SIGPRO: A Real-Time Progressive Notification System Using MQTT Bridges and Topic Hierarchy for Rapid Location of Missing Persons

Ana Maria Zambrano V,Marcelo Zambrano V,Eduardo Luis Ortiz Mejia,Xavier Calderon H

doi:10.1109/access.2020.3015183

Ana Maria Zambrano V, Marcelo Zambrano V + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2020.3015183

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Abstract

Currently, one of the main challenges that the world's big cities are facing is the security problem of their citizens and specifically the disappearance of people (even more in Latin America countries). Thus, to address this problem, a software system called SiGPro has been developed, which allows notifications for the early location of missing persons, using some technological tools, being one of the most prominent application of the MQTT protocol frequently used in the Internet of Things (IoT). SiGPro applies a MQTT-Bridge for hierarchical server communication and developing the software system for real-time performance. SiGPro innovates a Progressive Notification Mechanism, not considered in other similar projects and being one of the main contributions of this research; it delivers notifications depending on the disappearance distance in order to not saturate the end user. In addition, SiGPro was deployed in three cities in Ecuador, (being Quito city the MQTT-broker), where more than 140 users participated in each city and in different test scenarios. Time and distances of disappearance solution were obtained, taking into account the total anonymity of the victim. Finally, SigPro has shown that increasing crowdsensing (number of users), reduces the distance at which the missing person has been located.

Highlights

The missing-persons phenomenon is a social problem of vital importance for all governments around the world because it threatens the integrity and life of their citizens, especially vulnerable people such as children, adolescents, and senior citizens
The data makes clear that Latin America, as a whole needs an effective solution to reduce the number of missing persons
UP RESEARCH In Ecuador, the rate of missing persons reported per year has reached 10,000, according to the Office of the Attorney General, indicating that the risk is a constant for all Ecuadorians

Summary

Introduction

The missing-persons phenomenon is a social problem of vital importance for all governments around the world because it threatens the integrity and life of their citizens, especially vulnerable people such as children, adolescents, and senior citizens. Mexico maintains a registry of 32,277 missing persons, of which 73.7% are men. The situation is alarming since 41% of these people are between 15 and 29 years of age [3]. In 2005, there were 1,456 registered cases of missing persons, while in 2016 there were 3,526 cases, an increase of 242% [12]. The data makes clear that Latin America, as a whole needs an effective solution to reduce the number of missing persons

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