VECTOR ALGEBRA QIBLA DETECTION IN AN INDOOR, SEMI-OPEN AND OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT

There are myriad of methods used in determining the direction of Qibla and calculation using basic spherical trigonometric formula is the most accurate way that is used for centuries. Previous studies have successfully shown an alternative method using vector algebra formulas (VA) for Qibla determination to improvise the spherical trigonometric formula but only through the estimation software of Mathematica 8.0. Hence, this paper aims to extend the existing Qibla determination using VA on actual hardware implementation via integrated development environment (IDE) programming along with field test to confirm its capabilities. The prototype development in order to utilize of VA for Indoor Qibla Marking System comprises two modules: indoor and outdoor. The outdoor module includes a global positioning system (GPS) to provide location information, which is fed into the indoor module inside the building via wireless communication. The location information is then encoded into a format that is understood by the user and processed using VA to generate Qibla angle. While the indoor module consists of True North Finding System (TNFS) placed on the horizontal rotating laser mounted on the micro stepper motor to minimize motor disturbance as well as improving pointing accuracy. The results of the field test proved that the hardware and software implementation with VA method for Qibla determination obtained percentage accuracy of 99.95% compared to Qibla direction verified by Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (JUPEM) in collaboration with Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM)