The objective of this exploratory research is to develop novel anti-theft Internet-assisted Global Positioning System (GPS) technology for personal computers. The approach is based on a software GPS radio installation and its enhanced assisted-mode operation. When a notebook computer is connected to the Internet after a theft occurs, the computer will request assistance data from a server to compute and silently report its location. Assistance enables indoor operation and includes information from Internet Protocol (IP) address locators and data from reference GPS receivers.
The intellectual merit of the proposed research is in the new concept, algorithms and assistance formats. The proposed solution uses very coarse IP-address location as a reference and employs appropriate novel algorithms for enhanced software operation in diverse environments. Other current methods are not comparable for global operation in various wireless and wired networks. Conventional assisted GPS positioning has been standardized for all cellular networks and recognized as the best known technology to meet the wireless safety mandate for emergency calls. Reference assistant data in computer networks are obtained differently and they are coarse compared with cellular networks requiring customized algorithmic solutions.
With respect to broader impacts, notebook theft is a prevalent computer crime. Computer positioning has the potential to minimize multi-billion dollar losses of data and computers. It also has the potential to enable other applications, such as asset tracking and positioning for computer-originated emergency calls. The project aims to enhance the pool of engineering talent in South Texas, including students from underrepresented groups, through cooperation with ongoing educational programs and dissemination.
