Master Thesis in Geoinformatics
Ambulance management system using GIS
By
Imtiyaz Pasha
Supervisor & Examiner: ProF. Dr. Åke Sivertun
Department of Computer and Information Science Linköping University
SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Abstract
For emergency service providers, giving their service in least time shows their best performance. Emergency hospitals will be at their best if the ambulance reaches the site in Golden hour where life of injured persons can be saved. Ambulance uses the road network to reach the accident site. Today there are many GIS based systems being developed for routing of ambulance using GPS and other real-time technologies. These systems are useful and play a major role in solving the routing problem. But now roads are so congested that it difficult for the Ambulance drivers to travel and reach the accident.
In this thesis present study area is studied and problems faced by emergency service providers on road network are identified. In this thesis GIS/GPS/GSM based prototype system has been developed for routing of ambulance on road network of Hyderabad city (AMS). This prototype is designed such that it finds the accident location on the road network and locates the nearest ambulance to incident site using the real-time technologies (GPS/GSM). AMS creates the fastest route from nearest ambulance to accident site, and from there to nearest hospital. Congestion on roads during peak hours is considered, and the fastest route on both major and minor roads is created.
In this thesis AMS user interface has been developed using VBA, ArcGIS (network analyst). This Ambulance management system has been developed using software engineering model rapid prototyping model and has been evaluated by GIS users.
Acknowledgements
First of all I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Sivertun, Department of computer science (IDA), for all his help with this thesis. I have learnt a lot from Dr. Sivertun, how to work hard and getting right results. Dr. Sivertun always has time for my questions and his comments on my thesis have been valuable. I am also thankful to my course coordinator Jalal Maleki. I would also like to thank my colleagues for providing me good suggestions. I am thankful to Andhra Pradesh authorities for providing Hyderabad data.
I am thankful to Dhanunjaya Reddy for providing the Hyderabad city digital data, which I have used in my thesis. I wish to thank my friends for supporting me in many ways. Last but not least, I am deeply grateful to my family and my uncles M.A Quyyum and M.A Huyyum who supported me in many ways.
Linkoping, May 2006
Table of Contents Introduction ...8 1.1 Motivation ... 8 1.2 Problem Statement ... 8 1. 3 Purpose/Goal... 9 1.4 Limitations ... 9 1.5 Thesis Outline ... 10 Theoretical Frame ...11 2.1 Study Area ... 11 2.1.1 Population... 11
2.1.2 Cause for huge traffic flow ... 12
2.1.3 Historical fact ... 12
2.1.4 Increase in Vehicles... 14
2.1.5 Number of accidents in Andhra pradesh... 16
2.2 GIS... 16
2.2.1 GIS role in Transport ... 16
2.2.2 Database role in GIS-T ... 17
2.2.3 GIS and transport related fields of applications (GIS-T) ... 17
2.3 ArcGIS ... 19
2.3.1 ArcMap... 19
2.3.2 Network Analyst... 20
2.4 Global Positioning System ... 22
2.4.1 Fleet management... 23
2.4.2 Data collection and mapping ... 24
2.4.3 Incident management... 25
2.4.4 Vehicle navigation ... 26
2.4.5 Transport of hazardous Materials ... 27
2.4.6 Limitations of GPS ... 27
2.5 Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) ... 27
Methodology ...31
3.1 Ambulance Management System prototype using GIS/GPS/GSM... 31
3.1.1 Data Collection ... 33
3.1.2 GIS database... 33
3.1.3 Analysis (GIS/GPS/GSM) ... 37
3.1.4 AMS information for decision making ... 39
3.2 AMS User interface Development... 43
3.2.1 Mechanism ... 43
3.2.3 Nearest closest facility... 44
3.2.4 Rapid prototyping model for AMS... 44
3.2.5 Software development for AMS of Hyderabad City ... 45
3.2.6 AMS user interface flow Chart... 46
3.2.8 Themes for Analysis ... 48
3.2.9 Designed Interface of AMS ... 48
3.2.10 Database Design of AMS user interface... 52
Usability Test (Evaluation) ...54
4.1 User Test... 54 4.2 Followed Paradigm... 54 4.2.1 Observations ... 54 5.2.2 Interviews ... 55 5.2.3 Questionnaires ... 55 Results ...57 Discussion ...70 6.1 Conclusion... 70 6.2 Future Work ... 71 Bibliography ...72 Appendix ...78
List of Figures
2.1 Road network of Hyderabad city………..13
2.2 Hyderabad police and fire station……….13
2.3 Traffic jams are a familiar sight in the city………...14
2.4 Functionalities of ArcGIS9.1 network analyst extension……….21
2.5 Global Positioning System for Vehicle tracking System……….23
2.6 Road map of GPS tracking………...24
2.7 Basic modules (building blocks) for a location and navigation system………...26
2.8 Hazmat telegeomonitoring………28
2.9 GSM/GPS/GIS based System Architecture………..28
2.10 Modular Mobile Dispatching System (MMDS)……….29
2.11 AMBULANCE system architecture………...30
3.1 Information flow after accident occurred on road network………..31
3.2 Methodology for AMS using GIS………32
3.3 GIS database for analysis in ArcMap9.1………..34
3.4 Database use in AMS………...36
3.5 GIS/GPS/GSM technology………..37
3.6 AMS Architecture………38
3.7 If accident site didn’t find than………40
3.8 Telematics Applications………...42
3.9 Critical Time/ Space Elements………43
3.10 Rapid prototyping model of AMS……….45
3.11 AMS flow chart……….47
3.12 AMS Interface model………....51
3.13 OOGIS architecture of AMS user interface………..52
4.1 Result from Evaluation………..55
5.1 To identify the accident……….58
5.2 To identify the ambulance locations………...59
5.3 To identify fastest route from all ambulances to accident site……….60
5.4 To identify fastest routing ambulance to the accident………..61
5.5 To identify fastest route to the hospital………..62
5.6 Multiple accidents Scenario I……….63
5.7 Multiple accidents Scenario II……….64
5.8 During peak hours situation I………...65
5.9 During peak hours situation II……….66
5.10 During peak hours situation III………..67
5.11 During peak hours situation IV………..68
List of Tables
2.1 Population of Hyderabad every decade………11
2.2 Composition of traffic flow in Major Corridors………...15
2.3 Bus Fleet and No. of passengers carried per day………..15
2.4 Number of Accidents in Hyderabad……….16
2.5 ArcGIS extensions………20 3.1 AMS database……….33-34 3.2 AMS Menus………49-50 3.3 AMS Tools………..50-51
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Motivation
In today’s traffic world, ambulance plays a major role when accident occurs on the road network and need arises to save valuable human life. Transportation of a patient to emergency hospital seems quite simple but in actual it is quite difficult and gets more difficult during peak hours. Hyderabad is a growing metropolitan city with rapid increase in the number of vehicles, traffic jams, lack of footpaths and unsafe roads for people to walk or to cross. Advanced Traveller Information System (ATIS) by (Kumar .P et al 2003) for Hyderabad city is really a great work indeed, but there is no Advance travelling system for ambulance movement. This ATIS is developed using ArcView3.1, Network Analyst 1.1b and Avenue programming language. It can be re-designed using more advanced GIS technologies and programming languages. National Center of Immediate Assistance (EKAB) [Derekenaris .G 2000] has designed GIS/GPS/GSM (G3) system for the ambulance management. G3 system is used to track low flying aircrafts and vehicles on a digital map in real-time. This G3 system was a combination of GPS, GIS, and GPRS (which is based on GSM technology) [Lin et al 2003]. These technologies really motivated to be implemented in the more densely congested roads of Hyderabad city. In this thesis GIS-based efficient ambulance routing system is developed using ArcGIS9.1 (Network Analyst extension), real-time positioning techniques (GPS/GSM) and VBA. This proposed prototype model will try to solve the routing problem of Ambulance (ambulance- accident location-emergency hospital).
1.2 Problem Statement
Metropolitan areas across India are facing the problem of increase in congestion. Every year due to traffic congestion millions of hours of vehicle delay increases in fuel consumption and environmental pollution. Recurrent congestion is due to two major reasons.
• High levels of traffic demand during peak travel hours cause reduction in the available roadway capacity.
• Traffic accidents and other incidents cause an unanticipated reduction in road capacity. Traffic incidents are main cause for the problem of recurrent congestion especially when they occur during peak hours. Incidents occur randomly during peak hour which may contribute to an increased occurrence of certain types of traffic incidents [Maas et al 1998]. Different approaches to solve problem of recurrent congestion have been proposed and are being implemented such as road capacity expansion can alleviate congestion problems but may not be a solution that is sustainable in the long run [Reddy J.S., 2006]. In Hyderabad city many flyovers have been built in the last few years, but didn’t help in reducing traffic congestion. Construction of flyovers at Secretariat, Narayanaguda and Masab Tank were major cause of obstructions to the free flow of vehicles [Reddy J.S., 2006]. With the present growth rate the vehicular population of Hyderabad is expected to cross 20 lakh (2 million) by 2010, having serious implications on emissions and
quality of life [Reddy J.S., 2006]. Andhra Pradesh government took loans from World Bank and roads were widened but didn’t help in a few places, lack (or disappearance) of footpaths resulted in use of personal vehicles even for short distances by the commuters. It is difficult for people to cross the roads during peak hours because more vehicles are moving on the roads. If a vehicle travels from origin to destination during peak hours it takes longer time compared to normal time.
In Hyderabad city there are three Emergency service providers of the state government i.e. police, hospitals and fire bridges. Most of the emergency hospital ambulances are equipped with paramedics, even though they are unable to reach the incident site because of huge traffic at junctions. Once the ambulance gets struck in traffic, it takes more-time to reach the incident and it is obvious what happens to the patient till the ambulance reaches? Due to lack of verification sometimes ambulance driver is unable to find the accident site as reported. Location, identity, time and activity have been identified as primary context types for characterizing the situation of an accident [Arrington& Cahill 2004]. Andhra Pradesh transport authorities have detailed information on current features of the road network such as location, type, width, curvature, altitude, slope etc, and will be stored in databases. This database must be updated frequently so that it should be practically feasible. Dynamic data relevant to route performance includes details such as current traffic flow or speed, weather, road surface conditions and variations in road usage patterns due to events such as accidents, road maintenance or sports fixtures [Arrington& Cahill 2004] should be provided to emergency service providers. This database and GIS together can be helpful in finding the accidents on the road networks and the shortest & fastest route to the accident site.
1. 3 Purpose/Goal
The main objective of this thesis is to build a GIS based prototype for the ambulance management when an accident occurs on Hyderabad road networks. This Ambulance Management System (AMS) is an integration of GIS (ArcGIS9.1 network analyst, GPS/GSM) used for solving the routing and accident location problems during normal & peak hours such as.
1) To identify the accident on the road network.
2) To identify the ambulance locations on the road network in real-time using GPS coordinates.
3) To find the fastest routes through which all the ambulances can reach the accident site. 4) To find the ambulance which can immediately reach the accident site as compared to
other ambulances is analysed.
5) After finding fastest route from the nearest ambulance to the accident location then the fastest route from the accident site to the nearest hospital is calculated.
6) If more than one accident occurred on the road network, we have to find the fastest routes through which ambulances can travel to reach all the accidents.
7) To find the fastest routes from all the accidents to reach the hospital immediately. 8) During the peak hours roads are congested, how ambulances should travel.
1.4 Limitations
accident occurs in Hyderabad city. AMS can be used for city wide, if the whole city street network and hospitals database is available. This prototype for ambulance management is studied on a small geographical area of Hyderabad city due to lack of data. This system can be developed as whole model, but we need sufficient funding from Andhra Pradesh state government. According to (Kumar P et al 2003), Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) should be cost effective, efficient and at the same time it should be compatible with present level of development in the related fields. Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) for life saving costs more to government than whom should be responsible. Private sector companies should come forward to have a part in development of the country.
1.5 Thesis Outline
The theory on present study area Hyderabad city uses Geographical Information System (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global Communication System (GSM) for vehicle location system is described in Chapter 2(theoretical frame). In this chapter, research work in ambulance location system using GIS is discussed in detail. Methodology of Ambulance Management System (AMS) and its working prototype system design is described in chapter 3. The detailed working design and working of Ambulance Management System (AMS) is also described. Usability of the Ambulance Management System (AMS) user interface is tested by GIS users and their comments are described in chapter 4. The results obtained from AMS are described in chapter 5. In chapter 6, description about the future work related to AMS and what we concluded from the ambulance management system.
Chapter 2
Theoretical Frame
2.1 Study Area
Hyderabad is a capital city of Andhra Pradesh (India) and also India’s fifth largest city .It has been the capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh since 400 years [Ali Akhter 2004]. It is well known as hub of information technology and the city of the future. It is growing along the highways which connect the city to Mumbai, Delhi, and various cities& district headquarters respectively. Thus urban-industrial-transportation development seems to go hand in hand in these areas and this is a significant post independence phenomenon [Ali Akhter 2004]. Hyderabad city is located in the centre of the Deccan Plateau at an average height of 540 meters (1760 feet’s) above mean sea level. Hyderabad has Nagpur city on the North, Bangalore city on the South, Vishakhapatnam city on the East, Mumbai city on the West beside many other cities around. The city is located at 17° 20’ North latitude and 78° 30’ East longitude, covering an area of 240 SqKms, at present city consists of 35 municipal wards including 12 wards of Secundrabad [Ali Akhter 2004]. Musi River is a tributary of river Krishna and passing through centre of the city dividing the city into north Hyderabad and south Hyderabad.
2.1.1 Population
Hyderabad city was the fifth largest metropolis of India with a population of 5,434,347 according to 2001 census. The gradual increase in population of Hyderabad is mentioned below [Ali Akhter 2004]. Year Population 1901 0.448 millions 1911 0.502 millions 1921 0.406 millions 1931 0.447 millions 1941 0.739 millions 1951 1.28 million 1961 1.429 million 1971 1.796 million 1981 2.759 millions 1991 4.34 millions 2001 5.43 millions
Table 2.1: Population of Hyderabad every decade
Due to rapid growth of urban sprawl and increase of population resulted in the following facts. • Deterioration of infrastructure facilities.
• Loss of productive agricultural lands. • Loss of green open spaces.
• Loss of surface water bodies.
• Depletion of groundwater aquifers zones. • Causing air pollution.
• Contamination of water. • Health hazards
• Micro-climatic changes.
To solve this problem we need accurate data at regular intervals about urban land use, environment, sprawl, infrastructure and resources.
2.1.2 Cause for huge traffic flow
Hyderabad city is divided into two parts (old city and new city). A large number of research and training institutions of national importance are located mostly outside the old city, and though the Osmania general hospital is located in old city, there is a gross inadequacy of health facilities [Ali Akhter 2004]. Hospitals and educational institutions located outside old city results in movement of people between old and new city to get these facilities, and due to which traffic flow on roads increase. During peak hours 9AM-11AM in morning and 4PM-8PM evening there is a huge traffic movement on road networks. Not only traffic increases but also inhabitants living in old city also facing difficulties.
2.1.3 Historical fact
Old city being unplanned and oldest due to which roads are narrow and most of the road side rules are violated. Police & Fire stations are not properly located in the Hyderabad city as shown in figure 2.2. Hyderabad city was founded by Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah in 1591 AD. Historical aspects and geography of the urban development Hyderabad city has been such that rapid development has taken place in a few areas on one hand and on the other hand few areas have declined since decades, especially the old city area [Ali Akhter 2004]. City was built to provide shelter for about 5 lakh population but now it is increased to 50 lakhs. In the present situation emergency service providers were unable to provide services to current population.
Figure 2.1: Road network of Hyderabad city
2.1.4 Increase in Vehicles
Hyderabad is a metropolitan city with vast increase in the number of vehicles, traffic jams and lack of footpaths. In Hyderabad, roads are unsafe for people who would like to walk or to cross roads. The transport authorities have given more importance to flyovers rather than to give more importance to efficient public transport. Due to unplanned growth of the city and migration of people from rural areas, districts and inefficient public transport system has resulted in an unpleasant situation for traffic in the city. In the last two decades the number of vehicles has grown enormously [Reddy J.S., 2006]. In Hyderabad most of the people depend on personal vehicles for transport due to these traffic jams and choking of streets has become quite common.
Figure 2.3: Traffic jams are a familiar sight in the city [Dr. Reddy S. J -2006]
At present there are about 11 lakhs (1.1 million) vehicles in the city [Reddy J.S., 2006]. There is a high growth rate in two-wheelers and cars during the last five years of the last decade with an increase rate of about 10% per year. In Hyderabad more than 80% of the vehicles are two-wheelers (mostly 2-stroke engines) producing a bulk amount of unborn hydrocarbons and carbon-monoxide. About 10% vehicles comprises of trucks, buses, taxis and 3-wheeler, which are mostly used for daily transportation. The transport vehicles used for commercial purposes (about 90000) normally runs for more than 100 kms per day and most of them are using diesel as fuel. More than 50% of these vehicles are reported to be not eligible or unfit for PUC (Pollution under Control) certificate, as they are older than 15 years. The average life span of a vehicle is six years, which travels about 300 km per day and there is no way to use these kinds of vehicles after they travel for 500,000 kms.
Average number of vehicles travel on roads contributes a major change to mode of travel on city roads. Travelling modes of last two decade are shown in below table.
Mode of Travel Composition of traffic flows During-1986(%)
Composition of traffic flows during-1998(%)
Buses 2 3
Scooters/ Motor cycles 18 50
Cars 4 14
Auto rickshaws 6 18
Bicycles 42 10
Others 28 5
Table 2.2: Composition of traffic flow in major Corridors [HATS – DB I-2002I]
Andhra Pradesh State Road Transportation (APSRTC) buses are the major transportation mode for regular education trips and work. Table below shows that buses remain static over the years though the bus fleet continuously increases from time to time.
Sl.No Year Bus Fleet Occupancy No of passengers
carried per day in Millions 1 1995-96 2018 74 2.981 2 1996-97 2122 75 3.177 3 1997-98 2217 69 3.054 4 1998-99 2328 70 3.253 5 1999-2000 2425 63 3.050 6 2000-2001 2480 58 2.872 7 2001-2002 2605 59 3.068
Table 2.3: Bus fleet and No. of passengers carried per day [HATS – DB II-2002, APSRTC]
2.1.5 Number of accidents in Andhra pradesh
GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT
Road Accidents Particulars
Number of Accidents Number of Persons Killed Number of Persons injured
Name of the District / City 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 Hyderabad 3042 3802 3526 3062 2609 344 448 496 420 404 3448 3958 3361 2785 2307 Rangareddy 569 479 984 2839 2531 181 143 318 810 692 879 767 1289 3595 3044 Cyberabad 3107 3078 2453 0 0 852 875 711 0 0 2734 3208 2728 0 0 Mahaboobnagar 1355 1420 1180 1256 1095 599 592 480 515 504 2103 2230 1830 2007 1915 Nalgonda 1958 1770 1519 1558 1426 717 835 515 572 500 3309 2707 2291 2422 2264 Nizamabad 1367 1346 1564 1520 1216 317 323 290 309 251 2330 2255 2862 2512 1606 Medak 1276 1490 1430 1252 1093 535 497 554 501 398 2317 2710 2426 2208 1780 Warangal 1591 1661 1251 1582 1350 397 421 366 380 317 2423 2606 2301 2432 1992 Khammam 1663 1743 1316 1386 1135 448 419 360 386 252 2456 2909 1889 2180 1785 Karimnagar 1522 1584 1477 1450 1136 416 403 406 427 340 2208 4061 2088 2016 1501 Adilabad 1344 1487 1406 1365 1056 331 307 267 296 198 2203 2492 2202 2399 1746 Kurnool 1400 1438 1145 1167 965 423 373 328 406 362 2299 2429 1649 1770 1331 Cuddapah 1357 1243 973 1100 853 420 387 294 327 235 2166 1869 1425 1652 1085 Anathapur 1127 1126 1001 1066 841 399 417 341 371 317 1878 1942 1773 1743 1442 Chittoor 1909 2018 1809 1830 1485 653 660 545 502 433 2710 2938 2344 2413 1883 Guntur 1727 1668 1438 1301 1078 555 749 476 432 388 2238 1966 1719 1672 1324 Nellore 1033 1284 849 1137 984 394 384 316 303 308 1613 1952 1624 1687 1222 Prakasham 998 845 751 693 605 349 355 296 303 291 1207 966 957 1034 779 West Godavari 1607 1493 1345 1302 1017 511 517 499 513 427 2149 1915 1594 1566 1200 East Godavari 2304 2033 1854 1989 1716 634 487 450 517 477 2713 2471 2298 2317 1947 Krishna 1180 1109 868 860 826 343 302 307 284 292 1830 1605 1183 1074 1059 Vijayawada 1172 1306 1239 1081 743 282 214 241 267 174 1136 1346 1261 1191 796 Visakhapatnam 994 912 1079 1106 1054 221 239 203 168 181 1149 1158 1139 1055 1026 Visakhapatnam Rural 1067 981 846 837 774 338 280 202 189 183 1611 1476 1163 1123 1069 Vizayanagaram 908 883 776 810 714 207 207 199 161 160 1329 1421 1079 1179 1057 Srikakulam 762 738 747 584 600 210 212 219 164 164 1228 1082 1002 776 771 Total 38339 38937 34826 34133 28902 11076 11046 9679 9523 8248 53666 56439 47477 46808 37931
Table 2.4: Number of accident A.P [Misra Ajay 2005]
2.2 GIS
2.2.1 GIS role in Transport
Geographical Information System (GIS) is used for the storage and analysis of spatial information. GIS gives more emphasis on analysis of geographic information, in contrast with other graphic or management systems more directed at the representation of geographic data or its storage [Cowen, D.J 1988]. Today different disciplines use Information Technology(IT) to
process the geographic information (remote sensing, geography, civil engineering, cartography, topology, geodesy, photogrammetry, ecology, architecture, computer science etc) [Pons & Perez 2003].Transport networks are used for movement of people, goods, and energy. The features such as form, efficiency and capacity of these networks make an impact on our quality of life and improve our perception of the world. When GIS is applied to transport, this is more than just a sphere of application of their generic functionality [Thill 2000]. L.Downey, Deputy Secretary for Transportation said “We see the geographical Information Systems as a real opportunity to unify transportation planning with the vast data processing capabilities inherent to today’s technology” and also Xu(2000) said “telematic products and services for individual means of transport are based on the integration of digital maps, RDS/TMC ( radio data systems/ traffic message channels) for the transmission of traffic data, GPS(Global Positioning Systems) and GSM( Global System for Mobile Communications) for the transmission of travel data, and mobile telephone communications and other additional sensors are needed to collect travelling information in real-time”.
2.2.2 Database role in GIS-T
Creating spatial databases for GIS based transportation is one of the most costly tasks from perspective of economy and time. The steps are followed to create geographic database [Pons & Perez 2003].
• Topographic base maps have to be created for the transport infrastructure. • Thematic attributes are compiled,
• Providing information on the traffic flows and on the transport infrastructure carried by the latter.
• Large scale information is needed for transport and the real-world object attributes vary continuously over the course of time.
GIS based transportation data is collected from different sources such as GPS, topography, photos, remote sensors, etc. The three important components are used for processing of information [Pons & Perez 2003], and any delay in its development results in complex matter.
Locational component: the position of the data within a geographic space
Thematic component: the type of geographic attributes to be found in a certain place
Temporal component: the thematic aspect of a location at a given time
With the incorporation of GPS (Global Positioning Systems), video logging, remote sensors, signal communication systems, and cellular telephones (GSM, VHF) into GIS, geo-localization techniques are undergoing a big revolution [Farrell & Barth 1999].
Geographical Information System (GIS) is applied to three major fields of transport [Pons & Perez 2003]:
1) transport planning :
Geographical Information System (GIS) is used in accessibility studies, multimodal transport analyses, integral transport planning, assessing the environmental impact of new infrastructure policies, pollution control, risk planning and management, construction of new roads
2) fleet and logistical management:
Geographical Information System (GIS) is used in route planning of car navigation
system, metrological hazard control, traffic control, passenger assistance system, vehicle fleet control, emergency management
3) management of infrastructure:
Geographical Information System (GIS) is used in road and motorway management, railway network management, airport management.
Geographical Information System (GIS) is used for modelling of road networks offering algorithms to analyze and find the shortest or minimum route through a network. GIS can be used to calculate distance between sets of origin and destination, whereas location-allocation functions determine site locations and assign demand to sites. Street addresses can be converted to map coordinates (address geocoding) [G.DereKeneris et al 2000]. These capabilities of Geographical Information System’s (GIS) to analyze spatial networks enable them to be used as Decision Support Systems for directing and routing of vehicles [M.D Crossland et al 1995 & Keenan, P., 1996, 1997]. Data regarding Spatial position of ambulances, the distribution of incidents occurring in the past and distribution concerning road traffic will be very useful for the routing of ambulances in future. Data concerned to events such as road works or political/public demonstration also affects road traffic will be available from the municipality or the police. Furthermore, data concerning hospitals, ambulances, and their personnel will be stored in DBMS and used by the GIS whenever it is necessary.
GIS is mostly employed today in operational research as a one way data feeder for mathematical models [Erkut E 2001] and successfully provides distance and time for their emergency services districting and location problems. The complexity of Arc routing problems can be solved using better integration of the mathematical formulation and resolution into the available GIS data model. The increase of GIS usage in transportation(GIS-T) has brought new paradigms in transportation planning such as the desegregation of the spatial locations but some challenges remain about the storage of the temporal data as the within applications[Goodchild MF 2000].
A graphical user interface allows displaying and manipulating graphical objects; data storage and processing allows an eased interaction with the mathematical optimizers. Different object-oriented modelling languages provide libraries of .dll files (tools) for efficient interaction of
different geographical data processing for the vehicle routing. However, the efficiency of a combined use of GIS, GPS, and a modelling language relies on the capacity to handle the huge amount of data related to the problem [Marzolf Fabien et al 2005].
Usually roads are monitored by patrol vehicles of police and Road Transportation Corporation (RTC). The aim of this road network monitoring is to detect various incidents occurring on it immediately so this activity could be planned very carefully. However, due to numerous incidents that call for the patrol to quit its planned route and move to the incidents location, most of the monitoring routes are not completed and the following ones have to be re-planned constantly [Marzolf Fabien et al 2005]. A bridge has been built between two distinct fields which allowed the use of operational data within robust and powerful mathematical algorithm to produce solutions and satisfies the operational constraints and the human requirements.
Various forecasting methods including historical profile approaches, neural networks, non- time-series models, traffic simulation models, parametric regression models and dynamic traffic assignment models are being developed by researchers of intelligent transportation system (ITS). One of the most critical elements of intelligent transportation system (ITS) is forecasting the travel time. In fact noble idea is extremely difficult to accomplish due to the complex nature of traffic networks [Keenan, P., 1998]. Detecting future travel time depends on features of the traffic networks including, speed, traffic flow, incident and queue.
2.3 ArcGIS
Organisation uses Geographical Information System (GIS) to obtain better information for better decision making. GIS presents the real-world objects on map and easy to use spatial tools for performing the most complicated task. In our real-world spatial objects are presented in different ways. In Geographical Information System, spatial objects are represented as point, line and polygon. ArcGIS is GIS software which belongs to ESRI software solutions. In ArcGIS desktop, there are three main applications of our interest ArcMap, ArcCatlog and ArcToolbox.
ArcMap: This application is used to explore, analyze both spatial and non-spatial data.
ArcCatlog: This application is used to manage spatial data
ArcToolbox: This application contains tools to perform GIS tasks.
2.3.1 ArcMap
ArcMap is the ArcGIS application used to perform the following task with geographical data. • To perform analysis
• Explore and edit
• Create maps, graphs and reports, etc
The ArcMap working model consists of the map display area, table of contents, number of toolbars and menus for working with map and its attribute data. ArcGIS extensions allows GIS
users to expand the functional capabilities of ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo with specialized GIS tools for raster geoprocessing, three-dimensional visualization, geostatistical analysis, etc.
Extension Use
ArcGIS 3D Analyst 3-dimensional visualization and analysis
ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst Statistical tools and models for data exploration, modelling and probabilistic mapping
ArcGIS Network Analyst Routing closest facility, and service area analysis
ArcGIS Schematics Automatic schematics generation for ArcGIS
ArcGIS spatial Analyst Advanced raster GIS analysis ArcGIS Survey Analyst Integrated survey management for
ArcGIS
ArcGIS Tracking Analyst Time-based data visualization and analysis
Table 2.5: ArcGIS extensions
2.3.2 Network Analyst
ArcGIS Network Analyst is a powerful extension for routing purpose and used for making network-based spatial analysis such as [Elizabeth Shafer 2005].
• Point-to-point routing • Drive-time Analysis • Route directions • Shortest path • Optimum route • Origin destination • Closest facility
• Service area definition
The main key features are routing (Multipoint routing, time windows supported on stops and travelling salesperson), service areas (Complex polygon generation, allocation across networks), closest facility (fixed and mobile asset routing, emergency response) and driving directions (expandable inset maps, Auto generation capability). Network Analyst will benefit the organisations like transport, public safety, local government, business and health care.
ArcGIS 9.1 contain some of the improved functionalities, which are note available in old versions [Elizabeth Shafer 2005].
• To create multipart turns and global turn impedances • To create dynamic barrier (where vehicle can’t pass) • To create Complex (multimodal) network.
• Time windows to show stop duration on stops within routes • To create u-turn restrictions and curb approaches for stops • To create large network
• Network data sets can be geodatabase, shape file or SDC (smart data compressed) • Provide OD (Origin-destination) matrix functionality
• To solve Custom problem (customer solver)
• More advanced attribute data model for network impedances • Capability of geoprocessing tools, scripting and models
• User specified directions setup wizards and their own customization
Network analysis for optimal path routing and finding the best route between two or more points is based on distance, effort, time, or another measure. Optimal path routing is often used for routing emergency response vehicles [Allan & Gifford 1997]. Network Analysis extension of GIS is used to build an immediate, rapid and efficient emergency medical transport system for Middle East Technical University (METU) Emergency Service, Ankara, Turkey. It is called as AML (Ambulance Management Logistic) [Gülden et al 2004]. This study shows that Emergency transport system with a GIS extension Network Analysis shortens the delivering time and reduces the harm to patient to the lowest level. To avoid terrorist attack at Ericsson Stadium, ArcView’s extension Network Analyst is used to examine, plan and response of emergency resources in the California city. Some of the results from ArcView’s extension Network Analyst are as fallows [Elizabeth Shafer 2005].
• Closest Facility function to locate the emergency hospital and fire station closest to the stadium
• Best Route function to model the best route from each trauma hospital to the stadium • Best Route function to model the best route from Charlotte Fire Station #13 located at
Figure 2.4 Functionalities of ArcGIS9.1 Network Analyst Extension [Elizabeth Shafer 2005]
2.4 Global Positioning System
Global Positioning System (GPS) is a developing technology used to locate an accurate position on earth using satellite signals. Today GPS is used in different industries as a decision making tool. The development of GPS technology was started with TRANSIT system, the first satellite-based system was called transit, which came into existence in 1964. TRANSIT system had no timing devices on the satellites and the time took by the receiver to calculate its position was about 15 minutes. In the early 70's, the United States military began a program that would later be known as the NAVSTAR (Navigation Satellite Timing and Ranging System) GPS program [Mintsis. G et al, 2004]. NAVSTAR was actually used in military positioning, navigation and weapons aiming system. The information regarding the speed (dx/dt, dy/dt, and dz/dt) of vehicle, ship etc. is also obtained all over the world at any time, and in any climatic conditions [Mintsis. G et al, 2004]. The life span of each GPS satellite is 7.5 years. GPS receiver can be hand carried or installed on airplane, ship, buses, submarines, car and trucks. Global positioning system (GPS) receivers detect, decode, and process satellite signals to know the real-time position. The typical hand-held receiver is about the size of a cellular telephone, and the newer models are even smaller weighed only 28 ounces [Jason Dykes] Global Positioning System (GPS) applications are nowadays widely used in different scientific fields such as topography, geodesy, hydrography, photogrammetry, transportation etc [Mintsis. G et al, 2004]. Transportation of people and goods from one place to another plays a vital role in every aspect of the country’s economy.
In India use of GPS/GIS technology in road and railway transportation can improve the efficiency of operations while at the same time it can make contribution to safety natural disasters and man-made disasters. GPS/GIS applications in the land transportation system are divided into four main categories that are as follows [Mintsis. G et al, 2004].
1. Vehicle fleet management
2. How GPS use in Data collection and mapping. 3. Incident management
4. Vehicle navigation systems
2.4.1 Fleet management
GPS is used to provide information such as
1. Locating the nearest ambulance to the accident area. 2. Locating the nearest Police jeep to the crime accord area.
3. How much time a bus or train take to reach the station and how far it is from the station
These kinds of systems are known as AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) systems [Mintsis. G et al, 2004]. The real time data collected from GPS was spatially analysed using GIS. The accurate position of each vehicle is known by using spatial information. There are some problems with GPS based AVL, such as in urban areas big buildings obstruct the satellite signals. The GPS receivers receive poor quality of signals. Adding additional sensors with GPS devices can solve this problem. The three taxi companies in Singapore implemented the GPS-based Automatic Vehicle Location and Dispatching Systems (AVLDS) [Liao Ziqi 2003]. Each taxi is installed with a GPS receiver, antennae and a transmitter. The AVLD identifies the nearest taxi to a customer and also determine its route and location with coordinates of longitude and latitude. All taxis which were near to a customer offered a job via mobile data communications. When one of the drivers accepts the job, he gives response by pressing a button on a display unit installed in his taxi. Strategic Analytics estimates that by the year 2007, up to 55% of new cars produced in the U.S., Europe, and Japan will have built-in telematics function [SAN JOSE, Calif 2002].
A GIS/GPS based Intelligent Transport System was developed by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for monitoring the movement of their vehicles at an affordable cost [Kharola1 S.P et al]. This system was designed to convert the latitude and the longitude given by the GPS device into the nearest location and then the system will generate a log-sheet giving the location of the bus on the road network at certain periodic intervals in the form of location on a map. A sample output is shown below
Figure 2.5: Global Positioning System for Vehicle tracking System [Padmanabhan .J, 2001]
Figure 2.6: Road map of GPS tracking [Kharola1 S.P et al]
2.4.2 Data collection and mapping
The data collection and mapping are the important tasks done using GPS technology. GPS technology is spatially used in mapping of transportation network to complete the work quickly and reduces the cost. Each and every GPS data file contains data such as time trample, speed, longitude, latitude and satellite navigational data at regular time intervals. In Greece, Faculty of Civil Engineering of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki carried out a project named pilot project
Satellite GPS
for mapping the road network with GPS [Tokmakidis & Tziavos 2000]. The mapping was carried out on National Highway road, which connects two cities Thessaloniki and Athens. The important method used in this road mapping is pseudo-kinematics. The result of this project shows that GPS/GIS are appropriate for both small scale and large scale road network mapping, and also cost effective. In June 1990, a special Differential GPS (DGPS) project was carried out [Byman & Koskelo 1991]. In this project a vehicle equipped with a GPS receiver and Dead Reckoning devices (DR) was used to collect numerical road location information and the attribute data while driving along the roads of Finland. The result of this project shows that the information obtained was 1-3 m of accuracy and at the vehicle speed of 60 km/hr. Faculty of Rural & Surveying Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for Hellenic Railway Organisation carried out a project [G. Mintsis et al 2000]. Aim of this project to develop a tool for mapping and monitoring the railway network
2.4.3 Incident management
In today’s busy life everyone wants to live in urban areas due to which population as well as traffic congestions increased also resulted in increased accidents. GPS technology can be used for incident management and for monitoring the road networks. GPS technology is used in incident management (monitoring of the emergency vehicles and minimisation of their journey time in urban areas) has been proposed in the framework of research in Greece [Lakakis .K, 2000]. GPS technology is very much useful in determining the accurate position of an accident on the road network. GPS/GIS technology has the ability to produce accurate thematic maps with “black spots” (spots where a statistically significant number of road incidents occurred during certain time period) [Mintsis. G et al, 2004]. Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) provides three major elements of incident management system: Traffic Inspection (incident detection and verification), Clearance and Motorist Information. The GPS/GIS technology is implemented in the case of dangerous good transportation (e.g., fuels, chemicals etc.) where the positioning of vehicle provides useful information to the user (e.g., company, organisation) for the safe routing and scheduling of the fleet [Tzinieris .G & Delikaraoglou .D, 1992].
The GPS will be used in Indian railways for incident management system; because of rail accidents many people were losing their lives. Indian railway is the one network that connects the billion people living in the broad country. Nearly 13 million people travel by train every day. India’s vast rail network is set to get hi-tech solutions to prevent the recurring major crashes that blight its reputation [Monica .C 2003]. The main purpose of this hi-tech solution is
• If any problem by way of derailment or any other danger on the tracks will be picked up by the GPS and a warning will be conveyed via this device to the driver inside the engine cabin.
• Driver will be kept alert by a vigilance control device that will make sure they do not fall asleep while operating a train.
• If the driver performs no action for 20 seconds at a stretch, then the device gives out an audio-visual signal for the driver to move controls.
• If the driver fails to do anything, then the brakes come on automatically within the next 30 seconds.
2.4.4 Vehicle navigation
Vehicle navigation system was used to guide the drivers on roads to reach their destination where as vehicle location systems (VLS) are used for managing a fleet of vehicle. The vehicles of a fleet are fitted with GPS, which usually transmit the positional data of the vehicle to a central station.
Public transportation have been improved by implementing a GPS-based vehicle location system, as in Paris (Ampelas & Daguerregaray, 1999) passengers are better informed about the intervals between buses and display information on Light Emitting Diode display and increasing the security of the service [Zarazaga-Soria et al,2000]. An over-the-head study of visual-manual destination entry using an originally equipment GPS-based navigation system was used in traffic on urban streets and motorways [Chiang .P, 2004]. In 1993, TravTek test [V. Inman et al 1996] was conducted in Orlando, Florida. The aim of this test is to provide in-vehicle navigation and dynamic route guidance system with real time traffic information
Figure 2.7: Basic modules (building blocks) for a location and navigation system [Yilin Zhao 1997]
A digital map database contains digitised map information with a predefined format, which can be processed by a computer for map-related functions such as identifying and giving locations, road classifications, traffic regulations, and travel information. A positioning module focuses on different sensor outputs or a mobile device to identify the road travelled and each intersection approached. A typical stand-alone technique is dead reckoning, and a typical radio-signal based technique uses a GPS receivers. Map matching is a method of matching the position measured (or) received by a positioning module to a position associated with a location (or route) on a map provided by the map database module. Route Planning is the process of helping vehicle driver to plan a route prior to (or) during their journey, based on a given map provided by the map database module, if available, along with real-time traffic information received via a wireless communications network. Route guidance is the process of guiding the driver along the route
Route Planning Route Guidance Wireless Communication
Positoning Map Matching Human Machine
interface
Digital Map Database
generated by the route planning module and it requires the help of an accurate positioning and map databases in order to determine current vehicle position and generate proper real-time guidance instructions, often turn by turn. A human-machine interface allows users to interact with the location and navigation computer and devices. A wireless communication module further improves the performance and increases the functionality of the system
2.4.5 Transport of hazardous Materials
Global Positioning System satellites are used to locate position of a vehicle accurately. After September 11 2001, terrorist attacks on America. The project named Hazardous Material Safety and Security Technology Operation Test carried out by the Department of Transportation’s, Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [Joseph P. DeLorenzo et al 2004]. In this project U.S. DOT was asked to find out the different areas in transportation that were susceptible of terrorist attack. In U.S.A ships transport daily 800,000 of hazardous materials, which may be explosive, toxic and other less flammable materials. The petroleum products are about 300,000 of the daily transported in U.S.A, which was transported by truck, ships etc. In this project GPS is used to locate load/cargo accurately and also provide a display unit, which is installed within a vehicle. Through this display unit drivers can have two-text communications system. The positions of a truck, ship etc are automatically transmitted to dispatcher center. The Chemical manufacturer BASF Corp. planned to start testing a GPS system with real-time computer interface on 200 of its tank cars [Marybeth Luczak 2004]. These tank cars carry poisons products. This GPS system provides security and fleet efficiency to tank car drivers. Lat-Lon Inc. and Star Track LLC offer tracking and tracing devices for tank cars, which in known as Lat-Lon’s RailRider. In this system GPS is combined with the chlorine detection sensor. The different information about tank cars is transmitted from GPS to appropriate authority. Then the GIS operator uses this information to locate address on a city digital map. If any emergency occurs the GIS operator tries to find out the schools, colleges nearest to that location for evacuating area. During this data transmission data is encrypted for security purpose.
2.4.6 Limitations of GPS
After May 2000 Selective Availability (SA) has been removed, this was the main cause for errors during positioning. There are some problems with GPS based AVL such as in urban areas, there are big building that abstract the satellite signals. The GPS device receives poor quality of signals. Adding additional sensors with GPS devices can solve this problem. A GPS receiver takes several minutes to start (cold start) to achieve the MS location fix. In emergency services, it is considered to be major delay for many applications. Also the question of size, cost and power consumption are main cause of limitation
2.5 Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)
In present commercial society cellular communication system has become a new trend for many different applications. GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is developed by European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI). GSM (Global System for mobile telecommunication) comprises the CEFT-defined standardization of the services,
functional/subsystem interfaces, and protocol architecture based on the use of worldwide standards produced by CCITT and CCIR for a pan European digital land mobile system primarily intended to serve users in motor vehicles [Rahnema Moe 1993]. GSM provides powerful messaging service that enhances and facilitate roaming through automatic network location detection and registration. Most popular technology for real-time communication in transport industry is ‘telegeomonitoring’. Telegeomonitoring system is a combination of geographical information system and telecommunication. Telegeomonitoring system is used for monitoring the transportation of hazardous materials [Boulmakoul Azedine 2005]. In the field of transportation, for environmental monitoring (e.g., population monitoring, Hazmat monitoring) main focus is on GIS. For environmental monitoring use of telecommunications and positioning system is highly important. Telegeomonitoring is also widely used in dynamic guidance and fleet management of vehicles as shown in below figure 2.8.
Figure 2.8: Hazmat telegeomonitoring [Boulmakoul Azedine 2005]
The integration of GIS, GPS, and GSM technologies are applied in different fields such as logistic management, intelligent transportation, defence security, electric power distribution and urban planning etc to provide location based information on digital map. A Web GIS-based GPS Vehicle Monitoring System [Qimin et al, 2003] with three-tier architecture has been developed to monitor real-time location information of certain moving vehicles on electrical map online. In this system GSM is used as a communication platform in GPS-based vehicle monitoring systems because of its high frequency, capability, reliability, wide coverage, open interface and so on. How Web-based GPS vehicle monitoring is developed based on GSM is shown in below figure 2.9.
Figure 2.9: GSM/GPS/GIS based System Architecture [Qimin et al, 2003]
Another example of GIS/GPS/GSM is Modular Mobile Dispatching System (MMDS), which consist of a GIS database, a GPS receiver, a GSM as communication module and other I/O devices for dispatching of vehicles. A vehicle driver in emergency uses MMDS [Hsiung et al 2003] and get help within 4 minutes from the time a call made from the vehicles to the call center through GSM communication, then the call centre operator plot the driver’s location on a map using GIS, locating and dispatching the ambulance towards the location by informing the target help through GSM, and route navigation is provided using GIS database. This example is shown in below figure 2.10.
Figure 2.10: Modular Mobile Dispatching System (MMDS) [Hsiung et al 2003]
An AMBULANCE project (R & D project) was developed in corporation with European Commission within the framework of the Health telematics program [Pavlopoulos et al 1998].
This system uses the GSM to have over 95% of the coverage. This system consists of two modules such as.
• The mobile unit(ambulance site) • The consultation unit(hospital site)
The working of mobile and consultation unit are shown in figure 2.11.
Chapter 3
Methodology
3.1 Ambulance Management System prototype using GIS/GPS/GSM
The proposed Ambulance Management System (AMS) follows a step by step process. If an accident occurs on the road network, information will be sent to nearest traffic control room which is then forwarded to nearest emergency hospital, fire station and police station [Kowtanapanich et al 2003] from telephone booth or mobile phone.
Figure 3.1: Information flow after accident occurred on road network
When a call comes from accident site to traffic control room, the controller informs this information to nearest emergency hospital, police station and fire station (if any fire occurs on the spot). Emergency hospitals will use Ambulance management system (AMS) to find the accident site on the road network (nearest road segment and landmark) and find nearest ambulance to accident site and allocate that ambulance to accident site. AMS tools are used to find the fastest path from nearest ambulance location to accident site; from accident site to nearest hospital; route map and directions are sent to ambulance driver. Also some other information is also provided to ambulance driver such as.
• Fastest path from nearest ambulance location to accident site & from accident site to nearest Hospital
• If accident occurs during peak hours different alternative fastest paths are provided other than the normal fastest paths on major roads but this time ambulance driver should follow
fastest path on both major & minor roads to avoid congestion and time delay to save the life.
• If once ambulance is struck in congestion it takes more time to reach the accident area The main aim is to help the ambulance in reaching the accident area as fast as possible without getting delay due to the congestion on road network.
3.1.1 Data Collection
Ambulance management system (AMS) data is collected from three sources of map data, real-time data and police/transport authorities
Map data: Map data is collected from GIS professionals of Hyderabad city. Map data consist of major roads, minor roads, hospitals, fire stations, landmarks and police stations.
Spatial data: In AMS real-time location of an ambulance can be tracked using GPS/GSM (Global Positioning System).
Police/Transport Authority reports: When an incident occurs on road network information about incident is recorded by police authority in the form of reports. Transport authority’s record the information about the major/minor road networks
3.1.2 GIS database
GIS database is developed combing these three map, spatial and police/ transport data.
Theme Fields Description
Road network Name One-way Speed limits Length Drive time Category
Name of the road
Contain information of one-way road Speed limits on that road segment Length of the road
Drive time calculated based on speed limit and length
Category key number Hospitals Name
Label Category
Name of the hospital Label of the hospital
Category key number for private and govt hospitals
Minor road Name One-way Speed limits Length Drive time Category
Name of the road
Contain information of one-way road Speed limits on that road segment Length of the road
Drive time calculated based on speed limit and length
Category key number Ambulance ID
Employees
Identity number
Responsible employees for telemedicine , including driver(locating using GPS)
Theme Fields Description Accident Amb_ID Nearest_La A_cause Date Time Hospital_T Identity number Nearest landmark Accident cause Accident date Accident time
Hospital where patient is moved Police Station ID
Name Label
Identity number
Name of the police station Label of the police station Fire station ID
Name Label
Identity number
Name of the police station Label of the police station
Table 3.2: AMS database
Map Data:
• Major roads are connected together to form road network of Hyderabad city. This road network is used by vehicles for transport where the traffic flow is steady and cause for traffic congestion. These major roads are represented as chain of lines in Ambulance Management System (AMS) user interface.
• Minor road networks are small streets in-between buildings. These are used for walking, cycling and even ambulance can use if there is a congestion on major roads. Minor road is represented as line feature in Ambulance Management System (AMS) user interface. • Emergency hospitals in the city are responsible for allocating ambulances to accident area
and take it back for providing medical care. Emergency Hospital is represented as point feature in Ambulance management system (AMS) user interface.
• Police & fire stations in the city are responsible for recording incidents on the road networks and providing the safety to public. Police & fire station is represented as point feature in Ambulance Management System (AMS) user interface.
Spatial Data:
In AMS real-time location of an ambulance will be tracked using GPS (Global Positioning System).GPS technology is spatially used in mapping of transportation network to complete the work quickly and reduces the cost. A GPS device will be installed on each and every ambulance, and signals of this GPS will be sent to control room (Emergency hospital). The data collected from GPS will be stored in database as x, y co-ordinates of the ambulance location on the earth surface. The location of the ambulance is represented as point (x, y co-ordinates) feature on the road map.
Police/ Transport Authority reports:
When an incident occurs on road network, following information about incident will be recorded by police authority such as.
• Patient details. • Incident type.
• Location information.
• Hospital to which patient has been transported.
Using these records we can find out where and on which road network accidents occur frequently and cause of the accident. Transport authorities record the information about the major/minor road networks such as,
• Demographic data • Road network • Speed limits
• Length of road segments • Junctions
3.1.2.1 Database Design and Analysis
Below figure shows how data is stored in a database and accessed by the emergency service providers. Database regarding the roads, incidents and facilities are available at police stations, hospitals and fire stations. In our AMS user interface database is collected from these emergency service providers (police, fire and hospitals) and from the real-time (GPS/GSM) movement of ambulances on the road network. When there is a call for service (ambulance) GIS operator at dispatch centre uses AMS user interface to inform the ambulance regarding the work it has to perform. This same prototype can be used by the police and fire authorities to perform the following functionalities.
• Find fastest route from nearest police vehicle to crime area and finding the crime occurred area on the city digital map and also back to nearest police station
• Find the fire spot on digital map and allocating the fire vehicles on fastest route to reach the fire spot.
Figure 3.3: Database use in AMS
Call for service 108 Operator Dispatch Center
AMS
GPS/GSM ArcGIS system with
Street Network Network Analyst Database Fire Station Database E-Hospital Police Station Database Database
3.1.3 Analysis (GIS/GPS/GSM)
The effective management of ambulance in order to achieve immediate transportation of patients from incident site to the nearest & appropriate emergency hospital plays a vital role in health services offered to citizens. An effective routing and districting of ambulances will minimize their response time and thus improve the way emergency incidents are being handled [Derekenaris .G 2000]. AMS architecture is an integration of ArcGIS9.1, GPS and GSM technologies. In Each ambulance a GPS receiver is installed to determine its real-time position (x, y co-ordinates) based on the signal transmitted by satellite and information will be forwarded to emergency hospital via GSM modem, this can be achieved by GSM network. Through GSM network useful data such as route map, directs and voice messages can be transmitted. Each ambulance is also equipped with a computer or a mobile data terminal (PDA) to display the route computed by the AMS (Ambulance Management System) operating in the emergency hospital.
Figure 3.5: GIS/GPS/GSM technology
Emergency hospital (base station) will exchange data with the ambulance through the GSM network [Derekenaris .G 2000]. In the emergency hospital (base station) there will be a computer dedicated to communicate with the ambulance and other one for the operation of the AMS user interface.
The primary functions performed by the GIS (AMS) operating in emergency hospital are as follows [Derekenaris .G 2000].
• Finding the site of the incident & ambulance location • Depiction of accident & ambulance on city road map
• Routing an ambulance to the incident site and from there to the closest emergency hospital.
• If accident occurs during peak hours ambulance will be directed to fallow the minor & major road fastest path other than regular fastest path on major roads
One of the most important responsibilities of public safety is efficient and effective emergency transport and care system. Middle East Technical University (METU) Emergency services, Ankara Turkey build an immediate, rapid and efficient medical transport system prototype called AML [Gülden et al 2004]. Emergency Hospitals are important as police and fire stations. Emergency hospitals provide immediate care for victims of sudden and serious injuries. When an incident occur patient transportation to Emergency hospital seems quite simple. Ambulance Management System (AMS) preferably combines technology, strategic planning and clinical proficiency to ensure an immediate efficient response to each and every call for help [Altıntaş & Nakil 1997]. In AMS time plays most important role to save human lives.
In AMS for routing, ambulance location is the starting point and nearest hospital is the final destination respectively. The accident site address, ambulance location, major & minor roads and hospital location information is co-ordinated to obtain results using the AMS.
.
3.1.4 AMS information for decision making
AMS performs chain of events which leads to the intervention of an ambulance to the scene of an accident. The following four steps are performed by AMS.
(1) Incident location finding (2) Call screening
(3) Ambulance dispatching
(4) During peak hours, routing of Ambulance
Emergency Number
When you witness an accident at Charminar road and victim is bleeding first you want to help him and save his life. The first question arises ‘what do you do?’ first you want to call the emergency number. Although there are various numbers for different emergency services, but the number 108 is a centralised one. Let the emergency may be of any kind police, fire and medical just dial 108. In Hyderabad city emergency service providing company EMRI developed sense-reach-care paradigm for emergency management [Changavalli Venkat, 2005] on August 15, 2005. The call centre of 108 at Byrraju foundation on Medchal road receives on an average 2,200 calls per day from twin cities.
3.1.4.1 Incident location finding
Most important details about the accident should be confirmed i.e., location and type of crash. Location is noted relative to street intersections in urban areas and crash refers to head-on, angle, sideswipe, rear end or other common collisions [Chuck Reider 2006]. One who witnessed the accidents tells the suitable landmarks to identify the accident location such as identifiable buildings road turns, road junctions, street name, colony name, etc. These landmarks are used to identify the accident spot along each road.
3.1.4.2 Call screening
When informer informs accident site information, Ambulance Management System (AMS) operator will make the address query to find the accident location on the city map. In case if operator didn’t find accident site on city map than AMS operator will call back the informer for confirming accident site location. If the AMS operator finds the incident site, then he will locate the ambulance location on the city map using the GPS/GSM.
Figure 3.7: If accident site didn’t find than
Some examples of call screening methods such as HNIT Limited., one of the leading GIS consulting in Iceland, joined hands for the development of an emergency response computing system, which includes computer telephony, RDMS, GIS and different protocols for SMS and pagers. When anyone needs emergency service just need to dial 112 in Iceland, then the telephone operators dispatch service from more than 200 different response agencies (fire, police, and ambulance) across country (GIS for Telecommunication Professionals in Europe 2000). Each agency also has its emergency number for service. GIS system is used to find the places like municipalities, streets, postal codes to provide quick service for that area. A telephone switch electronically identifies the caller’s automatic identification number and that number is matched in the Oracle database. The database provides the operator with the caller’s address and postal code information is then georeferenced to locate the incident and to determine the appropriate agency to respond. In moments the operator has all the necessary information to dispatch a police, fire, medical, or ambulance unit [GIS for Telecommunication Professionals in Europe 2000]. In Europe emergency service is also available where the nearest emergency service provider is notified by dialling three digits 112 (911 in USA)
3.1.4.3 Ambulance dispatching
Ambulance Management System (AMS) integrates common database operations such as query and statistical analysis with the unique visualization and geographic analysis benefits offered by maps [Franklin .C, & 1992, Keenan P. 1998]. AMS has capability to analyze spatial networks; it is a decision making tool for districting and routing of vehicles. Ambulance management system (AMS) prototype is the motivated from [Derekenaris .G 2000, Tsai et al. 2002].The AMS prototype architecture is an integration of GIS, GPS and GSM technologies but the way it deals with the ambulance routing problem is completely different. In AMS more routing solution network analysis tools are used to solve the targeted problem. In each ambulance a GPS receiver is installed to determine its exact position based on the signal transmitted by satellite and a GSM modem in order to transmit its position to a base station, this can be achieved by GSM network. The primary functions performed by the AMS [Derekenaris .G 2000].
When call is received
Does accident site visible using GIS? Finding the ambulance Call back to informer
