Android vehicle tracking with speed limiting

Abstract
As urban living environment is becoming more and more complex, the road
condition is becoming worse because of heavy traffic, increase of traffic accidents
and high ratio of empty vehicles. It increases the cost of transportation and wastes
time of vehicle movement. To solve such problems, a land vehicle tracking system
has been developed. A land vehicle tracking system determines the position of land
rover with a terminal with embedded GPS receiver or PCS phone and displays the
position on a digital map. Recently, vehicle tracking technologies have brought some
breakthrough in these areas: commercial vehicle operations, fleet management,
dispatching, emergency rescue, hazard material monitoring, and security.
1.Introduction:
A vehicle tracking system combines the installation of an electronic device in a vehicle,
or fleet of vehicles, with purpose-designed computer software at least at one operational base
to enable the owner or a third party to track the vehicle's location, collecting data in the
process from the field and deliver it to the base of operation. Modern vehicle tracking
systems commonly use GPS or GLONASS technology for locating the vehicle, but other
types of automatic vehicle location technology can also be used. Vehicle information can be
viewed on electronic maps via the Internet or specialized software. In case of our software
the device that we are going to use is an android phone and the vehicles will be watched by
an administrator using a web application.

2.Existing system

The disadvantage of GPS is that it is a documented international standard and therefore easy to
jam and block. It also only tells the vehicle where it is: it doesn’t address the problem of telling
you where the vehicle is in real time.

The alternatives to GPS include:

 Inertial route logging.

 Active tracking beacons.
 Cell tower triangulation.
All have major drawbacks, but they are all employed to one degree or another by systems that
track thefts of specialist construction or agricultural equipment because no-one expects a
specialist thief to be dumb enough to allow a GPS system to operate.

3.Proposed system
We are going to use GPS for locating the position of vehicle. We will also find the speed
of the vehicle in real time to find whether a driver is adhering to the speed limits.
• We can track vehicles through android application using GPS to find out where a vehicle
is using a web application which requires login of administrator.
• We can also find out speed and if driver breaks speed then we can find them accordingly.
• Parents can also see the current location of their kids through real time update.
• When a stop comes, we can intimate the administrator and the people sitting in bus to
come in front for their stop.
3.Modules
 Client mobile
 Server
 Admin/parent mobile module

3.1 Client Mobile Module at vehicle:

1. Create Bus account.
2. Collect Bus Data (like GPS location and speed of bus)
3. Post Bus Data.

3.2 Server Module:

1. Read Bus location API.
2. Save Bus Location API.
3. Create Bus API

3.3 Admin Mobile Application / Parent Mobile Application:

1. Select vehicle Screen
2. Map view with live bus marker.
3. Set alert for bus reaching at particular location.
4. System Configuration:

H/W System Configuration: -

System : Pentium I3 Processor.

Hard Disk : 500 GB.

Monitor : 15’’ LED

Input Devices : Keyboard, Mouse

Ram : 2 GB

S/W System Configuration: -

Operating system : Windows 7.

Coding Language : Android,JAVA

Toolkit : Android 2.3 ABOVE

IDE : Eclipse/Android Studio

5. Location Technology
Nowadays, a substantial number of smart phone have multimedia ability and geo-locating
ability. While some people may get confused with GPS and AGPS here we provide a brief
background study about them.

Block diagram

5.1 Global Positioning System (GPS)

Global Positioning System (GPS) is a worldwide radio-navigation system formed from

the constellation of 24 satellites and their ground stations. The Global Positioning System is
mainly funded and controlled by the U.S Department of Defense (DOD). The system was
initially designed for the operation of U. S. military. But today, there are also many civil users of
GPS across the whole world. The civil users are allowed to use the Standard Positioning Service
without any kind of charge or restrictions.

Global Positioning System tracking is a method of working out exactly where something is. A
GPS tracking system, for example, may be placed in a vehicle, on a cell phone, or on special
GPS devices, which can either be a fixed or portable unit. GPS works by providing information
on exact location. It can also track the movement of a vehicle or person. So, for example, a GPS
tracking system can be used by a company to monitor the route and progress of a delivery truck,
and by parents to check on the location of their child, or even to monitor high-valued assets in
transit.

A GPS tracking system uses the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) network. This
network incorporates a range of satellites that use microwave signals that are transmitted to GPS
devices to give information on location, vehicle speed, time and direction. So, a GPS tracking
system can potentially give both real-time and historic navigation data on any kind of journey.

GPS provides special satellite signals, which are processed by a receiver. These GPS receivers
not only track the exact location but can also compute velocity and time. The positions can even
be computed in three-dimensional views with the help of four GPS satellite signals. The Space
Segment of the Global Positioning System consists of 27 Earth-orbiting GPS satellites. There are
24 operational and 3 extra (in case one fails) satellites that move round the Earth each 12 hours
and send radio signals from space that are received by the GPS receiver.

The control of the Positioning System consists of different tracking stations that are located
across the globe. These monitoring stations help in tracking signals from the GPS satellites that
are continuously orbiting the earth. Space vehicles transmit microwave carrier signals. The users
of Global Positioning Systems have GPS receivers that convert these satellite signals so that one
can estimate the actual position, velocity and time.

The operation of the system is based on a simple mathematical principle called trilateration.
Trilateration falls into two categories: 2-D Trilateration and 3-D Trilateration. In order to make
the simple mathematical calculation the GPS receiver must know two things. First it must know
the location of the place is to be traced by at least three satellites above the place. Second, it must
know the distance between the place and each of those Space Vehicles. Units that have multiple
receivers that pick up signals from several GPS satellites at a same time. These radio waves are
electromagnetic energy that travels at the speed of light.

A GPS tracking system can work in various ways. From a commercial perspective, GPS devices
are generally used to record the position of vehicles as they make their journeys. Some systems
will store the data within the GPS tracking system itself (known as passive tracking) and some
send the information to a centralized database or system via a modem within the GPS system
unit on a regular basis (known as active tracking) or 2-Way GPS.

A passive GPS tracking system will monitor location and will store its data on journeys based on
certain types of events. So, for example, this kind of GPS system may log data such as where the
device has traveled in the past 12 hours. The data stored on this kind of GPS tracking system is
usually stored in internal memory or on a memory card, which can then be downloaded to a
computer at a later date for analysis. In some cases the data can be sent automatically for
wireless download at predetermined points/times or can be requested at specific points during the
journey.

An active GPS tracking system is also known as a real-time system as this method automatically
sends the information on the GPS system to a central tracking portal or system in real-time as it
happens. This kind of system is usually a better option for commercial purposes such as fleet
tracking or monitoring of people, such as children or elderly, as it allows a caregiver to know
exactly where loved ones are, whether they are on time and whether they are where they are
supposed to be during a journey. This is also a useful way of monitoring the behavior of
employees as they carry out their work and of streamlining internal processes and procedures for
delivery fleets.
Mobile Phone Tracking

The development of communications technology has long since surpassed the sole ability to
access others when they are mobile. Today, mobile communication devices are becoming much
more advanced and offer more than the ability to just carry on a conversation. Cell phone GPS
tracking is one of those advances.

All cell phones constantly broadcast a radio signal, even when not on a call. The cell phone
companies have been able to estimate the location of a cell phone for many years using
triangulation information from the towers receiving the signal. However, the introduction of GPS
technology into cell phones has meant that cell phone GPS tracking now makes this information
a lot more accurate.

With GPS technology now more commonplace in many new smartphones, this means that the
location of anyone carrying a GPS enabled smartphone can be accurately tracked at any time.
Cell phone GPS tracking can therefore be a useful feature for business owners, parents, friends
and co-workers looking to connect with one another. GPS Tracking Apps
(www.gpstrackingapps.com) provides a suit of Apps for the iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry
and latest Samsung operating system bada all of which can be used to track one another on a
location-based social networking portal or from phone to phone.

The technology of locating is based on measuring power levels and antenna patterns and uses the
concept that a mobile phone always communicates wirelessly with one of the closest base
stations, so if you know which base station the phone communicates with, you know that the
phone is close to the respective base station.

Advanced systems determine the sector in which the mobile phone resides and roughly estimate
also the distance to the base station. Further approximation can be accomplished by interpolating
signals between adjacent antenna towers. Qualified services may achieve a precision of down to
50 meters in urban areas where mobile traffic and density of antenna towers (base stations) is
sufficiently high. Rural and desolate areas may see miles between base stations and therefore
determine locations less precisely.

GSM localization is the use of multilateration to determine the location of GSM mobile phones,
usually with the intent to locate the user.

Localization-based Systems can be broadly divided into:

 Network based
 Handset based
 Hybrid
Network Based

Network-based techniques utilize the service provider's network infrastructure to identify the
location of the handset. The advantage of network-based techniques (from mobile operator's
point of view) is that they can be implemented non-intrusively, without affecting the handsets.

The accuracy of network-based techniques varies, with cell identification as the least accurate
and triangulation as the most accurate. The accuracy of network-based techniques is closely
dependent on the concentration of base station cells, with urban environments achieving the
highest possible accuracy.

Handset Based

Handset-based technology requires the installation of client software on the handset to determine
its location for E-911 purposes. This technique determines the location of the handset by
computing its location by cell identification, signal strengths of the home and neighboring cells,
which is continuously sent to the carrier. In addition, if the handset is also equipped with GPS
then significantly more precise location information is then sent from the handset to the carrier.

This technology requires the installation of client software on the mobile phone, which acts as its
biggest drawback, since it's difficult to install a software on a mobile phone without the user's
consent. More importantly, the software has to be compatible with various operating systems. It
requires the active cooperation of the mobile subscriber as well as software that must be able to
handle the different operating systems of the handsets. Typically, smartphones, such as one
based on Symbian, Windows Mobile, iPhone/iPhone OS or Android would be able to run such
software.

Hybrid

Hybrid positioning systems use a combination of network-based and handset-based technologies

for location determination. One example would be Assisted GPS, which uses both GPS and
network information to compute the location. Hybrid-based techniques give the best accuracy of
the three but inherit the limitations and challenges of network-based and handset-based
technologies.

Examples of LBS (Location-Based Service) technologies include:

 Cell Identification - The accuracy of this method can be as good as a few hundred meters
in urban areas, but as poor as 35 km in suburban areas and rural zones. The accuracy
depends on the known range of the particular network base station serving the handset at
the time of positioning.
  Enhanced Cell Identification - With this method, one can get a precision similar to Cell
Identification, but for rural areas, with circular sectors of 550 meters.
 U-TDOA -Uplink- Time difference of arrival - The network determines the time
difference and therefore the distance from each base station to the mobile phone.
 TOA -Time of arrival - This technology uses the absolute time of arrival at a certain base
station rather than the difference between two stations.
 AOA -Angle of Arrival - AOA mechanism locates the mobile phone at the point where
the lines along the angles from each base station intersect.
 E-OTD -Enhanced Observed Time Difference is similar to U-TDOA, but the location is
estimated using measurements made by the mobile phone, rather than by base station.
 Assisted GPS- A largely GPS-based technology, which uses an operator-maintained
ground station to correct for GPS errors caused by the atmosphere/topography. Assisted-
GPS positioning technology typically falls back to cell-based positioning methods when
indoors or in an urban canyon environment.
 Hybrid - As mentioned above, hybrid-positioning systems use different methods
depending on which signals are locally available.

Importance of GPS systems

GPS is important as it helps you to figure out where you are and where you are going when you
are traveling from one place to another. Navigation and positioning are important but
cumbersome activities, which GPS makes it easier. Once GPS locates your position, and then it
starts tracing other factors like speed, bearing, tracks, trip distance, sunrise/sunset time, distance
to destination and several other details. GPS uses 'man-made' stars as reference points to
calculate positions accurate to a matter of meters. However, with recent forms of GPS you can
make measurements much better than centimeter readings. So it is with the aid of GPS that you
can give a unique and specified address to every square meter on the planet. So these days GPS
finds its way into cars, planes, boats, construction equipments, smartphones, laptop computers
and shoes (www.gpsshoe.com) and belts. In addition, GPS tracking system installed in the phone
can greatly help an individual to get automated GPS information through their cell phones.

5.2 Assisted Global Positioning System (AGPS)

AGPS is sometimes known as Aided Global Positioning System. As it stated, the
positioning mechanism behind it requires assistance data together with the satellites.
(Karunanayake et al., 2007) illustrates an AGPS system in brief. As mentioned by Karunanayake
et all assistance data helps to increase sensitivity, so that allowing the device to function well in
non-line-of-sight (NLOS) signal environment, such as urban canyons and indoors. Traditional
GPS receivers are designed to function under line-of-sight (LOS) environment, therefore when
there are inadequate signals detected, AGPS can get help from assistance data. However, when
there is no assistance data from network, normally data are came from cellular network
nowadays, AGPS architecture allows GPS receivers to work on solely so as to increase system
flexibility.

6. Product Perspective
The system will be basically a project that consists of client part, server part and GPS
part. Also will look at the information’s of routes, drivers and give the most optimal options to
the user. Moreover, user may see and search the users’ and vehicles’ information in to the system
repository. The most important component of our system is GPS. The coordinates of the vehicles
that incoming build up the system’s treatment. The purpose of this document is to model and
design the project with the requirements defined in the SRS document. We are going to use GPS
for locating the position of vehicle. Vehicle tracking systems are devices used for tracking
location of vehicles in real time.
• Vehicle tracking systems are commonly used by fleet operators for fleet management
functions such as fleet tracking, routing, dispatch, on-board information and security.
• Vehicle tracking systems are also popular in consumer vehicles as a theft prevention
and retrieval device. Police can simply follow the signal emitted by the tracking system and
locate the stolen vehicle.
• Asset tracking: Companies needing to track valuable assets for insurance.
• Field service management: Companies with a field service workforce for services such
as repair or maintenance, must be able to plan field workers’ time, schedule subsequent customer
visits and be able to operate these departments efficiently.
• Field sales: Mobile sales professionals can access real-time locations.
• Trailer tracking: Haulage and Logistics companies often operate Lorries with
detachable load carrying units.

Android operating system

Android was founded by a company, named android Inc. in Palo Alto of California, U.S
in 2003 whose founder was Andy Rubin. Early intension of the company was to develop an
advanced Os for digital cameras, but then it was realized that market for such devices was not
large enough so that diverted their attention to producing a smart phone OS. Android was then
acquired by the Google in 2005 and unveiled its distribution in 2007 with formation of Open
Handset Alliance led by Google. Android mobile operating system is based on the Linux kernel
and is developed by Google. Android OS has its own virtual machine called DVM which is used
for executing the android application. One of the reasons for the success of Google’s OS is the
constant improvement of its many versions, with every new one offering more advanced
features, faster access to the internet. Another reason for the Android’s popularity is its strong
collaboration with mobile devices manufacturers, while it is main global competitor.
Open Handset Alliance: The Open Handset Alliance (OHA) is a consortium whose goal
is to develop open standards for mobile devices, promote innovation in mobile phones and
provide a better experience for consumers at a lower cost.
2. Android Architecture: Software stack is split into four layers.
1. Application layer
2. Application Framework
3. Libraries
4. Linux kernel
2.1 Linux Kernel:
Lower layer of android operating system is Linux kernel. It does not really interact with the
users and developers. The Linux Kernel provides a level of abstraction between the device
hardware and the upper layers of the Android software stack. Based on Linux version 2.6, the
kernel provides pre-emptive multitasking, lowlevel core system services such as memory,
process and power management in addition to providing a network stack and device drivers for
hardware such as the device display, Wi-Fi and audio. Also, the kernel handles all the things that
Linux is really good at such as networking and a vast array of device drivers, which take the pain
out of interfacing to peripheral hardware.
2.2 Libraries:
On top of Linux kernel there is a set of c/c++ libraries used by the various components of the
android system. Some of the core libraries are listed below:
• System c library – a BSD– derived implementation of the standard and system library (libc)
tuned for embedded Linux-based devices.
• SQLite - It is used to access data published by content providers and includes SQLite database
management classes.
• SSL - It is used to provide internet security.
• SGL – the underlying 2D graphics engine.
• Libwebcore – a modern web browser engine which powers both the android browser and an
embedded web view.
• OpenGL - It is used to provide Java interface to the OpenGL/ES 3D graphics rendering API.
• Media framework - It is used to provide different media code which allow the recording and
playback of different media formats.
• Web Kit - It is the browser engine used to display internet content or HTML content.
Application Framework:
It provides many higher-level services to applications in the form of Java classes. Application
developers are allowed to make use of these services in their application. This framework
describes the concept that Android applications are constructed from reusable, interchangeable
and replaceable components.
The Android framework includes the following key services:
• Activity Manager – Controls all aspects of the application lifecycle and activity stack.
• Content Providers – Allows applications to publish and share data with other applications.
• Resource Manager – Provides access to non-code embedded resources such as strings, color
settings and user interface layouts.
• Notifications Manager – Allows applications to display alerts and notifications to the user.
• View System – An extensible set of views used to create application user interfaces.
• Package Manager – The system by which applications are able to find out information about
other applications currently installed on the device.
• Telephony Manager – Provides the telephony services available on the device such as status
and subscriber information.
• Location Manager – Provides access to the location services allowing an application to receive
updates about location changes.
1. Applications: The applications are at the top layer of the Android stack. The user of the
Android device would mostly interact with this layer. Android will ship with a set of applications
including an email client, calendar, browser, maps, contacts, others. All applications are written
using java programming language.
2. Android Version history: Android is updating day by day since its release. These updates to
the base operating system mainly focusing on fixing bugs as well as adding new features to
provide more comfortable environment.

The most recent released versions of Android are:

2.0/2.1(Éclair), the user interface and introduced HTML5 and Exchange ActiveSync 2.5 support.
2.2(Froyo), which introduced speed improvements with JIT optimization and 442 Chrome V8
JavaScript engine, and added Wi-Fi hotspot tethering and Adobe Flash support
2.3(Gingerbread), which refined the user interface, improved the soft keyboard and copy/paste
features, and added support for Near Field Communication
3.0(Honeycomb), a tablet-oriented release which supports larger screen devices and introduces
many new user interface features, and supports multiform processors and hardware acceleration
for graphics. 4.0(Ice Cream), a combination of Gingerbread and Honeycomb into a "cohesive
whole. This version had new features added to the Smartphone’s Such as photo enhancements,
offline email searching, facial recognition unlocks, network data, and usage monitoring.
4.1-4.3(Jellybean), the new focus on responsiveness with Project Butter, Jelly Bean brings multi-
user accounts, actionable notifications, lock screen widgets, quick-settings in the notification bar,
Photosphere to the "stock" Android camera and Google Now. Jelly Bean is hailed by many as the
turning point for Android, where all the great services and customization options finally meet great
design guidelines.
4.4 (Kitkat), KitKat brought a lighter, flatter and far more colorful look to Android, but many
more changes were under the hood. These were the foundation for things like the Google Now
launcher, SMS integration with Hangouts, and easier and faster use all around.
5.0(Lollipop), Google released Android 5.0 Lollipop with the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, and it ushered
in a new design language and support for 64-bit devices. It's also the first time Google has provided
developer beta previews of the software.
6.0 (Marshmallow), Android 6.0 gets better control over permissions, allowing you to control
what parts of your data apps can access, rather than approve it by simply installing the app in the
first place. That's just the beginning, and features like app linking and the new Assist API will
allow developers to build better and more powerful apps
Android version distribution:
Distribution of Android OS versions in 2016 shown below. By this picture we know that
the most widely distributed version is Android 4.4 (KitKat), another one is Android 5.x (Lollipop).
4. Android Security: Nowadays near all of the tasks that you could only perform on a computer
are also performed on mobile devices as well. This means that more sensitive information is stored
on people mobile devices than before. The need for security is greater than ever for not only
consumers, but large enterprise as well. Android software stack itself provides security to its
application. Key features include

physical access
app permission, the application sandbox, rooting. Physical access Android has a couple of
features that can help to prevent hackers. The first is the unlock screen when the device is woken
from sleep. The standard unlock screen is just the slider which basically stops the screen from
being activated in your pocket. But Android also allows you to set an unlock pattern, PIN or
password. Unless the intruder knows the pattern, PIN or password they can’t get access to your
device. This is especially useful to keep little kids out of your phone or stop mischievous friends
from sending emails.

App permissions
Every app that you install on your device needs to specifically ask you for permission to
perform certain tasks. This is done when you install the app. What this means in practical terms is
that apps have limited abilities. As well as limiting the abilities of apps, Android also controls how
an app accesses the device’s hardware. There is no direct hardware access allowed in Android; all
access is through the different software layers which make up the Android OS. This means that
rogue apps can’t go around re-programming the microphone on your phone or bypassing the app
permissions by talking directly to the video camera, etc.

The Application Sandbox

Android has another layer of protection in that it doesn’t give one app access to the resource
of another app. This is known as the ‘sandbox’ where every app gets to play in its own sandbox
and can’t use another app’s toys! Android does this by giving each app a unique user id (a UID)
and by running that app as a separate process with that UID. Only processes with the same UIDs
can share resources which, as each ID is uniquely assigned, means that no other apps have
permission. Google’s own words on this, “like all security features, the Application Sandbox is
not unbreakable. However, to break out of the Application Sandbox in a properly configured
device, one must compromise the security of the Linux kernel.”
Rooting
In the world of Linux ‘root’ is the supreme user level which has the rights to perform any
task. It is similar to the Administrator user on a Windows PC. By default, only the Linux kernel
and a small number of core utilities run as this super user. But by ‘rooting’ your device (which
means the root user level is available to all apps) then many of the security mechanisms described
above are made null and void. This is because an app with root permission can modify any other
part of the Android OS including the operating system itself, the kernel, and other apps.

Malware
It is an unfortunate reality, but reality none the less, that Android has a malware problem.
First, for an app to be malicious it doesn’t need to have access to the deeper levels of the OS. If an
unsuspecting user installs a malicious app which sends premium rate SMS message sand the user
granted those privileges to the app when it’s installed, then the malware has successfully been
installed without breaking any of the security. Secondly, some malware actually comes with root
exploits built-in. This means that when the app is installed it actually roots the device (without the
user knowing) and by-passes all the system security. Thirdly, there is malware that just loves
rooted phones. If the malware gets installed on a non-rooted phone it does nothing, but when
installed on a rooted phone it unleashes all of its nastiness.
7. Conclusion
Vehicle tracking system resulted in improving overall productivity with better fleet
management that in turn offers better return on your investments. Better scheduling or route
planning can enable you handle larger jobs loads within a particular time. Vehicle tracking both in
case of personal as well as business purpose improves safety and security, communication
medium, performance monitoring and increases productivity. So in the coming year, it is going to
play a major role in our day-to-day living.
9. References
www.google.com
www.googlemaps.com
wireless sensor networks.com
www.bhel.com
www.androiedtech.com

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