Mobile Technology for Efficient Lost and Found Item Retrieval Using GIS Based Approach

Efficient management of lost and found items is crucial for individuals, businesses, and communities, reducing search time and reuniting items with their owners. This research explores innovative Geographic Information System (GIS)-based methodologies to enhance lost and found item management through mobile applications. The proposed application, FindMyItem, automates item uploads with real-time location integration, leveraging Firebase for storage, and features dynamic Esri mapping with interactive markers. Users can contact item finders or owners, view distances to police stations, and fetch routes to nearby stations. Proximity-based notifications alert users to nearby items every five minutes. Furthermore, FindMyItem employs a fuzzy matching algorithm to identify similarities between newly uploaded items and those already in the database, enhancing the likelihood of reuniting lost items with their owners. Despite existing studies on GIS-based approaches, comprehensive examinations of their techniques and applications are limited. This study aims to address this gap, hypothesizing that GIS - based techniques will significantly improve the efficiency and user experience of lost and found item management systems. Our findings will offer insights into integrating GIS tools with mobile applications, enhancing their efficacy.