Building a transportation information system using only GPS and basic SMS infrastructure

• Published in: 2009 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development pp. 233 - 242
• Main Authors: Anderson, R.E., Poon, A., Lustig, C., Brunette, W., Borriello, G., Kolko, B.E.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.04.2009
• Subjects: developing world; Global Positioning System; GPS; GSM; Hardware; ICTD; information services; Information systems; Kyrgyzstan; mobile phones; Modems; Prediction algorithms; SMS; System testing; Systems engineering and theory; Transportation; Vehicles
• ISBN: 1424446627; 9781424446629
• DOI: 10.1109/ICTD.2009.5426678

This work consists of two main components: (a) a longitudinal ethnographic study in Kyrgyzstan that demonstrates the importance of transportation resources in the developing world and how to plan for an appropriate ICT solution, and (b) the results of a proof-of-concept system engineered to create a bottom-up, transportation information infrastructure using only GPS and SMS. Transportation is a very important shared resource; enabling efficient and effective use of such resources aids overall development goals. The system, *bus, involved the development of a hardware device (a *box) containing a GSM modem and a GPS unit, that can be installed on a vehicle and used to track its location. The *box communicates via SMS with a server connected to a basic GSM phone. The server runs route a prediction algorithm and users can send SMS messages to the server to find when a bus will arrive at their location. The paper discusses the system and early testing, as well as the development implications for a range of urban and rural environments where transportation is scarce or inefficient, and where a central authority or institution is not in a position to provide robust information resources for users. We describe how the solution is also situated within technology usage patterns common to the developing world.