or are in the range of 10% to 20%) of their body weight. In 
2012, this recommendation was changed to a maximum of 10% of the student's body 
weight.  Meanwhile, the  American  Chiropractic  Association  (ACA)  recommends  that 
children's backpack weight not exceed 5–10% of their body weight (Widyantari, Patni, & 
Paramurthi, 2023). 
The purpose of this study is to design and implement a capacity limit measuring 
device on children's school bags that can help overcome the problem of lack of attention 
to the weight of backpacks which can cause the risk of injury and pain in children's backs. 
Research related to capacity limit measuring tools on children's school bags using 
ESP32 microcontroller and GPS Tracker (Ratih, Saraswati, Antari, & Negara, n.d.). This 
research is titled  "Smart Bag  Weight  Detection  Equipped  with Loadcell Sensor  with 
Brainstorming Method". The tool uses an Arduino Uno with a loadcell sensor that can 
load a capacity of up to 5 kg. In addition, the HX711 module converts the change of 
resistance into voltage. The voltage is then converted to ground, which is displayed on 
the LCD. If the weight of the bag reaches more than 10% of the user's weight, the message 
"Overload" will appear on the LCD screen and a beep will be heard as a warning [4]. 
The  next  research  is  entitled  "Making  a  Prototype  of  a  Backpack  for  School 
Children with an Arduino Uno Microcontroller". In this study, the tool was made using 
an Arduino Uno microcontroller coupled with a 5 Kg loadcell weight sensor with an 
HX711  scale  module  with  buzzer  supporting  components  and  LCD  (Liquid  Crystal 
Display) 2 x 16 characters. The way this tool works is to detect if the weight of the load 
exceeds the safe limit, then there is a danger warning and alarm that the weight of the 
load is not suitable to be carried if the weight of the load exceeds 10-15% of the body 
weight. The  weight  sensor  performs  well  with calibration of less  than  5 % accuracy 
difference with perpendicular position weighing measurements [5]. 
In  2021,  the  research  was  entitled  "Design  and  Build  a  NODEMCU-Based 
Backpack Security System ESP8266 with Android Application Notifications". In this 
study, NodeMCU and GPS module function to help find out the position of the backpack 
so that its existence status can be known. The vibration sensor and buzzer function to help