CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDYInformation is very vital for our daily life, information provide us with power in making decisions, choosing between options, making analysis and so on. Nowadays every user uses the web for anything and everything like searching for news, businesses, books, etc. Users access the Internet and get these information from different websites. Searching information is difficult and tedious. To ease this search using the Internet, keywords are used by search engine which require software. The search engines software ensures that the end user gets information by accessing the website specified in the database.
This project is a simple business directory service search engine that utilizes the current location of the user to list all the top businesses in a particular location. It works like a search engine in providing a searchable database of businesses that have been registered in a particular business location.
Mobile computing and communication devices now provide access to information from nearly anywhere, and many of these devices know where they are. Geographic information can be personalized to deliver valuable location-aware services. Most current research focus on using location awareness to provide information about a user’s surroundings. This can certainly be quite helpful if you are lost, need to find the nearest Automated Teller Machine (ATM), or are new to an environment and really want to know key businesses in a particular locality.
However, because geographic databases are quite large, a mobile phone must be connected to a network to access such services. This limits opportunities for small-footprint and peer-to-peer services on phones, or services that operate even when the phone is not connected to a network. Geographic information can be personalized based on its relevance to the user, with appropriate descriptions or granularity to deliver valuable location-aware services.
There are two types of techniques used to achieve location awareness: relative or absolute positioning. Absolute location-based awareness is awareness of the actual location, either by co-ordinates, or in what place (e.g. country, city, building, or room). There are a number of different technologies for absolute positioning. Example include Global Positioning System (GPS) or Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) cell information together with the Mobile Positioning System (MPS), (Schmandt & Marmasse, 2004). The positions can however be absolute in a building only, without knowing where in the world the building is located. The term absolute positioning is used to describe that systems are aware of their own spatial position. The absolute position of the user (or rather: the device tied to a specific person) can either be used by the user or be transferred and used by other users in a larger system.
Relative location awareness systems are, in contrast to absolute location awareness. These systems are aware of what other objects that are in close proximity. The objects can be moved around and when using relative location awareness, a system should recognize other objects without knowing where the device is located. For instance a device could be aware of which printer that is available locally and use that information to automatically adjust the system behavior to print on the local printer. For these types of devices, Infra-Red (IR) communication links have been the dominant technique.
A search engine is a software tool that crawls the web searching for information (Ogunsote et al., 2003). These are searchable database of internet files collected by a computer program called a wanderer, robot, spider or crawler. These computer programs routinely scour the web to identify and index web pages then return these pages on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). The software used by each search engine works a bit differently. Consequently, the same search conducted with different search engines will yield different results.
The information may be a mix of web pages, images and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data available in databases or open directories which are maintained in real-time by running an algorithm. They constantly search the web for new and updated pages by going through from one Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to another URL until the referenced site is visited on the Internet.
Directories are a collection of websites that are organized by broad subject categories which may be broad (covering all subject areas), or subject specific (focusing on a particular subject). Directories are nothing more than comparatively small databases that may or may not feed on search engine which predates search engines. Unlike search engines that uses computer programs like crawler to rank and index web pages, directories are organized and placed by humans. Site owners summit their sites to directories (sometimes for a fee, sometimes for free) and human editors determine the site relevance and whether to or not to include the site in the directory. Directory visitors can search the directory or go through the categories in the directory. For example Arts, Galleries, etc.
The first commercially developed directory was in 1994 by Yahoo! which compiled webpages and placed them in logical categories, (Fabos, 2003). Then in 1998 came the Open Directory Project, a non-commercial endeavor, also the largest known directory made up of volunteers around the globe.
Directories have become an important component to searches in that they provide massive lists of indexed pages to feed search engine providers which in turn may provide adequate search results to individual searches.
1.1 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The aim of this study is to design and develop a Mobile-based Vehicle Breakdown and Recovery Services Directory Search Engine using Location-Awareness.
The objectives of this study are as follows:
To investigate the existing system and carryout extensive review of state of the art.
To design a system that enable the user search through an auto-mechanic directory using location awareness.
The proposed system should incorporate a notification mechanism (SMS) where a distressed user can send notification to the searched auto-mechanic offering vehicle recovery services.
The proposed system is implemented using Java programming language, JavaScript, Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) and MySQL Database Management System (DBMS).
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The existing Directory Search Engine is faced with the following problems with regards to vehicle breakdown and recovery services:
Motorists/commuters that have a vehicle breakdown particularly find it very difficult to locate auto-mechanics who can fix their vehicle’s specific problem especially when in a new locality.
The existing system does not have a mechanism that allow users to send notifications (through SMS) about a user’s vehicle breakdown to the nearest auto-mechanic that offers vehicle recovery services.
Based on the aforementioned problems this research work solves the problem of locating the nearest auto-mechanic workshop offering vehicle recovery services. Distressed motorist with a smart phone with location-awareness enabled can search for available workshops within the vicinity where his/her vehicle broke down.
1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will benefit motorists that are new to a particular location and are searching for information about workshops offering vehicle breakdown and recovery services in a particular location. The significance is that the idea can be expanded to other relevant businesses such as shopping malls, restaurants etc.
1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research work is focused on designing and developing a Mobile-based system that a distressed motorist can use to search and also be able to send notifications to workshops that offer vehicle breakdown and recovery services nearest to the user.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDYDuring course of this research, a number of constraints were encountered which include:
Insufficient Time: Undergoing this research work together with other academic activities within the limited time frame posed a serious challenge.
Limited Funds: There was no adequate and readily available funds for the research work.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Absolute position: The exact position of an object as it is not in relation to another object. Alternatively, the actual location, either by co-ordinates, or in what place describing that the systems are aware of their own spatial position.
Auto-mechanic: A person skilled in repairing and maintaining automobiles and other motor vehicles.
Business: A specific commercial enterprise or establishment.
Database: A collection of organized information in a regular structure accessible by a computer.
Directory service: The software system that stores, organizes and provide access to information in a map using names and values.
GPS: Global Positioning System.
GSM: Global System for Mobile communication.
Location: A particular point or place in physical space.
Location awareness: Refers to a presence-technology component that provides information about the physical location of a device to another application or user.
MPS: Mobile Positioning System.
Network: A number of computer and other devices that are connected together so that equipment and information can be shared.Â
Relative position: Is the position of an object in relation to another object, rather than in complete form.
Search engine: An application that searches for, retrieves data based on some criteria, especially one that searches the internet for documents containing specified words.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator.
User: A person who uses a system, computer or computing network, especially a person with a user account.
Web crawler: This is an Internet bot that systematically browses the Web for purpose of web indexing.
Website: A collection of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and subordinate document on the World Wide Web (WWW) that are typically accessible from the same Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and residing on the same server.
