Student invents device to detect mobile theft

Chennai, Dec 29: A second year Computer Science student doing his Masters in Engineering has invented a new technique for detecting the theft of mobile phone instruments.

The student Anderson Prince Edison from Madurai, studying in B S Abdur Rahman Cresent Engineering college here, submitted a paper on the invention at the recent national conference of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) on Information and Communication Convergence here. The paper was selected as the best paper.

Edison told UNI, the cellular industry had reached new heights.

Integration of innovative services had given a new face to growing mobile technology. Though they might be expensive, mobile phones had become a necessity and were being called the 'Fourth Basic Need'.

Often, the gadgets were snatched, picked, or misplaced. Finding or replacing them needed a long process like lodging a formal complaint with police, submission of IMEA (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number along with original bills and then a long wait.

To solve this, Edison invented a system called D2COSYS-Dynamic Drawing Control System using Telemetry one and GPS two. It combined elements from telemetry, global positioning satellite systems and software. The GPS receiver circuitry would be embedded in the mobile phone and connected to a CMOS battery set-up, providing constant power supply even if the device is switched-off or battery removed.

The GPS receiver (hidden black-body) would continuously communicate with the satellite, announcing its current position to the software system loaded onto the home/office PC (or) another mobile (partner system). Getting a constantly varying input from the GPS receiver, the software would dynamically draw the exact route the user (or the thief) takes in real-time.

Inclusion of GPS receiver circuitry in advanced mobile devices like laptops, mobile phones, not only helps in recovering stolen devices but also provides additional sub-menus like path recording and path retrieval from databases, calculation of shortest, simplest path, estimated time values and path finding facilities, he said.

Edison said he had received a lot of encouragement from his Professors Dr Raja Prabhu and Ms Arpuda Radhika.

UNI