Taxi Tracking System
2013
Supervision By
Dr. Jad Najjar
Work Team
Ahmad Imair
Anwar Jabr
Areej Qados
Eid Al-quram
Khaled Thabatah
Naimeh Hirbawi
Saif Al-mashayekh
Abstract
Our project was done by a global team , which was a new experience for its
members . the team consists of 7 members with different skills and from different
areas in Palestine. It was appointed someone whose job is to manage the team and
to distribute tasks to the members team . Some of the meetings had been managed
either face to face or through Skype.
In the beginning we done some research that related to the Palestinian society's
need for this kind of project , by asking some questions on some offices taxi and
what are the challenges they faced.
Introduction
The main goal of our project is to design a program that uses the GPS technology
to serve the taxi companies, by providing data that highlight automotive traffic
conditions including traffic analysis (congestion and accident detection) , travel
time estimation, and the exact location of the passengers and taxis . All of these
information will help taxi companies to save money and time that takes to reach
the passenger.
Taxis will be installed with a GPS. Which leads to occur cooperation between the
main office and its taxi by knowing the exact location of each taxi and its
availability to take passengers. Passengers requiring a taxi can either call or send
an SMS and receive an immediate answer .
System Overview
Taxis play an important role as a transportation alternative in many cities. In developed
countries, taxis tend to be used as a substitute for private vehicles by passengers who
use the service for convenience reasons or because they do not want to own a car. In
developing countries, taxis are often used to supplement inadequate pub lice transport
systems based on buses or trains. But the role played by taxis can be as diverse as one
can think. So we intend to provide a project to service this important role. Taxi
tracking system is an Android Phone Cab Reservation application. The main objective
of the project is to provide an easy to use and handy mobile application to the android
users which enables them to reserve a cab from one location to any location in the state
of Palestine. The application generated Confirmation Number makes the application
more reliable. The users can keep track of their reservations, the amount they have
spent for each ride and the cab's current status. Additionally, the user can also see
where he/she is currently located, see a route of the cab from the source to the
destination point, set reminders for a future pickup, send confirmation details to his
email id and send an SMS to his mobile phone.
System tracking
The tracking of our system consists of many scenarios, these scenarios builds on
Available technology, or used technology, the tracking of taxi car are by GPS OR
GSM, but there is a problem in Palestine there no GPS, And the using of cellular
phone is high expensive, we guess that GPS available , the scenario starts when
customer call for taxi or request taxi throw internet website , here taxi system will
select the nearest taxi to customer, and alert the taxi driver for The customer's
request, Either through Wireless communication device or Electronic screen, then
taxi driver Confirms the request, and go to customer, taxi reaches customer,
reporting about destination, by deliver request ,and after billing system via (cash,
check, visa, E-cards), taxi driver report to system about situation and his current
location.
This scenario repeated as request delivered and searching for request if available,
else taxi will go back taxi parking until next request.
GPS tracking receiver, calculate every move in second/ munities, as this receiver
sent it location to GPS System, throw radio signals, these records will stored in a
Memory, in Taxi tracing System, taxi system manages the request of taxi by
customer, and taxi location, by review the stored data about taxi system, here the
taxi system play Important role, it should implement shortest path, to select nearest
taxi to customer, This is not only, also an algorithms for detect the nearest taxi if it
process a request, and soon will finished assign request, and will be nearest for
customer, how!, When customer request a taxi, the system searches in all his
nearest taxi, Even if they were busy, it checks if there is taxi Will end soon his
request, and by Compare available taxi and which ends soon time expected to
reaches customer, it sends nearest one to customer and this process repeated every
request for taxi.
By combining taxi location that have stored in the memory with customer location
here more than algorithms works for determinations of which taxi and why and
how, these algorithms making a prediction that Almost True. Taxi system contains
of many algorithms that implemented to not just calculate shortest path for nearest
taxi also calculate shortest path to reach destination, and also other algorithm to
determine which taxi to be sanded, taxi system provide an service For owners of
taxi offices, that increasing the Profits by minimizing costs. These algorithms
works together to provide an intelligent taxi system, these application are exists in
the main server of taxi system, that runs All the time, and may be for 24/7 service.
The system builds to works with Geographical area like Ramallah or Nablus,
Jerusalem, by dividing area to subareas to make dealing more efficient, for
example dividing Ramallah according Residential quarter, like Masyoun, Balou,
the system will have power to control a large number of customers and taxis that
works in city. Here complexity arises as dividing areas to subareas here we
increasing the level of programming the system and building the algorithms, to
keep system connected together.
Also the tracking system provides other information about the speed of taxi, and
Compliance with laws , and current for any taxi.
GPS system
GPS is actually a GPS receiver which means Global Positioning System, GPS is
used many applications to define the location, in our project Taxi tracking system
use GPS to define the location of the Taxi to send it to the customer in less time as
possible, and. Taxi information can be viewed on electronic maps via the Internet
to the Taxi manager.
Major component of the GPS based tracking are:
1. GPS tracking device: which placed in Taxi and captures the GPS location
information and the speed of the taxi Also we can get other information but
in this project we need only these ones.
2. GPS tracking server: The tracking server has receiving data from the GPS
tracking unit, and storing it, then serving this information on demand to the
user.
3. User interface: The UI uses to access information and view Taxi data in
details by Taxi manager.
4. Distance Calculation: This is an important usage of vehicle tracking to
calculate the distance travel
Our Project is depending on GPS technology and GSM services , and the
capability of these devices actually decide the final capability of the whole Taxi
tracking system
Now we will talk about A GPS navigation device which receives (GPS) signals to
decide the device's location by providing latitude and longitude information, and
also calculate altitude.
GPS devices can provide :
1- Maps, including streets maps, which displayed format via text or in a
graphical format.
2- Directions (turn-by-turn navigation) of a Taxi via text or speech, By this
feature we can the taxi driver arrive to customer in less time .
3- Traffic congestion maps (either historical or real time data) and by this
feature we can suggested alternative directions for the Taxi driver.
4- Information on nearby amenities such as restaurants, GAS stations,
Also GPS can give information about:





Roads or paths available,
Roads or paths that might be taken to get to the destination.
if some roads are busy ,the best route to take.
The location of food, fuel or other needs.
the shortest route between the two locations.
How GPS work:
A GPS tracker contains GPS module to receive the GPS signal and then calculate
the coordinates for the Taxi. Then send it to data loggers which contains large
memory to store the coordinates, data pushers additionally contains the
GSM/GPRS modem to transmit this information to a central computer either via
SMS or via GPRS in form of IP packets. Then these information is appear in User
interface via diagram to be easy for user to read.
In our project we use two kind of GPS :
The first one GPS Phones as we assume that the customer use smart phones so we
can define his location when he sending to the manager SMS of phone call.
The second one we will use GPS tracking device in Taxi and then as we mention
can define the location of the Taxi and choose the shorter route and avoid the
traffic congestion to ensure that Taxi will arrive the customer in less time
System Design
System Design is to create a technical solution that satisfies the functional
requirements for the system and create a design that will correctly and completely
implement the requirements.
The objective of the design phase:
1.
Create the high-level design description.
2.
Identify major components.
3.
Find the Relationship between components.
4.
Find all the entity of the project
5.
Descript the entity by defining the attribute for each entity.
6.
Design will correctly and completely implement the requirements
Tools used in design:
1: CMAP
Cmap tools: lets us construct, navigate, share and criticize knowledge models
represented as concept maps. We used this tool to view and discuss initial ideas
and put some notes on ideas and design we've built. It helps us to make order out
of our information they are a step in the direction of making sense of all the
material that we are trying to relate. We can often grasp ideas much more quickly
than by reading them in an article or book. This visual mode of presenting
information makes it easily comprehensible in a short time.
2: Skype
We use this tool as a communication tool between video, voice and text chat,
Skype keeps us connected with the entire team for free. Group calling puts us in
touch with up to 9 other people at once. We use Skype Groups to ask questions,
make project announcements and, sometimes, banter back and forth. It really
improves how the team works together.
3: gliffy (http://www.gliffy.com)
We use this tools do create and design system diagram. Gliffy can create many
different types of charts that can be created quickly and can be edited, saved,
printed, or shared. This particular website can help us understand the difference on
the different kinds of charts and how to use them properly. This website allows us
to easily drag and drop the different elements to create the chart and even allows
for Venn diagrams to be created.
Why We Use Gliffy?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
It's online.
Use many types of shapes and colors.
Upload own pictures.
Use pictures from the Internet.
Share and collaborate with others (Help full as the need for global team).
Easy to use.
4: Microsoft word
We use this tool as a tool to build our documentation. There are many powerful
features available in Microsoft Word to make it easier to use and build our
documentation. It allows easy and textual input. Microsoft word also has a large
variety of formatting choices. It also has self explanatory discourse boxes and
menu options.
System Architecture
The system is supposed to be layered into two layers:
a. The system back end; that accepts requests from end users, and
forward responses to them according to pre-defined business rules.
b. The smart phone or web that sends requests into the back end and
accepts responses.
The back end application, or the server, is thought to be the business decision
maker that calculates requests and send responses to customers according to the
available resources. The responses are supposed to be the best scenario responses
according to the available information to the back end server and according to the
business rules.
For the front end application, it supposed to serve three types of end users:
a. The system management module, this is the control panel of the
system that shows information about requests, customers, available
taxi, taxi in trouble, etc…. This supposed to be web application.
b. The taxi driver module, this module that synchronizes the requests
and the status of the taxi. This supposed to be smart phone
application.
c. The customer module, this is the module that customer can send
his/her willing to order a taxi in the simplest and fastest way possible.
This is supposed to be smart phone and web application.
The following diagram shows the general system architectural model:
Figure 1: Call For Taxi System Architecture
1. Use Cases
1.1User Management
The user management service is a very important module, since it identifies the
basis for the “know your customer” business principle. Since this application is
supposed to support smart phone customers, authentication is done through the
mobile phone directly. Mobile number validation is done only through smart
phone application. Other authentication is possible through a web interface. We
can think of FaceBook authentication also.
o Add customer user
1. Add Customer User
Preconditions
1. User has valid mobile number that accepts SMS messages.
Post conditions
1. Transaction logging.
Actors
1. Customer
Basic Flow of Events

The customer chooses to install the smart phone application

During installation, the application asks customer for registration.

If customer chooses to register, the application asks for:
o User mobile number (required, default from phone)
o User name (required, can be any name)
o User email (optional)
o User picture (optional)

The mobile application sends the authentication request into the
back end server, and asks customer to authenticate the mobile
number by the received SMS code.

The back end server sends an SMS to authenticate the mobile
number, and asks containing a code.

The customer, enters the received code by SMS into the mobile
application

The mobile application sends the code into the back end server.

The back end server authenticates the user mobile number.
2. ER Diagram
We use ER diagram to represent data object and their relationship. Data object can
represented as entity which can be define as thing had uniquely identified .We mean
something that has number of different properties.
The entity properties defined as attribute to descript the instance or to make
reference to another instance in other table. Entities may related one another this
related must representing the number of occurrences of objects in a given
relationship (one to one, one to many, many to many)
Risk Estimation
The following table lists the most important risks that could affect the
implementation of the project during this stage; other risks could appear in later
project stages. On the hand, current listed risks may disappear, become more risky
or less risky during project implementation. The probability of the risk is rated
between (1 and 5) 1 is least probability to happen, 5 is the most probability to
happen. Impact is also rated between (1 and 5) with 1 as the least impact and 5
with the most impact on the project. P*I is the product of multiplying Probability
with Impact in order to get a measurable risk value. Mitigation column lists
possible mitigation plans to eliminate or reduce the risk total impact on the project,
mitigations are not prioritized; listed randomly.
Ris
k#
Description
Type
Probabilit Impac (P*I Mitigation
y
t
)
(P)
(I)
R1
Lack
of Functional 3
available
GPS maps for
Palestine
5
15
R2
Inaccurate
Political
time
estimation
due to Israeli
4
8
2
1. Build
our
own maps
2. Assign third
party
supplier to
develop
maps
3. Use
different
way other
than maps
1. Add
variance in
ways with
checkpoints.
2. Use
checkpoints
R3
People
Cultural
attitude to use
such service
2
4
8
R4
Product
Cultural
misuse
by
customers
2
2
4
R5
3G
Technolog 4
availability
y
for customers
Political
4
16
R6
Team
Global
experience in Team
working as a
virtual team
members
4
3
12
R7
Team
Technolog 2
experience in y
development
of
such
projects
4
8
R8
Driver’s
attitude
towards
system
5
10
Cultural
the
2
different
ways
if
possible.
1. Product
campaigns
2. Lower
prices when
ask for taxi
using
the
product.
1. Validate
customer
identity by
registration
1. Use other ways
to
send
GPS
location
1. Add extra
time to plan
2. Add more
frequent
meetings
3. Provide
more clear
documentati
on
1. Training for
team
member
2. Experience
sharing
1. Train driver
how to use
the system.
2. System
Automatical
R9
Project
Functional 4
Documentatio
Global
n not clear
Team
5
20
ly
react
when driver
not react
1. Provide clear
and
detailed
project
documentation
Lesson from our course
1. The experience of the Global team has been a new experience for all
members of the team, which was a good experience.
2. Communication were either face-to-face or via Skype and there was some of
the problems faced by the team in terms of the inability of all the team to be
present at all the meetings which were held, but was solved by sending an
email or calling to inform them of the results of the meetings .
3. Ease of coordination because the manager of the team distributed certain
tasks commensurate with their skill, which facilitated the complete the
project.
4. One of the most important lessons we have learned is working as virtual
teams, And how to communicate others, also how managements should be
for virtual teams, models of virtual teams, global teams, another lesson is
learning about SLA: Service Level Agreement, and how each project should
have this agreement.
5. This experience must adopt in our University for the great benefit for
students because we still suffer from Occupation and barriers, so students
need long time to reach the university.
6. It is suitable for our culture that students (males and females) can meet any
time to do the work.
Conclusion
In this Research we provide a software engineering of Taxi tracking System, we
present an abstraction of our works on this project was a distributed Team work,
our work was on taxi tracking system, which is needed in Palestine, and we talk
about the scenarios of that customer can get taxi either throw android/IPhone or
by calling/ sending SMS, also we discuss the availability of GPS tracking and how
data of locations in GPS stored and re-used , also a list of tools used for works on
project, we discuss the System Architecture and dividing the system into layers,
the ER diagrams are also listed, and finally a list of Risk Estimation.