Intelligent GPS and Sensor Controlled Tracker and Locator for Human Trafficking, Kidnapping, Banditry and Theft Control in Nigeria

Abstract

Prevalent kidnappings for various nefarious purposes have resulted in unprecedented rise in insecurity of lives and properties in Nigeria. Added to these are other vices such as cattle rustling and banditry, through which lives and economy of many Nigerians’ are gradually being ruined. To control this trend, security operatives need location and operational information of perpetrators of these nefarious crimes in real time. This study developed a real time tracking system using Global Positioning System (GPS), sensor based module, microcontroller, and proximity sensor to determine the location of the lost item or person and to relay findings to the communication device (smartphone or tablet) of the designated rescue team.  For the software development, C++ and PHP were used to code and configure the microcontroller (ATMEGA 8), GSM message command, the NMEA Messaging 101 protocol command and to interface with Google map API.  Findings showed that, the tracker device was able to accurately detect ‘missing’ (hidden) item or human provided the locator device is not separated from the human or item. Location Detection Accuracy (LDA) success was 98% (49/50) for the 50 test cases with a 2% (1/50) error rate associated with low battery (below 20 %). The average Proximity Detection distance (PDD) accuracy was approximately 1.6m. Further studies should focus on improving proximity accuracy, further miniaturizing tracker device for effective concealment and adopting more secure communication protocols.