INTERNATIONAL MARITIME

BOUNDARY LINE (IMBL)

IDENTIFICATION DEVICE AND
ALERT SYSTEM FOR
FISHERMAN USING GPS
INTERFACING ARDUINO BOARD
Project Proposal
Marie Malishini Punchihewa
BSc (Hons) Computer Systems & Networking

2014/Feb

3/6/2014
0

Overview
This Project is proposed to design a system which used for notifies and helps the Sri Lankan
fishermen not to navigate beyond countrys border by using GPS (Global Positioning System).
The proposed system is used to detect the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) through the
specified longitude and latitude of the position. The particular layer level i.e. border can be predefined
And this can be stored at microcontroller memory. When the current values compare with predefined
values, if these values are same immediately the particular operation will be done. The system
includes microcontroller the current positions are compared with already stored latitude and longitude
of countrys boundary locations, if it get matched the microcontroller give instruction to the alarm to
buzzer when the boat is 500 meters away from the IMBL further if they ignore it and cross the line the
alarm will buzzer continuously.
It also uses a message transmitter to send message to the base station which monitors the boats in the
sea. The system provides an indication to both fisherman and to coastal guard. Thus the system saves
the lives of the fisherman and alert base station to provide help. On the whole, it is an attempt to build
a suitable device for the fishermen at a reasonably low cost.

Aim
The overall aim of this project is to develop an intelligent device that will safeguard the lives
of fishermen and compel them to abide by international maritime law and preserve
relationship between neighbouring countries.

Objectives
To offer the fishermen a safe navigation by giving precise coordinates where they are.
To set an alarm 500 meters before IMBL
Depending on the time left there are two more objectives to be achieved. But it should be
noted that these objectives will be achieved if considerable time is left after accomplishment
of the above main objectives.
To send a message to the base station using GSM or any other technology, if boats
crosses the boundary line.

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Table of Contents
CONTENTS

PAGE

1. Introduction........................................................................................................................................................5
2. GPS (The Global Positioning System) .................................................................................................6
3. GSM(Global System for Mobile communication) ........................................................................7
4. The India - Sri Lanka maritime boundary ......................................................................................9
4.1. Poaching of Fishermen ......................................................................................................................10
5. Literature review ............................................................................................................................................11
6. Proposed system .............................................................................................................................................13
6.1. Proposed system architecture ......................................................................................................13
6.2. Proposed system flow diagram....................................................................................................14
7. Resources.............................................................................................................................................................15
7.1. Hardware ...................................................................................................................................................15
7.1.1. MG1613 GPS Module Demo board...15
7.1.2. GSM module........................................................................................................................................15
7.1.3. Arduino Kit......15
7.1.4. LCD Display...........................15
7.1.5. LM7805.........15
7.1.6. Electronic Bell..............16
7.2. Software ......................................................................................................................................................16
7.2.1. MPLAB IDE.....16
7.2.2. NMEA Reference Guide.......16
7.2.3. Proteus 7.0......16
7.2.4. Algorithm.16
7.3. Test rig..........................................................................................................................................................17
8. Cost Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................17
9. Beneficiaries .......................................................................................................................................................17
10. Legal, Social, Ethical and Professional Issues .........................................................................................18
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11. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................................................19

12. Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................................19
12.1.General References.19
12.2.Specific References.....19
12.3.Internet References....20

List of Figures
PAGE
Figure 1.1 GPS constellation.............................................................................................................................6
Figure 1.2 Location Determination ...............................................................................................................6
Figure 2.1 GSM network architecture ..........................................................................................................8
Figure 2.1.1 GSM network architecture ......................................................................................................8
Figure 3.1- Maritime Boundary of Sri Lanka.................................................................................................10
Figure 3.2 Palk Strait ...........................................................................................................................................10
Figure 4.1- Proposed system architecture.....................................................................................................13
Figure 4.2 Proposed system flow diagram.................................................................................................14

List of Tables
PAGE
Table 9.1- Estimated Cost for the proposed project ..................................................................................17

Appendices
Appendix 1: Work Plan Flow
Appendix 2: Project Plan Gantt chart

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1. Introduction
25 Sri Lankan fishermen have been arrested by the Indian Coast Guard at Karaikal in Puducherry,
on charges of trespass and illegal fishing in Indian waters. They have been handed over to the
Coastal Security Group of the Tamil Nadu police.
South | Press Trust of India | Tuesday February 4, 2014
The above excerpts from a newspaper published in India on February 4, 2014.
According to 2500 years well-worn ancient history of Sri Lanka, India comprehended
dominant role as a regional vigorous neighbour. As a result of it there was originate tenable
adherence among both respective states in political, economic, social and cultural sphere. In
Sri Lankan foreign policy India gets incomparable importance in present as well as in past.
The emotional and burning rigid question which has been sprung up at present is trespassing
of maritime boundary line among Sri Lanka and India. As a result of maritime infringe and
trespassing fishermen in both countries were arrested by costal guards and naval officers in
two countries. Fishing with small traditional vessels and crafts was a customary practiced
tradition and important economic activity for the costal population on both sides of the Palk
Strait which effected for arresting. According to the current clamorous situation among two
states the traditional livelihood, political affinity, security coalition and goodwill became
scandal
Today each and every Sri Lankan Fisherman face the problem of getting threatened by
foreign navy and sea pirates due to lack in knowledge of IMBL due to this they face the
problem of being arrested by the foreign coastal authority. Thus the fisherman families suffer
and struggle a lot of their safety in foreign country.
To avoid this situation this project takes in hand with GPS for positioning information and
GSM for giving emergency alert information in hazardous situation. Further this project
helps to rectify such problems in a simple way. The cost effectiveness of the proposed design
is mainly considered as it is being used by the fishermen in Sri Lanka and most of them are
from low income families.
The main objective of this project is to help the Sri Lankan fisherman crossing the countrys
border, if they cross the border or goes beyond the border an alarm is generated on the boat
indicating that the fisherman has crossed the border. And they can be alert and come back.
This project adds on the versatility and the usefulness of a GPS device in the sea.
Additionally, a message transmitter is interfaced with the device also send a message to base
station located on the shore indicating that a vessel has crossed the border. Thus guards in the
shore can assist or provide additional help to those fishermen if needed. From Sri Lanka
about 100,000 boats of different kinds conduct fishing along the India-Sri Lanka maritime
border. This leads to loss in the both humans as well as their economic incomes.
The GPS modem will continuously give the signals i.e. the latitude and longitude indicating
the position of the fishers. The GPS modem gives many parameters in the output, but only
NMEA data can be read and displayed on to the LCD. The same data is sent to the mobile at
the other end from where the position of the boat and fishers is demanded. An EEPROM is
used to store the data received by GPS receiver the hardware interfaces to microcontroller are
LCD display, GSM modem and GPS Receiver.

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2. GPS (The Global Positioning System)

The Global Positioning System (GPS) [Figure1.1 and Figure1.2] belongs to the U.S.
Department of Defence and is comprised of 24+ operational satellites. These satellites orbit
Earth at a distance of 11,000 miles and make two full orbits every 24 hours. GPS units on the
ground are capable of tracking 12 of these at any one time, depending on location and the
amount of visible sky. Due to orbit paths, more signals will be picked up closer to the equator
than the poles, particularly below 55 degrees latitude (see Figure1.1). This creates problems
for those at higher latitudes who are trying to pick-up signals from three or more satellites.
Mountain slopes also cause problems, since the sky towards the equator is out of line of sight.

Figure1.1- GPS constellation

Figure1.2- GPS determination of location

There are five steps in acquiring a GPS reading:

1. A triangulation of satellites is found (satellite ranging)
2. The GPS finds the triangulation by measuring the time it takes to receive a radio message
from
a satellite
3. In order to accomplish this, the GPS needs very accurate clocks
4. After the distance is found, the GPS needs to know where in space the satellite is located
5. There is a delay in the GPS signal due to interference in the ionosphere and Earths
atmosphere as it travels through
In order to get an accurate reading of the position, it is necessary to obtain signals from at
least three satellites. With one satellite, it is able to measure the distance and the general
location, somewhere within a radius of X miles of the satellite. With two satellites, it is
possible to narrow down the location to X miles from satellite 1 and Y miles from Satellite 2.
Even with three satellites, it could still be in one of two possible locations (see Figure1.2).
However, it is likely that only one of these is located on Earth. Due to this triangulation, it
can determine a specific distance from all three satellites whose radii meet at two points.
Therefore, a fourth satellite is convenient for ultimate accuracy. When measuring the
distance from a satellite, a simple equation is used:
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Distance = Speed of light (186,000 miles/second) * Time

Since the speed is so fast, up to 6/100s of a second if a satellite is directly overhead, clocks
capable of measuring up to nanosecond accuracy (0.000000001) are required. The only trick
is to know exactly when the signal left the satellite. This is done by synchronizing the GPS
receivers and the satellites so that they produce the same code at the same time. Then, the
GPS simply calculates how long the delay was in the received satellite signal by comparing it
with its own signal. With time measurements being so precise, what happens if the GPS
receiver and the satellite are out of sync? It could mean being off by several thousand miles.
In order to prevent this, satellites carry atomic clocks on board which are extremely accurate.
GPS has a variety of applications on land, at sea and in the air. Basically, GPS allows from
places on the earth and help you navigate to and from those spots. GPS can be impossible to
receive the signal such as inside buildings; in caves, parking garages, and underwater. The
most common airborne applications include navigation by general aviation sea; GPS is
typically used for navigation by recreational boaters and fishing enthusiasts. The scientific
community uses GPS for its precision timing capability and a myriad use GPS for an
increasing portion of their work. GPS offers an incredible cost savings by the survey site. It
also provides amazing accuracy. Basic survey units can offer accuracies and expensive
systems can provide accuracies.

3. GSM(Global System for Mobile communication)

The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a second generation (2G) standard
for mobile networks. In the early 1980s, a group was formed by the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to develop a digital mobile communication
system. Aptly named Groupe Speciale Mobile (GSM), its main task was to develop a single,
consistent network for all of Europe and come up with a better and more efficient technical
solution for wireless communication.
The GSM standard operates on three different carrier frequencies: the 900 MHz band, which
was used by the original GSM system; the 1800 MHz band, which was added to support the
swelling number of subscribers and the 1900 MHz frequency, which is used mainly in the
United States. Although GSM is based on the time division multiple access (TDMA) system,
its technology uses digital signalling and speech channels and is considered a second
generation (2G) mobile phone system.
The GSM standard has given birth to wireless services like General Packet Radio Service
(GPRS) and Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE). Its end users were the first to
take advantage of an inexpensive implementation of SMS (short message system), which is
more popularly known as texting. Being a cellular network, GSM makes use of cells to
provide wireless communication to subscribers who are in the vicinity of these cells. The four
main cells that make up a GSM network are called macro, micro, Pico and femto. Outdoor
coverage is typically provided by macro and micro cells, while indoor coverage is usually
provided by the Pico and femto cells.
GSM phones may be identified by the presence of a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). This
tiny object, which is about as wide as a finger, is a removable smart card that contains a
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users subscription information, as well as some contact entries. This SIM card allows a user
to switch from one GSM phone to another. In some countries, especially those in Asia, GSM
phones are locked to a specific carrier. However, if a user manages to unlock a phone, he can
insert any SIM from any carrier into the same phone.
One of the main advantages of the GSM standard is the ability to roam and switch carriers by
using individual mobile units (if partner networks are located in their destination).
A GSM network is composed of several functional entities, whose functions and interfaces
are specified. The Figures below shows the layout of a generic GSM network. The GSM
network can be divided into three broad parts. The Mobile Station is carried by the
subscriber. The Base Station Subsystem controls the radio link with the Mobile Station. The
Network Subsystem, the main part of which is the Mobile services switching centre (MSC),
performs the switching of calls between the mobile users, and between mobile and fixed
network users. The MSC also handles the mobility management operations. Not shown is the
Operations and Maintenance centre, which oversees the proper operation and setup of the
network. The Mobile Station and the Base Station Subsystem communicate across the Um
interface, also known as the air interface or radio link. The Base Station Subsystem
communicates with the Mobile services Switching Centre across the A interface.

Figure2.1- GSM Network architecture

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Figure 2.1- GSM Network architecture

4. The India - Sri Lanka maritime boundary

Palk Strait is named after Robert Palk, governor of Madras presidency from 1755 to 1763.
Narrower than the English Channel, it separates the Northern coast of Sri Lanka from the
Southeast coast of India. The maritime boundary between Sri Lanka and India is divided at
three different sea areas; Bay of Bengal in the North, the Palk Straits in the Middle, and the
Gulf of Mannar in the South. The average distance between Sri Lanka and India through the
Palk Straits is about 32 KMs. Both countries have signed bilateral agreements on the
maritime boundary as per the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Sri Lanka has exercised maritime jurisdiction over its ports and the adjoining sea, with
regard to the access of ships to ports, long before the concept of territorial waters began to be
operational in the International law arena. In 1702, during the Dutch colonial times,Sri Lanka
maintained a three mile Territorial Sea which is within reach of cannon shot.The issues on
the boundary between the two countries were in rhetoric for some time.On 04th September
1918 authorities of Madras proposed to the Government of India (then ruled by the British)
that the existing three mile limit of Indian territorial waters should be extended to twelve
miles for safeguarding their fisheries. The Madrasauthorities also suggested that the Gulf of
Mannar and the Palk Strait should be declared mare clausum (Open Waters) and that the
waters should be delimited between India and Sri Lanka
However the Government of India in its report to London did not support this proposal. The
British authorities who ruled India at that time considered the respective waters as an integral
part of His Majestys domain in any case. In September 1920 the under- secretary of State,
was informed by the Foreign Office that the proposeddelimitation of the area was acceptable
to Whitehall but not the proposal to declare mere calusum.
1970s was a significant landmark period since Sri Lanka resolved her maritime boundary
disputes with India during this time. The
Government of Prime Minister Sirimavo
Bandaranaike pointed out the need of delimiting the waters of the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk
Bay, and Palk Strait to the Government of Mrs. Indira Gandhi of India.Both countries agreed
to the proposition that in order to regulate the activities between the two countries there
should be a formal demarcation of the maritime boundary that is acceptable to each other.
On the other hand the over exploitation of resources in the PalkStrait was also a concern
highlighted by both governments. After a few round of talks thetwo governments agreed to
recognize the territorial waters as defined by the maritime legislation enacted by Sri Lanka
and India in 1974 and 1976. On 15th January 1977 the Sri Lankan government formally
declared Sri Lankas side of maritime boundary. Katchchativu Island was left to Sri Lankan
ownership as a result of this agreement.

Maritime boundary Issues

Kachchativu Island
Cross Border Terrorism
Poaching of Fishermen contd.

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Figure 3.1 Maritime Boundary of Sri Lanka

Figure 3.2 Palk Strait

4.1 Poaching of Fishermen

Fishing is at the heart of the economic and cultural life of this region, indeed of much of
coastal Sri Lanka. Fishing produces less than the country's needs and yields a meagre income
to fishermen, most of whom use primitive boats and gear in the shallow waters surrounding
the island. In 2008, the total fish catch was estimated at 319,120 tons, up from 300,316 tons
in 2000. Exports of fish products were valued at nearly US$173 million in 2007. Its certainly
not a life for everyone. Long hours, hard work and bad weather are enough to keep most
people on land. But for fishermen the breath-taking beauty of the open ocean, the great
excitement of a good catch of fish and the personal satisfaction of a hard days work gives
more strength to involve in the industry. While many fishermen admit that fishing can exact a
physical and emotional toll, it is a small price to pay for a way of life keeps them coming
back season after season to earn a living from the sea. Sri Lankan ethnic conflict had
substantially contributed to the existing fishing dispute between India and Sri Lanka which
had forced the Sri Lankan Navy to safeguard the boundary of Sri Lankan waters in the PalkStraits. . However Sri Lanka managed to overcome the LTTE problem, but the poaching of
fishermen continues.
In any analysis of the problem of fisherman in the region, it must be pointed out that
fishermen throughout the world are no respecters of manmade boundaries. They view the
boundaries as a post-independence phenomenon. Tamil Nadu is one of Indias leading
maritime fish producers. The marine fisheries potential of the state is 719,000 tonnes. Over
700000 people in Sri Lanka depend on fisheries as their livelihood. There are close ties
between fishermen and the sea where we could identify the similarities in economy and
culture of the peoples of northern coastal regions of Sri Lanka and peoples in Tamil Nadu.
Therefore solving the issue of poaching by fishermen in both countries is a vital issue in
maintaining good Indo Lanka Relations.

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5. Literature review
At the present time there are few existing systems which help to identify the current position
of the boats/ships using GPS System. And view them on an electronic map. For the purpose
of identification the fisherman .The systems are radar and computer based GPS which were
run over coastal guards based which needs regular monitoring and has chance of manual
errors which leads to dangerous situation.
In some system this manual monitoring are been supervised by computer programmed
application run in PC which is not compact and less power consumable device and also not
able to understand by common man which means not user friendly. In some system uses GPS
when vessel cross the border it cuts off the fuel. The limitations of existing system are not
being user friendly, cannot be understand by common man, more expensive, not reliable,
dangerous in some case and not effective.
The latest development in this area is that the Indian authorities have now embarked on
devising a similar method to alarm the Indian fishermen approaching the IMBL to avoid this
unpleasant situation. An expert committee consisting of vice admiral B. Rao and Chief
Hydrography to the government of India is exploring at least three ways to send out signals to
fishermen on high seas alerting imminent crossing of the International Maritime Boundary.
We are looking at drawing an electronic physical line across the seas in the zone and every
time a fishing boat crosses the line an alert could be delivered on the mobile phone.
Another system is GPS72H by the GARMIN which is mostly used by the fishermen is
battery based power supply it stands for 18 hours but the fishermen may be unfortunately
missing their backup batteries will lead to danger . Also another problem is this GPS72H also
to be manually watched to identify whether they crossed the boundary. There is no indication
for the fishermen whether they are traced by the foreign navy.
According to the project of Mr.Naveen from St. Joseph College of engineering Chennai .A
equipment which can stops the fuel connection to the engine of the fishermen vessel when
they tend to cross the boundary. They will give a chance to restart the engine with reverse
motion if not they fuel supply is permanently disconnected. This system leads to make the
vessels to trap on nearer to boundaries and which may turn too caught by the foreign navy.
Also this system can be applicable only to the inboard engine and not for the outboard engine
based vessels.
Hassan Mahmood (2010) and two other members have made a car tracking and locking
system as their final year project. It is controlled by computer, where ever the car goes its
coordinates are taken from the GPS module and then sent to the computer where software
(which they have programmed) divides the coordinates into x-y and then plots it on Google
Maps.
SEYED MOWLA (date not specified) has designed a Bus Scheduling System using GPS the
intended project is focusing on tracking the buses in real time using Global Positioning
System (GPS) and provides time tabled information at the bus stops. The system was
implemented using java and j2me on tapestry web framework. Algorithm is used to convert
the co-ordinates into distance in kilo meters. Mobile emulator is used to display the schedule
information.
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Jennifer Dill, Ph.D. (2007) in her paper aims to provide insight on whether bicycling for
everyday travel can help US adults meet the recommended levels of physical activity and
what role public infrastructure may play in encouraging this activity. The study collected data
on bicycling behaviour from 166 regular cyclists in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area
using global positioning system (GPS) devices.
Development of a curved ray tracing method for modelling of phase paths from GPS radio
occultation: JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, 2010
A twodimensional study a twodimensional curved ray tracer (CRT) is developed to study
the propagation path of radio signals across a heterogeneous planetary atmosphere. The
method, designed to achieve improvements in both computational efficiency and accuracy
over conventional straightline methods, takes rays firstorder bending into account to better
describe curved ray paths in the stratified atmosphere. CRT is then used to simulate the phase
path from GPS radio occultation (RO). The merit of the ray tracing approach in GPS RO is
explicit consideration of horizontal variation in the atmosphere, which may lead to a sizable
error but is disregarded in traditional retrieval schemes. In addition, direct modelling of the
phase path takes advantage of simple error characteristics in the measurement. With
provision of ionospheric and neutral atmospheric refractive indices, in this effort, rays are
traced along the full range of GPSlow Earth orbiting (LEO) radio links just as the
measurements are made in real life. Here, ray shooting is employed to realize the observed
radio links with controlled accuracy. CRT largely reproduces the very measured
characteristics of GPS signals. When compared, the measured and simulated phases show
remarkable agreement. The cross validation between CRT and
GPS RO has confirmed not only the strength of CRT but also the high accuracy of GPS RO
measurements. The primary motivation for this study is enabling effective quality control for
GPS RO data, overcoming a complicated error structure in the highlevel data. CRT has also
shown a great deal of potential for improved utilization of GPS RO data for geophysical
research.
Location Based Mobile Dating Service - Steven Connolly (National university of Ireland)
A successful positioning result received from the MPS is presented in form of a shape and
reference point of the shape
All shapes can theoretical be combined with an altitude from the surface of the earth. In
reality the arc and the polygon shapes will never be combined with an altitude since these
shapes normally are originated from a standard GSM mobile station (MS). The MS will be
located somewhere in the area of the shape. The shape that will be received depends on the
capacity of the MS and the mobile network. A standard GSM MS will, in a GSM network,
usually return the shape of an arc. A shape combined with an altitude can only be received
from an Assisted Global Positioning System (AGPS) capable MS. The absolute Point and the
ellipsoid shape are also possible results from an A-GPS capable MS. Since the area of a
UMTS cell differs from the area of a GSM cell it impacts the MPP and the MLP as well as
the MPS Emulator. The MPS Emulator can be configured to be in either GSM or UMTS
mode.
Literature relating to this project is sketchy since the concept is relatively new.

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6. Proposed system
The proposed system uses a GPS receiver which receives signals from the satellite and gives
the current position of the boat the proposed system is used to detect the border of the country
through the specified longitude and latitude of the position, not only between Sri Lanka and
India but all over the world. The particular layer level i.e. border can be predefined
And this can be stored at microcontroller memory. When the current values compare with
predefined values, if these values are same immediately the particular operation will be done.
The system includes microcontroller the current positions are compared with already stored
latitude and longitude of countrys boundary locations, if it get matched the microcontroller
give instruction to the alarm to buzzer when the boat or vessel is 500 meters away from the
IMBL further if they ignore it and cross the line then the alarm will buzzer continuously. It
also uses a message transmitter to send message to the base station which monitors the boats
in the sea. The system provides an indication to both fisherman and to coastal guard. Thus the
system saves the lives of the fisherman and alert base station to provide help.

6.1 Proposed system architecture

ALARM

GPS RECEIVER

ARDUINO KIT

LCD DISPLAY

GSM MODULE

Figure 4.1 PROPOSED SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

GPS receiver is connected to microcontroller through UART. The data is sent to UART and
then to microcontroller. Computational works are done in microcontroller and the signals are
sent to LCD display, buzzer and GSM module. Message form controller to GSM module is
sent through UART.

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6.2 Proposed system flow diagram

GPS RECEIVER

LATITUDE
NEXT
INPUT

AND
LONGITUDE

Arduino Kit

BORDER POSITIONS

COMPARISON

500m
BEFORE

ALARM

CROSSED
GSM
ALARM

BUZZER
CONTINUOUSLY

MESSAGE SENT TO
COASTAL GUARDS

Figure 4.2 PROPOSED SYSTEM FLOW DIAGRAM

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7. Resources
7.1 Hardware
7.1.1 MG1613S GPS Module Demo Board
This is a low power consumption GPS module demo board powered by USB port with high
sensitivity of -161dBm (indoor) and seamless outdoor/indoor operation. This supports
standard NMEA-0183 V
7.1.2 GSM module
GSM module is used for transmission of message seeking assistance. GSM cannot be used in
oceans as towers cannot be placed in oceans. Thus CDMA network or satellites can be used
for message transmissions. When vessel crosses border, the stored message along with
current latitude and longitude positions is sent to the desired GSM module which is stored
already.
7.1.3 Arduino Board
Arduino which is open source embedded kit available for much major purposes. Arduino is
an open-source single-board microcontroller, descendant of the open-source Wiring platform,
designed to make the process of using electronics in multidisciplinary projects more
accessible. The hardware consists of a simple open hardware design for the Arduino board
with an Atmel AVR processor and on-board input/output support. The software consists of a
standard programming language compiler and the boot that runs on the board.
7.1.4 LCD display
This is a display panel which is require to display information received by the GPS module
7.1.5 LM7805
Power supply circuit is built to supply the power to the circuit. For this project, the circuit
needs only 5V voltage supply. Input supply for this circuit consists of 9V battery. Therefore
LM7805 Voltage regulator is used to provide 5V DC regulated voltage from the unregulated
9V input voltage as PIC microcontroller requires only 5V. A voltage regulator is an electrical
regulator designed to automatically maintain a constant voltage level. Hence, two capacitors
are used to stabilize the voltage supply and to reduce the ripples of the voltage.
7.1.6 Electronic Bell
An electronic bell is needed as an alarm. As it should only sound when reached to a
specific area a normal bell is more than enough. This is used only to inform the
fishermen that they are near the IMBL.

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7.2 Software
7.2.1 MPLAB Ide
MPLAB software is computer program used to program the microcontroller. Assembly
language is the programming language used to program the PIC microcontroller. An
assembly language is a low level programming language for computers, microprocessors,
microcontrollers, and other integrated circuits.
7.2.2 NMEA Reference guide
GPS receiver communication is defined within this specification. Most computer programs
that provide real time position information understand and expect data to be in NMEA
format. This data includes the complete PVT (position, velocity, time) solution computed by
the GPS receiver. The idea of NMEA is to send a line of data called a sentence that is totally
self-contained and independent from other sentences. The National Marine Electronics
Association (NMEA) has developed a specification that defines the interface between various
pieces of marine electronic equipment. The standard permits marine electronics to send
information to computers and to other marine equipment.
7.2.3, Proteus 7
The Proteus 7.0 software has been chosen for the circuit design.
7.2.4. Algorithm
To check whether a position is within the boundary or outside the boundary there should be
an algorithm which matches any point. Algorithm using is Ray-casting algorithm (point-inpolygon algorithm)

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7.3 Test rig

Testing the performance of the device in sea is a difficult task. Therefore testing would be
done on a prototype in the following format.
Performance can be test in a playground which is at least 1km long. A testing area
would be defined first. When the device reaches 500m of distance to the defined
boundary a bell will be rung.
When the device is within the 500m the data logger will start to maintain the data and
this will be displayed on the LCD display.
When it reach the boundary line and soon as it cross the boundary the SMS should
sent to a given phone number.

8. Cost Analysis
Cost estimated for the project is shown below.
COMPONENT

PRICE (RS.)

GPS MODULE

4000.00

GSM MODEM

3000.00

ARDUINO BOARD

6000.00

OTHER ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

1000.00

LCD DISPLAY

1200.00

ELECRONIC BELL

500.00
=

15700.00

Table 1 -Estimated cost for the proposed project

9. Beneficiaries
The system designed would be beneficial to:

All fishermen for their safe navigation

Sri Lankan Navy to identify boats which cross the IMBL and get data
Families of the fishermen
Especially for the Sri Lankan government to maintain a good relationship amongst
neighbour countries.

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10. Legal, Social, Ethical and Professional Issues

One of the main issues regarding any laws or regulations governing the fisheries is
enforcement. Requiring all fishing vessels to have an international maritime boundary line
(IMBL) identification device and alert system on board will make the regulation of fishermen
and fishing companies much simpler and more effective. A tracking device will give off a
signal that can be recorded by geosynchronous satellites, so the exact position of the fishing
vessel can be monitored by the regulating body. It will allow regulating bodies to know
which fleets are in the water and whether or not they are within legal boundaries at any given
time, thus ensuring that marine protected areas and time-area closures are not being fished.
Speeds of less than three knots usually indicates that the vessel is fishing, and patterns in
global positioning data can also help managers determine what type of fishing strategy the
vessel is using, Such a device is also capable of receiving signals via satellite. This will be
essential for alerting vessels in danger and allowing fishing boats to know the whereabouts of
other fishing boats in the area.
The Sri Lankan Navy has successfully guarded the coastal areas during the recently
concluded Wanni Humanitarian Operation. These operations were conducted with the help of
underwater scooters and improvised submarines destined of LTTE captured by the Sri
Lankan Government forces and the ships of Sri Lanka Navy. This clearly portrayed the
vulnerability of maritime territory in and around Indo- Sri Lanka.
To avoid such security risks in the future, both the Governments of Sri Lanka and India have
taken joint measures. The Navies of the two countries are now carrying out coordinated
patrols in the area. In this kind of patrolling both Navies patrol in their respective territorial
waters and communicate vital information to each other. India has installed many security
mechanisms on its southern boundaries. There is a fast breeder reactor complex at
Kalpakam near Chennai and the Russian-aided Koodankulam nuclear power reactor
complex in southern Tamil Nadu and some space experimental establishments in Kerala.
Therefore, safeguarding the maritime boundary from terrorist activities is of the paramount
importances to both India and Sri Lanka.
It is
well known that the LTTE was carrying out most of their maritime activities disguised
as fishermen. The Sri Lankan Navy faced many difficulties to obtain accurate facts about
movements of real fishing boats and disguised LTTE boats. This created an uncomfortable
situation to both Indian and Sri Lankan governments. Both Navies were left with the
challenging tasks of identifying innocent civilians from the disguised LTTE terrorists.
The LTTE is now defeated. Tamil Nadu fishermen are now politically lobbying to obtain of
fishing rights in the Sri Lankan territorial waters. This is due to the richness of fisheries in Sri
Lankan side of the sea. In this context some political parties in Tamil Nadu are attempting to
capitalize on this issue by pressurizing the Central Government of India to exert pressure on
the Government of Sri Lanka in matters related to maritime border, which have already been
resolved by two nations.

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11. Conclusion
Since this is the first initiative in this nature, there could be unexpected practical
difficulties in implementing this project concept and therefore it is important to note
that there could be room for further development. However, considering the
importance of this initiative in the present day context every step will be taken to
come up with a product which will fulfil the needs of the users. Success of this project
may benefit other countries as well. The objectives stated are to be achieved within
the time allocated. However, every effort is being made to develop a product which
meets with the industry standard.

12. Bibliography
12.1 General References
Global system for mobile communication (GSM) the international engineering
consortium
GSM and GPS mobile navigator - By Ma Chao & Lin Ming
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) Technology- University of
Sabaragamuwa
Sharing Maritime Boundary with India: Sri Lankan Experience by Sanath de Silva.
(kotalawala defence university - http://www.kdu.ac.lk/department-of-strategicstudies/images/publications/Sharing_Maritime_BoundarywithIndia-NESA.pdf )

12.2 Specific References

Visual Navigational Alert System for Indian Fisherman in Android Platform Ms.P.Selvi Grija1, T.Preethi2, V.Ranjitha3, R.Vinothini4
GPS GSM Based Tracking System Abid khan#1, Ravi Mishra*2

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12.3 Internet References

http://deptweb.wwu.edu/huxley/huxweb/gis/EGEO452/07projects/ArtJessica/GPSTutorial.pdf

http://peshawar.olx.com.pk/gpstracking-system-as-final-year-project-iid-139996809 , 2010
http://indianexpress.com/tag/international-maritime-boundary-line/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/international-maritime-boundary-line
http://www.ndtv.com/topic/international-maritime-boundary-line
http://www.internationaljournalssrg.org
http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2011/finalwebsite/solutions/technology/tracking.shtml
http://www.ijireeice.com/upload/2014/march/IJIREEICE3D%20%20s%20Sivarama%20Imple
mentation.pdf

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Appendices:

Appendix 1: Project Plan Gantt chart

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The identified work plan is illustrated by a flow chart below

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Appendix 2: WORK PLAN FLOW

CHART