GPS SYSTEM FOR HUMAN TRACKING: A SOLUTION TO KIDNAPPING

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GPS SYSTEM FOR HUMAN TRACKING: A SOLUTION TO KIDNAPPING1 22ND MAY, 2013.
TITLE: GPS SYSTEM FOR HUMAN TRACKING: A SOLUTION TO KIDNAPPING
EBOLE ALPHA F.
LAGOS STATE POLYTECHNIC, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
E-mail: alphaechoe@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
GPS refers to Global Positioning System, an electronic satellite based system. It transmits signal
information to the earth at all times, in any weather and to any place on earth. GPS receivers use this
information to calculate the user’s exact location which is displayed on the units map. The basic idea
behind GPS is rather simple. If the distances from a point on earth to GPS satellites are known along with
satellite location, then the location of the point or receiver can be determined by simply applying the
concept of resection. When the GPS receiver is switched on it will pick up the GPS signal to the receiver
antenna. Once the receiver acquires the GPS signal it will process it, using its build in software. The partial
outcome of the signal processing consists of the distance to the GPS satellite through the digital code and
the satellite coordinates through the navigation message. So far so good, there has never been another
kind of technology that can give accuracy in terms of location detection and electronic map navigation.
This makes it the best solution to the issue of kidnapping in Nigeria. This paper explore the crime of
kidnapping and how GPS (Global positioning Satellite) can help combat crime of Kidnapping by using satellites
in space as reference points for locating position on earth and the distance from the satellite to earth is measured
by calculating the time it takes for a radio wave to travel from the satellite to the receiver of GPS.
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GPS SYSTEM FOR HUMAN TRACKING: A SOLUTION TO KIDNAPPING1 22ND MAY, 2013.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Nigeria’s Niger Delta region has attracted global attention over the years, the region harbors one of the largest
world’s oil reserves which constitutes the engine room of Nigeria’s economy through foreign exchange earning
and revenue generation to the government and has witnessed various forms of militancy, violence and crime,
including kidnapping. Kidnapping is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria, and has been ongoing since the early
1990s. Hostages have been taken for two primary reasons: Political bargaining and economic gain. The use of
this tactic has not been entirely political in nature, as there are reports of significant reason pigments which have
been used to fund the activities of these groups further. The tactic has proven so lucrative that a number of
criminal groups appear to have taken on the task in order to make money. Kidnapping have become a common
occurrence in Niger Delta. In some cases, hostages have been held for over a month without any traces of where
hostages are kept or the hideout of the famous kidnappers group.
Figure 1.1
Kidnapping poses a number of definitional problems in relations to a country’s legal and moral view point as
well as the availability of other various such as hostage taking and hijacking. Kidnapping is a very serious crime
and it is relatively unheard just as many other crimes as robbery, burglary and other forms of societal crime. The
most unfortunate thing is that the perpetrators of this crime are more like a ghost because our security system has
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GPS SYSTEM FOR HUMAN TRACKING: A SOLUTION TO KIDNAPPING1 22ND MAY, 2013.
failed in that regard. My motivation for this paper is to explore the social problem of kidnapping in its various
forms as a prelude to a more empirical study and join in the course of finding and listing solution to kidnapping
in Nigeria so our people ones again can sleep with their two eyes closed. Incidence of kidnapping in the Niger
Delta has posed many implications on the economy and the general developmental efforts of the region in part
particular and the Nigerian nation in general. As most kidnappings involve foreign workers and development
partners, the effect on the economy is very enormous as it scares away potential development partners and robs
the state of the benefit of such development alliances and opportunities. The spread of kidnapping as a business
itself has to do with long period of governmental neglects of the region, causing its people to aggressively adopt
militant confrontation in a bid to force government attention to the plight of the region. At the moment various
levels of government have stepped up developmental attention in the region in a bid to curb the rising incidence
of the crime. The paper believes that the Niger Delta problem deserves serious governmental attention. The
current efforts of government are welcome, but such efforts will not be successful without genuine stakeholder
participation and involvements. Available development agencies for the region should be strictly monitored to
stem the rising case of corruption that has always been the hallmark of such agencies, e.g the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC). Doing these will help to build the capacities of every stakeholders as well
as engaging them in meaningful developmental activities.
The basic idea behind GPS is to use satellites in space as reference points for locating positions on earth. The
distance from the satellites to earth is measured by calculating the time it takes for a radio wave to travel from
the satellites to the receiver of GPS. We multiply this time by the speed of light in order to calculate the
distance; the global positioning system is actually a constellation of 27 earth orbiting satellites, of which 24 are
in operation and three extras in case one fails. Each of these 1500 kilograms solar powered satellites circle the
globe at about 19,300 kilometers making two complete rotations every day. The orbits are arranged so that at
anytime, anywhere on earth there are at least four satellites visible in the sky. A GPS receiver’s job is simply to
locate four or more satellites and figure out the distance to each and use the information to deduce its position.
This operation is based on a simple mathematical principal called “Trilateration” which is the measure of your
location from three different reference points. In order to make the calculation simple, the GPS receiver has to
know two things: The location of at least three satellites in the distance between the receiver and the satellites.
The GPS receiver figures both of these measurements by analyzing high frequency and low power radio wave
signals from the GPS satellites. Radio waves are electromagnetic energy which means they travel at the speed of
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GPS SYSTEM FOR HUMAN TRACKING: A SOLUTION TO KIDNAPPING1 22ND MAY, 2013.
light (300 000 kilometers/second in a vacuum). The receiver can figure how far the signal has traveled by timing
how long it takes the signals to reach the device from the satellites.
Since the radio waves travel at 300 million meters a second, the clocks used to measure the time must be
accurate and precise to an extreme level. For one satellite the distance to the GPS receiver is equal to the time it
takes the radio signal to travel from the satellite the same code is used at the receiver and the satellite, the
satellites and receivers are synchronized to generate same code at the same time then we look at the incoming
code from a satellite and measure when the receiver generated the same code. The same is done with a second
satellite and a third satellite to narrow the possible positions with respect to the point in space. To be able to fix
our position with only three satellites. The clock at the receiver unit is also needed to insure the synchronization
of the signals. Due to the high cost of these clocks, it is not possible to install them into every receiver, and
therefore a fourth satellite is used to calculate the measurement mitigating the error. When a GPS receiver gets a
series of measurements that do not intersect at one single point, the electronic device inside the receiver would
do the calculation until it arrives at an answer that is common among the satellites. Because of this, four
satellites are required to remove time errors when measuring three dimensions.
Speaking of errors, and since no system is perfect, we have several main error sources that must be considered
when calculating a position with GPS. These sources include the following: clock errors in which a small
amount of difference in the clocks and in their synchronization can make large difference in the distance
measurements. The ability of a GPS receiver to determine a location depends on its ability to determine how
long it takes a signal to get from the satellite to the receiver. The second error is the ephemeris error, which is an
error in predicted time, since the receiver expects each satellite to be at a certain place at a particular given time.
If the satellite is not where it is predicted to be the measurement of the range from the receiver to the satellite
will be incorrect. The third error is the receiver’s errors. Because the electronic device in the receiver work with
a fixed number of digits and a subject to rounding and calculating errors, them receiver cannot exactly measure
and calculate the distance to each satellite at the same time. The fourth error is the atmospheric error which is an
error due to a deceleration in speed caused by the nature of the atmosphere. Finally, the lion’s share of the error
in the GPS system is from selective availability, which is a deliberate corruption of the signal by the U.S
government since it is not to the interest of the national security of the united state to allow potential adversary
to be able to use the GPS technology in an accurate enough way to be used for the guidance of weapons
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Despite the fact that several errors might occur, when you takes signal position with a GPS unit, you are 95%
sure that you will be within hundred meters of the point true position. With using several satellites and
averaging the distance calculated, it is possible to drive down the errors to few meters.
2.0 RELATED WORKS
Early version of kidnapping was believed to be part of a wider liberation called the movement for the
Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) for the development of the state. It was then an activity with no monetary
attachment as the key motivation factor and in most cases part of the outcome of confrontation between MEND
and oil interests or the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN). The key grievances oftentimes advanced by
MEND for such confrontations involved three closely interrelated but analytically distinct issues namely:
that all laws relating to oil exploration and land ownership be abrogated to give the locals more
empowerment to have control of their resources:
that the issue of natural resource control and self determination be recognized and operationalized as
cardinal principles for the protection of their minority status,
that appropriate institutional and financial arrangements be put in place for the development as well as
addressing the numerous environmental problems associated with oil exploration and exploitation in oil
producing communities in Nigeria Delta.
This refusal or inabilities of the FGN to respond to these demands have been at the core of MEND’s liberation
struggle. These struggles have historical roots in Isaac Adaka Boro and Ken Saro Wiwa’s earlier concerns and
struggles for resource control and environmental justice. Apart from the Twelve day Revolution” that was led
by Isaac Boro, against the FGN in 1966, It is popularly believed that the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa by the
FGN on the 10th November, 1995, has played key and fundamental role in fostering MEND’s strength and
determination for such liberation fights. More so, government’s Policies that promote economic and
environmental injustices against the people of the Nigeria Delta have also been responsible for MEND’s
liberation fights. Such policies include the obnoxious and controversial land use decree and revenue allocation
policies of government, which have tended to place the oil rich regions in serious developmental and
environmental disadvantages (Akpan and Akpabio 2003).
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Kidnapping has come to play important role in such fights over the years. Initially, it could go without ransom
(if the sources of finance are guaranteed by their sponsors) but these days, some financial demands are made
before release could be affected. Such ransom seems to be useful in funding the organized groups involved.
From the cases cited above, target kidnappers are foreign oil company workers, although key government
officials have been targeted these days as a direct confrontation with the FGN.
There is no denying the fact that militants in the Niger Delta have demonstrated the ability to destroy large parts
of the oil production facilities in the country and some of them have hereby taken to kidnapping as a way of
getting back at the government or even satisfying their own selfish desires. The undeniable fact is that, no
strategy has been able to combat the crime of kidnapping in the region. Different reports on kidnapping in
Nigeria have been written, but the most unfortunate thing about all these reports is that they only remain reports.
None of these reports whatsoever has proffered a meaningful solution to this horrible crime perpetrated by
criminals.
3.0 WHY GPS?
The global positioning system (GPS) has made navigation systems practical for a number of applications,
location tracking had played a great role in military warfare and location tracking has been a great importance
since world war II, when military strategist realized its usefulness for targeting, fleet management and
navigation. Today, GPS has a wild range of applications in many fields and can be found in different devices
that provides a wild range of functionalities. Navigation systems can be found in motor vehicles, farming and
mining equipments and a variety of other land based vehicles. In addition, GPS has a growing significant in the
field of wireless communications. GPS can also be used in tracking deliver package, emergency response,
exploration, surveying, law enforcements, recreation, wild life tracking, search and rescue, roadsides assistances,
recovery of stolen vehicles, resources management and even in sports. Recently, the application of GPS became
very useful and provided many advantages in motor vehicles. When the navigation system became more
affordable the percentage of usage shifted from aviation or military application to consumer product. The
concept of in vehicle navigation system is not new and started as early as the seventies.
But since the infrastructure to support such a system was too expensive, its practical application was delayed
until the late eighties. The U.S government in the late eighties, lunch a campaign to promote high-tech solutions
to enhance road way efficiency. The purpose was to reduce highway congestion, fuel consumption and the
number of traffic accidents by providing drivers with real time traffic information, guidance for roads vehicle
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collision avoidance systems and the notification to authorities in the event of traffic emergency, as well as
electronic toll collection on bridges and paid road. Today many U.S. and Japanese cars manufacturers offer
factory installed navigation systems in many of their models. Navigation systems to a large extend is now used
in chipping and transportation industry to help fleet tracking. A typical fleet tracking system includes navigation
and communication equipment in each vehicle and monitoring station. Each vehicle would contain equipment
comprised of a set of positioning sensors on a electronic device and the radio link installed in the vehicle. The
vehicle’s location is determined from the navigation equipment by the electronic device. The location of the
vehicle is related periodically to a monitoring station in which the monitoring station can see a location in a
computer screen that shows a 3D view of a local road map.
Operators at the monitoring center would use this information and knowledge to dispatch members of a fleet
efficiently and guide drivers to their destination. This improvement in travel efficiency therefore has significant
economic and environmental implications. Moreover, the GPS system could have a life saving potential, some
systems started lately to combine GPS receiver with a cellular phone. The system may include a bottom that the
user can push in situations of panic leading the cellular phone to relay the vehicles location to a monitoring
station where the operators at these stations would notify authorities about the emergency.
In faming, GPS has also made remarkable contributions. GPS has been installed on farm equipment’s for the
purpose of optimizing the application of fertilizers. Crop yield is a function of a position on the field and he
application of fertilizer on a way to maximize farm equipments using the GPS system. Also GPS has been
applied in heavy equipment and mining as mentioned in the previous section. Road construction equipment and
mining equipment benefit from GPS navigation system. And as mentioned before in sport the GPS system is
used for instance in Golfing. The simplest system simply tells the golfer how far the next hole and the
characteristics of a terrain in front of him. More aggressive applications consist of a motorized gold bag the
follow the golfer automatically. This device would require navigation accuracy at the sub-meter level in order to
navigate narrow paths and avoid hazards region of the golf course.
The benefits of the navigations systems can be augmented by utilizing data from a digital map database to aid in
navigation. A digital map database is essentially an electronic road map which is a digitization of a local road
network with each road represented as a collection of points assume to be connected in a dote to dote fashion.
Map databases are frequently used to show the vehicles position to the driver. However, information in a map
database can also significantly improve navigation accuracy. The software algorithm that combines the sensor
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data with the map data to produce a position estimate is referred to as a map marching algorithm. Map marching
algorithm is rules where the data and information from the map are used to determined the road on which the
vehicle is most probably using. This algorithm involved pattern marching techniques that correlate the pattern
created by several positions fixed to a similar pattern of connected roads on a road map network. After a
successful correlation is done, information about the matched road can be retrieved from the database and used
to accentuate errors in the navigation sensors.
The ability of GPS is to determine the precise location of a user anywhere under any weather conditions,
attracted millions of users worldwide from various fields and backgrounds. With advances in computer
technology and GPS technologies, GPS manufactures and system developers were able to come up with user-
friendly systems. However, one common problem that GPS users face is the issue of coordinated systems and
Datum.
4.0 Location Tracking Technology
There are numerous location tracking technologies available, under are some of the technologies which work in
different concepts.
􀂙 Triangulation does not take into account characteristics such as:
􀂙 Reflection—A wireless signal’s reflection off an object.
􀂙 Attenuation—A physical object’s effect on a signal. The coverage circle rings on the triangulation map must
be perfect circles and do not reflect the effect which is imposed from the walls, glass, and other building
materials exert on RF. A wall might take away –4 dBm of device signal strength, which affects the accuracy
level.
􀂙 Multi-Path—Different paths that an RF signal might take to arrive at a destination, will also cause
accuracy deficiency. GPS-GSM Mobile Navigator combines the GPS’s ability to identify location along with the
ability of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) to communicate with a base station in a
wireless fashion. The navigator is a microcontroller-based system equipped with a GPS receiver
and a GSM module. The working principles of the above Location Based Service systems have been utilized in
the invention of a route guidance system for the Visually Impaired.
5.0 THE SYSTEM MODEL
• The basic operation of the proposed Human tracking system is that when a Human Movement is
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detected, a specific sensor-odometer in Human module will produce a signal.
• This signal sent from these sensors will trigger the microcontroller, then through the transmitter to
location Tracker module.
• Through GPS it takes the Longitude and latitude of the current position of the person and passed to
the location Tracker Module
• The location Tracker module will take the decision incorporated along with the path guidance system and start
sending the information to the base module.
• The operation of this tracking system requires certain hardware between the tracker module and the base
module.
• The Database module will take the Coordinate and store the Information in the Internet.
• The operation of the Human tracking system requires certain hardware to activate the motion sensors. The main
hardware parts are; motion sensors, sensor driving circuits, GPS, ARM, Transceiver, Buzzer, LCD display if
needed and Keypad Human tracking is the process of reporting and tracking the human. Other terminology
frequently used to describe this process includes:
1. Build the chip in human, to be tracked.
2. Surveillance the Campus and track where people would be tracked.
3. Finding one actual and two alternative route from source to destination
4. Take Longitude and Latitude through GPS Tracker device in traceable route.
5. Activate the alert message through SMS to the caretaker.
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Obstacl
e
Detecti
Location
Sensing
Hearing and
Vibration
Alert
Graphical user
Display for
On-going path
Path
Finding
based
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GPS SYSTEM FOR HUMAN TRACKING: A SOLUTION TO KIDNAPPING1 22ND MAY, 2013.
Figure 5.1 Block Diagram for the system setup
Figure 5.2 System Design- Diagram
5.1 Antenna
In this apparatus we use a transceiving antenna which receives signal and helps in tracking the human.
5.2 Microcontroller
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Automatic SMS
to
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GPS SYSTEM FOR HUMAN TRACKING: A SOLUTION TO KIDNAPPING1 22ND MAY, 2013.
The controller has been programmed to acknowledge the received latitude and longitude from receiver and
antenna setup and to drive the proper audio track for path guidance.
5.3 Serial Port
It is the module for transmitting data bits one by one serially. Serial communication can be used to communicate
with computer, GSM Modem, GPS etc. serial communication is perform for long distance communication with
cheap cost. Serial communication with computer cannot be directly performed since computer operates on
different voltage logics, so we use RS-232.
5.4 Receiver Circuit
It receives the Signal through antenna. It is an interface with microcontroller; the received signal is decoded and
displayed on LCD.
5.5 The Global Positioning System (GPS)
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a worldwide radio-navigation system formed from a constellation of 24
satellites and many number of ground stations.
5.5.1 A GPS tracking
A GPS tracking device calculates its position by measuring distances between itself and other GPS
satellites. In return, the signals emitted by the satellites carry information about the GPS carrier’s location.
5.5.2 GPS TRACKING MAP
GPS and GIS technology is widely used for determining the position of an object and measuring distance.
However, the whole technology is based on maps. Maps taken by satellites and then the application of GIS
technology make the whole process successful. The GIS technology generally uses digital information with the
help of digitized data creation methods. By this digitized method a map is converted into a digital format through
the use of a computer aided drafting (CAD) program. Any particular place is marked by its longitudes, latitude
and elevation by co-ordinate points. In this way digital satellite images are analyzed and the data in map form
represents real world objects with digital form. Path Finding based on obstacle relevant Location Information
Automatic SMS to the caretaker.
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Fig 5.3 Google Map.
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Conclusion
The final act of this paper is to speculate on the development of GPS, its use and its applications. The technology
of the Global Positioning System is permitting gigantic changes in our society. The application using GPS are
increasing day after day. The cost of the receivers is reducing, in parallel; the exactness of the system is
improving. This affects everyone. Even though the system was originally developed for military purposes, civil
sales now exceed military sales.
The present status of GPS is sufficiently exciting for most surveyors; however, future developments will make
the present use of the system appear quite ordinary. The enlarged number of next generation satellites will meet
all future requirements for navigation, surveying, timing, and additionally provide many new revolutionary uses.
Substantially improved the software and hardware components will provide desired results more quickly, in real
time, at lower cost. Real-time data transfer systems will soon become affordable, reliable, and simple to use.
Accuracy is expected to increase by at least one order of magnitude even with lower costs. In addition, GPS will
achieve a higher level of integrity and its output will be more reliable. Apart from the present tasks, new
application will arise which today are undreamed of. We have also seen the improvement of GPS and the errors
and the number of satellites that has a great effect on these errors. And the Differential GPS (DGPS) which is the
technique based on the use of two receivers and where two correction methods are used.
This paper, as whole, is to track the movement of people who are abducted by kidnapper for any reason, instead
of implementing a dead penalty for kidnappers in Edo state. I have to break this paper into parts to have a clear
work and a comprehensive one and to draw a plan for every part and to work on a specific schedule. Finally, I
believe that positioning system will cease to be associated solely with a particular type of positioning like radar
engineer and GPS expert, but will come to be seen as a separate field of study. Positioning System Engineering,
what a good idea for a future project?
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