07-12-2012, 01:35 PM
GRPS-Based Distributed Home-Monitoring Using Internet-Based Geographical Information System
GRPS-Based Distributed Home.pdf (Size: 914.63 KB / Downloads: 36)
Abstract
Recent developments in publically available webbased
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the
availability of low-cost integrated General Packet Radio Service
(GPRS)/Global Positioning Systems (GPS) modem have enabled
the development of embedded stand-alone home monitoring
systems. This paper presents the design, implementation and
testing of a home-monitoring system that utilizes online Map
from a GIS in conjunction with the readily available public
satellite-based GPS, and GPRS mobile networks. In addition to
detecting intruders, the system allows a home owner to remotely
monitor various critical home sensors status including those tied
to fire, flooding, and gas leaks. Home owners can monitor their
homes via their mobile phone or by using the Internet. This
system can also be utilized by security firms, civil defense
organizations and municipalities to continuously monitor and
locate troublesome spots in residential neighborhoods and
compounds using free GIS Maps1.
INTRODUCTION
World Wide Web, wireless communication tools and
gadgets are being extensively utilized by the youth via social
networks, smart phone and GPS technologies. While on the
move, young home owners are utilizing GPS and GIS
technologies for road and personal navigation, texting each
other using smart mobile devices, using social media to
communicate and follow each others’ news instantaneously.
The wide-spread popularity, acceptance and usage of these
technologies has presented an opportunity to research and
development engineers as well as information technology
service providers to develop and provide value-added
services. One such value-added service can enable the digital
native generation to access and interact with their home
appliances and to monitor and control their home systems in
addition to smart energy conservation while on the move.
Several systems using Bluetooth, Infrared (IR), Zigbee and
Radio Frequency Identification System (RFID) based
communication protocols have already been utilized to
wirelessly monitor homes within a short range. For example, the
Bluetooth technology was utilized to build an intelligent homesecurity
system [1].
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
With the ever increase world population, cities around the
globe are expanding vertically with high rise buildings each
has up to a few hundred apartments in one tower. Many of
the residents of these towers are occupied by young working
couples who are away from their home one third of the day
time. Many of these homes are equipped with sensing
devices that detect excessive smoke and flooding or theft. In
such buildings, alarms are typically connected to the security
office on the ground floor of the building indicating a
problem. In the event of an emergency, the security guard on
duty calls the civil defense and informs them about the nature
of the emergency and the address of the building. In many
situations, the monitoring process mostly relies on vigilance of
security guards. This is inefficient in many ways because it
requires the guard to be extremely attentive, good in
communications, and to have a quick response time. This is
not always the case. If separate sensors (fire, gas leak, etc.)
and guards could be replaced with a low-cost single board
computer system that can detect and immediately report an
abnormal event and its accurate location, then not only the
security will be greatly improved, but losses resulting from
emergency will be minimized.
SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
To satisfy the above requirements, the system is designed to
have two subsystems; a Home Gateway (H-Gate), and
Monitoring and Dispatch Server (MDSS) center.
The H-Gate consists of the TCP/IP enabled Micro-GPRS
and set of sensors to monitor gas leaks, flooding and intruders.
H-Gate is located at the monitored home. The MDSS center is
located at the monitoring firm service provider center/s (e.g.,
Security firm or Civil Defense) and interacts with a Short
Message Service Center (SMSC) located at premises of the
local mobile network service provider. MDSS uses the SMSC
to send SMS messages to home owners. In addition to SMSC,
the MDSS uses the online Map Server’s GIS capabilities to
show live maps of homes and their status to either the home
owners or the service providers like the police, security
companies, civil defense or the municipality. Figure 1 shows
the system hardware building blocks. The next two sections
describe the hardware and software systems respectively.
Communication Module
The communication module (CM) is the Micro-GPRS
board that is primarily used for machine-to-machine (M2M)
communication [15]. The CM module is suitable for
continuous monitoring activity on a 24/7. The CM module is
IP-enabled and has a static IP address to communicate with
a server through the public wireless mobile network. It
supports SMS, SMTP, POP, and FTP protocols. The CM
module has a built-in four analog inputs and two digital
input/output ports in addition to an RS-232 port. These
analog inputs and inputs/output ports are important because
they eliminate the need for external microcontrollers for
handling inputs and outputs. This feature makes the CM
superior as compared to other home-monitoring systems that
have utilized multiple microcontrollers or microprocessors
in addition to a modem [8, 13-14]. In addition to lower cost,
this module also has a smaller footprint and consumes less
energy.
CONCLUSION
This paper has presented the design and implementation of a
compact, low-cost, low-power single-board integrated home
monitoring system that utilizes GPRS and the freely available
public services like GIS Maps. The monitoring service is
accessible through the mobile phone or through the Internet
(using GIS Maps). In addition, database and convenient
interfaces to services providers like home security firms and
the municipality are also provided.