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Design and Implementation of Web-Based GPS-GPRS Vehicle Tracking

System

Article · December 2013

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Khalifa A. Salim et al | IJCSET | December 2013 | Vol 3, Issue 12, 443-448 www.ijcset.net | ISSN:2231-0711

Design and Implementation of Web-Based

GPS-GPRS Vehicle Tracking System
Dr. Khalifa A. Salim#1, Ibrahim Mohammed Idrees#2
#1
AL-Khwarizmy College of Engineering, University of Baghdad
#2
Information and Communication Engineering, AL-Nahrain University
Al Jaderiya, Baghdad, Iraq

Abstract— In this paper, an integrated cost effective web- coordinates to a remote server facilitates the tracking of
based GPS-GPRS vehicle tracking system was designed and object remotely using any computer connected to the web.
implemented. The system enables enterprises owners to view
the present and past positions recorded of the target vehicle on II. GLOBAL POSITIONNING SYSTEM
Google Map through purpose designed web site. The current
position of the vehicle was acquired by GPS device which is The GPS is a space-based satellite navigation system that
integrated in the target vehicle and the location coordinates provides location and time information in all weather
are sent through GPRS service provided by the GSM network. conditions, anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an
The GPS data are sent using Get method of HTTP protocol, unobstructed line of sight to three or more GPS satellites.
the data at server side are stored in a database tables and can GPS technology can be described in terms of three
be retrieved as request for position browsing on map. A web segments:
application is developed using PHP, JavaScript, Ajax, XML, 1. Space Segment: Consists of twenty-four satellites
and MySQL with embedded Google Map to retrieve and orbiting 11,000 nautical miles above the earth.
display on track details.
2. Control Segment: Consists of 5 ground stations
around the globe that manage the operational health
Keywords—GPS, GPRS, Vehicle Tracking. of the satellites by transmitting orbital corrections
I. INTRODUCTION and clock updates.
3. User Segment: Consists of various types of GPS
The GPS-GPRS-based tracking system is a system that receivers that can vary in complexity and
makes use of the Global Positioning System GPS to sophistication.
determine the precise location of a vehicle to which the
device is attached. When a large number of objects or GPS receivers are able to identify their location when
vehicles were spread all over the ground, the owner of three GPS satellites triangulate and measure the distance to
corporation needs to keep track for fuel saving, security the receiver and compare the measurements. A fourth
purposes…etc. A tracking system is required to determine satellite measures the time to the receiver. The information
the location of any object at any given time and the distance from all four satellites is compiled to determine the location.
travelled. Also, the need for a tracking system in users The sophistication of a GPS receiver impacts the reliability
vehicle is used to prevent any kind of theft since police can and accuracy of the GPS data received [4]
use tracking reports to locate a stolen vehicle location.
GPRS and GPS based tracking system will provide III. GENRAL PACKET RADIO SERVICES
effective, real time vehicle location report. A GPS-GPRS General Packet Radio Service GPRS is a packet switched
based tracking system gives all the specifications about the service based on Global System for Mobile
location of a vehicle. The system utilizes geographic Communications GSM, an extensively deployed voice
position and time information from the Global Positioning technology. GPRS is a 2.5 G cellular network. It provides
Satellites [1-2]. affordable and fast internet connections to service users.
The system uses an On-Vehicle Module consists of GPS Billing is based on the amount of data transferred rather
receiver and GSM modem, the device resides in the vehicle than on the connection time. This is achieved by allocating
to be tracked. In order to track the movement of the vehicle resources radio channels to users only when they need to
Google Maps used for mapping the location. The GSM send data. GPRS may offer data rates up to 171.2 kbps [5-
modem fetches the GPS location and sends it to the server 6]. GPRS utilizes most nodes in an existing GSM network;
using GPRS. two additional nodes are introduced in the GSM network to
Extensive research work had been carried in the field of support GPRS Serving GPRS Support node SGSN and
object based system ranging from GSM based location Gateway GPRS Support Node GGSN, these two nodes
determination [3] to GPS based location determination [4]. constitute the core network of a GPRS sub-network and
The integration of GPS and GSM was first established they are connected through an IP based GPRS backbone
using SMS as a method of transmitting GPS coordinates. network.
The inclusion of GPRS technology to transmit location

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IV. WEB BASED VEHICLE TRACKING SYSTEM VI. GSM/GPS MODULE

The web based tracking system is a system designed Quad-Band SIM908 module is used which combines
using a combination of several modern information and GPS technology for satellite navigation with worldwide
communications technologies. The system comprises of known technology GSM. This module is configured to
vehicle-mounted tracking devices, a central server system connect to navigation satellite and gets GPS location at
and a web-based application. Through the system, users predetermined intervals and sends this information to web
will have the facility of monitoring the location graphically application through GPRS service provided by GSM.
and other relevant information of vehicle. This system is The GSM/GPRS engine works on frequencies GSM
designed to serve enterprises with an unlimited number of 850MHz; EGSM 900MHz, DCS 1800MHz and PCS
vehicles and complex usage requirements. The web based 1900MHz. SIM908 supports the GPRS coding schemes CS-
system enables user to browse location track on map 1, CS-2, CS-3 and CS-4. The GPS solution offers best- in-
through developed web application embed Google Map and class acquisition and tracing sensitivity, Time-To-First-Fix
interact with database server for vehicles track details. TTFF and accuracy. With a tiny configuration of
Using the web based system enables users with different 30*30*3.2mm, the device can meet almost all the space
operating system platforms to easily reach the demanded requirements in user applications and is designed with
details by the existence of internet access. Figure 1 shows power saving technique so that the current consumption is
an overview of a stypical web based vehicle tracking as low as 1.0mA in sleep mode. Figure 2 shows SIM908
system. GSM/GPS module board where main components are
The location is acquisitioned from satellite using GPS indicated [7].
receiver location coordination sent through GPRS, the GSM
network will pass the information to the destination server
as HTTP packet. And through the internet the clients can
browse track on electronic map using purpose designed web
application on website.

Figure 2 SIM908 GSM/GPS Module Board

VII. WEB DESIGN

The overall functionality and usage eased using various
web application development languages where the
interaction between several purposes designed applications
resulted in complete integrated system enables the users to
reach and benefit of the system. The overall design goals of
the web application can be summarized in the following:
1. Define and manage all client accounts information
Figure 1 Web Based Vehicle Tracking System Overview by system administrator.
2. Define, manage and browse all agents accounts
information and tracking data by clients.
3. Receive and identify tracking information from
V. SYSTEM COMPONENTS each device unit.
The overall system functionality outcomes from 4. Store tracking information received from tracking
interaction between the system components which are: device to the related agent in the database.
1. Quad-band SIM908 GSM-GPS module 5. Display track locations on electronic map through
2. Web application and purpose designed database using several browsing types.
3. Desktop application

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6. Generate reports of agents movements showing

agent information and tracking details.
Web pages formatted using HTML elements.
Appearances and text layout formatted using. HTML
embeds scripts such as JavaScript and PHP which performs
functions and adds effects on the behaviour of HTML pages.
JavaScript performs all background operations and
functions such as login checking, data validation, and
paging function; also JavaScript embeds Google Map API
on the web site using key and Google maps class provided
by Google where vehicle locations coordination are
presented. Administration of accounts implemented using
PHP functions; PHP commands can be embedded directly
into HTML source document rather than calling external
file to process data. The administration functions include
adding, editing, deleting, browsing clients and agents
accounts, and formatting those accounts into tables. PHP Figure 3 Database Architecture Layers
used at the server side to store the received GPS data in
forms which is easier to examine and check relevant parts
of received data. Detailed reports of agents track also IX. DATA BASE ENTITY-RELATIONAL MODEL
generated using PHP function where the relevant data are The entity-relationship E-R data model uses a collection
presented into table contains agent basic information and of basic objects, called entities, and relationships among
detailed track including exact time and location these objects. System database consists of three tables
coordination. which are accounts table which holds all the important
account information including credentials and contact
details. agentinfo table holds extra information related to
VIII. DATABASE DESIGN agent account. track table holds the tracking information
The database responsible for storing all system that is received from GPS modules and reference to agents
information including user login credentials, clients which the track data belongs.
information, agent information, and tracking data. accounts table has Type column which identifies account
Databases also enforce data integrity by ensuring that data type of user which is administrator, client, or agent. track
is collected and presented using a consistent format. For the table has a foreign key relationship to accounts table to link
system to be usable, it must retrieve data efficiently. The each agent account to the track data in track table. agentinfo
need for efficiency has led to use complex data structures to table has a foreign key relationship to accounts table to link
represent data in the database. The database architecture each agent account to the client account responsible for
consists of the following layers: defining the agent.
1. Presentation layer: This is the topmost level of
application. The presentation layer displays
information related services. The presentation layer
communicates with other tiers by outputting results
to the browser/client tier and all other tiers in the
network.
2. Business Logic Layer, Data Access Layer (or
middle layer): The logical layer is pulled out from
the presentation layer and, as its own layer; it
controls an application’s functionality by
performing detailed processing. Another in-between
layer added to make benefit of the reusable set of
functions performing database operations, this is the
DB Worker Layer.
3. Data layer: This layer consists of database servers.
Here the information is stored and retrieved. This
Figure 4 Entity-Relationship Database
keeps data neutral and independent from application
servers or business logic. Giving data its own tier
also improves scalability and performance. Figure 4 shows a diagram of Entity-Relationship
database. As in the diagram, agentinfo table has two foreign
key relationships to AccountID in accounts table, where
Figure 3 present the database architecture indicating to
AccountID and ClientAccountID in agentinfo table are both
all database layers.
foreign keys to AccountID in accounts table; the first

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relationship is to identify extra agent information ownership, up may take a minute, and then GPRS is configured with
and the second identify to which client this agent belongs. the GSM network APN and HTTP protocol initialized.
For track table one foreign key relationship used identify
the ownership of track data to agents.

X. INTERACTION BETWEEN APPLICATION LAYER

AND DATABASE
All user interactions designed to be through presentation
layer, were information related accounts administration and
tracking on map displayed in forms of HTML web pages.
Figure 5 shows the interaction between application layer
and database.

Figure 6 SIM908 Initialization

Then the device is queried for GPS coordinates, the

Figure 5 Interaction Between Application Layer and Database satellite will respond with string of data including latitude
and longitude coordinates, heading, speed, and time. The
XI. DESKTOP SIMULATION APPLICATION
received data are trimmed and details separated; the set of
A software application interacts with integrated data plus the device id are sent through GPRS to the path
GSM/GPS module through serial interface. The simulation defined in the URL using HTTP Get method. Figure 7
application sends a set of AT commands to operate shows the process of GPS data gathering and parsing and
GSM/GPS device, set the device mode, and to inquiry GPS then sending data to the defined URL.
receiver for location coordinate, the receiver determine
location coordinates using the received GPS signal from
satellite. The application listen to the received data which
are sent to the application server along with device
identification information through GPRS service provided
by GSM module to a specified IP address, the application
specify the protocol to be used in transmitting data and
method.

XII. DATA GATHERING, TRANSMITTING, AND

RECEVING
Initially, the SIM908 module is initialized to start
gathering GPS data from the satellite; device initiation is
done using AT commands and includes GPS and GSM
module; to turn on the GPS, first it is powered on and put in
reset mode then in the worm mode where the module
become ready for receiving coordinates from satellite. The
GPRS is next turned on; the process includes GPRS power
on, setting APN of service provider, initiating HTTP
protocol, and setting protocol method (Get method). Device
initialization process may take up to 1 minute to worm up
and calculate the accurate position. Figure 6 shows SIM908
module initialization process, the process starts with Figure 7 GPS Data Reception and Transmission
powering the module and setting the reset mode, the worm
The GSM network was assumed to be highly reliable and
availability assumed to be very high since it means revenue

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to the provider. In case of network un-availability, the In real-time tracking only last location is queried from
acquisitioned GPS coordinates and other data such as time database and presented on map. In real-time tracking, the
and speed are stored temporarily until the network returns database is queried every 10 seconds for new data and the
back to service then the stored coordinates are sent with page refreshed with the new data.
their time stamp and speed. Figure 10 show the mapping process flowchart the three
displaying methods (static, simulated, realtime) are
XIII. TRACK BRWOSING presented.
A tracking page implemented for the purpose of track
browsing; this page consists of an embedded Google Map Start
in the body, two drop-down lists for agent selection and
route type, Show track details, and calendar. Through this
page, clients and agents can view track on map by selecting
Select agent, route 
agent, route type, and date, however, for agents only route
type, and date
type drop-down list is used since the agent is identified.
Figure 8 shows tracking page.
The map cantered at Baghdad city centre for default case,
however, for a specific agent the map initially centred at Return XML markers of 
Latitude, Longitude, 
vehicle position and keeps updated at the specified intervals. Heading, Speed, and 
Google Maps provide zoom and moving tools which ease Date
zooming in and out and navigation on map.

Return data with  Return data with 
Route 
the same agent  Static Simulated the same agent 
type?
id and date id and date

Real‐time

Put the data on the map  Put the n‐point on the 
with connecting polygons Return last location 
map and draw a polygon 
related to the agent id
from the last one

Figure 8 Tracking Page

By selecting agent, route type, and date the vehicle Display the  Display 
Display track on 
vehicle location  locations on 
location will be displayed on map. For static tracking, all map
on map map
location in track table which match the selected agent and
date will be added on the map indicated by green markers
No
and polygons connecting markers from start point to the last No
Wait 10  Wait 2 
point. google.maps class defines the vehicle location using seconds seconds
LatLng variable and map options. mapping_vehicles
function using the selected agent, route type, and date will
call agentXMLTrack PHP function which will return XML
marker rows of Latitude, Longitude, Heading, Date, and Leave the  End of 
Speed. Depending on route type selected, if static or page? data?

simulated route type is selected then all track data for the
specified agent and date are retrieved, but for real time only Yes
the track data with max RecID are retrieved. For static
routing all the retrieved data are added on the map. For End Yes
simulated, the retrieved markers are added one-by-one by
duration on 2 seconds with polygons connecting the FIGURE 10 MAPPING PROCESS FLOWCHART
markers.
XIV. CONCLUSIONS
The integration of GPS with GPRS provides continuous
and real-time tracking. Transmission cost extremely
reduced by using GPRS service instead of SMS. Google
Map free service and the use of HTTP protocol as a data
sending method reduces the monthly cost for an individual
user or an enterprise. The proposed system was designed to
be expandable with unlimited number of users and support
independent different type of authorization.
Figure 9 Static Route Tracking

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Khalifa A. Salim et al | IJCSET | December 2013 | Vol 3, Issue 12, 443-448 www.ijcset.net | ISSN:2231-0711

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