ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
A Computational Approach To Low Voltage Electricity Theft Detection

Electricity theft is a financial and quality service hindering problem for utility companies worldwide. It affects both utility companies and customers in terms of financial losses or raised electricity tariffs, unstable power supply and safety. Electricity theft comes in many forms whether meter tampering and bypassing, illegal connections or billing evasions. In Ghana, utility companies have attempted to combat electricity theft by changing energy meter paying systems from postpaid to prepaid and employing time consuming traditional residents inspection methods. However, electricity theft persists. This capstone project explores existing electricity theft detection techniques and proposes a computational approach that builds on existing concepts. This project seeks to prove the application of a two-layered computational solution to pinpoint the exact locationof electricity theft. The first layers transformer metering which narrows down the location of theft. From there, the transformer metering is complemented by a machine learning model that flags theft suspects in theft suspected areas. This solution uses supervised learning along with feature engineering of customer energy consumption data collected by smart meters. Compared to conventional methods and other machine learning models, the XGBoost Classifier performs achieves the highest performance in theft detection. This project eases implementation through web-based application that allows real-time inference and theft suspects visualisation. This project proves the efficient performance of the proposed solution to detect electricity theft.

Source: Ashesi
A consumer product and service review web application

Reviews are essential in the growth of many businesses. Through reviews, firms can figure out how their customers feel about the value they provide. Information Technology has intricately become a part of the daily lives of human beings. In leveraging the ever-growing technology industry, this application seeks to provide a platform that allows consumers to share their views on goods and services they have experienced. Businesses, on the other hand, get to access valuable consumer information with which they can improve their offerings.

Source: Ashesi
A credit scoring system for mobile money users: A case study of Berekuso, Ghana

An estimated five billion people in the world own a mobile phone [11]. Among these people, an estimated four hundred and fifty-six million people are from Africa, with eight million people being from Ghana [11]. The high number of mobile phone owners shows the importance attached to the use of mobile phones. The curiosity and the availability of resources to develop new applications have led developers to come up with new and innovative ways that go beyond the primary intention for which the phone was created: communicating with one another. One such innovation is the development of mobile money services [17]. This research seeks to find out how effective a credit scoring system would be in addressing the non-payment of loans by the customers of service providers. It proposes an online platform that provides users with financially related information and a credit scoring system that can help both lenders and borrowers check the creditworthiness of an individual before they get access to loans.

Source: Ashesi
A customized mobile health appointment booking application for Gamma Health Consult Limited, Ghana

According to research undertaken by Gamma Health Center (GHC), the geriatric (elderly) most at times become a burden for most working families as they must be catered for and sent to the hospital for regular routine checks, especially in situations where they have special health concerns. It becomes more challenging for such working guardians who may have to spend virtually all day or most of their working hours at the hospital with their elderly relatives for just a routine medical check-up. With the advancement in medical care and technology, and especially with a shift to preventive medicine, the geriatric population is expected to increase and with most families becoming a part of the working-class society, this will pose a serious problem in the society and the health sector as well. This project seeks to solve this problem by developing a web and mobile application for doctors and guardians or caretakers of geriatrics to help save their time by allowing them to schedule appointments for the routine checkup of their geriatric relatives.

Source: Ashesi
A data management platform and bulk SMS program for the Ritzz Exclusive Guest House

Businesses are using technology to gain a competitive advantage over players in their respective industries. The Ritzz Exclusive Guest House, a hospitality business in Ghana, needed an application that would integrate into its existing processes and enable it to communicate with their Ghanaian based clients to increase customer loyalty. This project proposes a two-in-one application, Bulker. The proposed solution will enable the guest house to send text messages to its local clients and allow them to receive responses in a cost-effective and user-friendly way.

Source: Ashesi
A descriptive study on the application of project management tools in organizations in Ghana

The introduction of project management tool into firms have catalyzed tremendous increases in the success rates of projects worldwide. The six key processes; Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring, Controlling and Closing, that ensure the effective implementation of all projects have proven time and again to be one of the best guidelines in achieving this feat. Over time, various groups have postulated theories and developed tools that aim to ensure the effective execution of each of these six stages. These tools advanced efficiencies in completing projects, maximize limited resources such as time, human and capital resources, as well as gain a high reputation and standings in society for completing projects [5]. Although these tools in isolation have aided project managers in successfully meeting the triple constraints of time, scope and quality, there still begs a need to push for the practice and use of project management tools in a more deliberate way, that will guide agile project managing companies to achieve their goals. In Ghana today, there is a grave lacking in project management professionalism which has heavily impacted the way projects are executed and managed. McKinsey Digital suggests project cost overruns of about 45% with 56% less value output than expected in large IT firms across the world [1]. This study aims at exploring other implications of and various benefits associated with the use of project management tools in Ghana. I believe that there needs to be a holistic understanding of and presentation of these tools in a manner that best suits the Ghanaian context and culture to ensure that projects are executed professionally. Furthermore I aim at developing a model framework of a holistic project management tool that addresses and guides the six key stages of a project to achieve project success and reduce the level of project failure in Ghana.

Source: Ashesi
A Digital Solution to Operational Inefficiencies: Developing And Evaluating an Integrated Management System For Multi-Service Beauty Parlors.

The beauty and wellness industry is experiencing rapid growth, yet small and medium-sized multi-service beauty parlours continue to face significant operational challenges due to reliance on manual systems and fragmented digital tools. This study addresses these inefficiencies by designing, developing, and evaluating a subscription-based integrated management system tailored to the needs of these parlours. A mixed-methods research approach was employed, combining qualitative interviews, quantitative surveys, and observational data from thirty selected parlours. Findings revealed that most parlours preferred informal booking methods like Instagram and WhatsApp, faced frequent appointment conflicts, and had misconceptions about the affordability and security of management systems. The system was designed with critical features such as appointment scheduling, inventory tracking, and customer relationship management (CRM), emphasizing user friendliness, scalability, and affordability. Pilot testing demonstrated a measurable reduction in overbooking incidents, improved inventory monitoring, and increased customer satisfaction. This research validates that a subscription-based, user-centred digital solution can significantly enhance operational efficiency in multi-service beauty parlours and contribute to their sustainability in a competitive market. Future work should explore AI-based analytics and digital marketing integrations to further empower these enterprises.

Source: Ashesi
A drone-facilitated disaster response system with first aid delivery: Intelligent healthcare

The use of drones has become prevalent, especially for big tech companies like Google, Amazon, DHL and so on. It is now becoming the future form of delivery services. In sub- Saharan countries that are developing, UAVs can be used to deliver certain products to parts of the country that vehicles cannot operate or for faster, uninterrupted delivery. Building a system that will be used for natural disaster response (especially fire disasters) and first aid delivery is the focus of this project. In an article discussing fire accident trends in Ghana [1], the researchers discovered that the rate of fire incidences increased each year. A major factor to this increase was negligence and amongst the several causes of fire accidents, 41% of them were due to domestic fires. About 379 deaths and 5489 fire incidents were recorded in the year 2013. This year, about 5 fire accidents have already been recorded in regions like Kumasi, Accra, Apiate and Tema [2]. This project integrates the use of a website application called "Drone Aid" to order drone delivery services and circuitry to build an efficient disaster response and delivery drone. It is also important that the fire response system implements long range communication technology that is also low power and energy efficient. The drone prototype in this project is built from a drone frame kit and further customized for first aid delivery and circuit carriage. While developing this system, other constraints such as cost of materials, drone capacity/payload and drone flight range are considered.

Source: Ashesi
A dual energy source lamp for off-grid persons with low income

In the off-grid communities in Ghana, most people depend on solar energy for electricity. Some also depend on torch lights, candle lights or kerosene lamps to meet their lighting needs. These lamps come with their own pros and cons. The solar lamps for instance, do not last for the entire night when in full usage though they are the cleanest of all. And since they are solar dependent, they become useless when there is no sun shine. Hence, on the event of these solar lamps going off in the night, they leave users being stranded; especially when they need light urgently, things get worsen. People have worked on improving the battery capacity of such lamps for longer lasting. However, the problem is that they would have to be charged for a longer time for longer discharging. This project therefore seeks to save solar lamps users from being stranded when their lamps go off in the night. It therefore focuses on providing an alternate means of recharging the lamp in that moment for usage. Hence this project modifies the already existing solar lamps by introducing a mechanical mechanism which enables users to mechanically recharge batteries for temporal use. The recharged lamp may light up for a little longer or a while depending on how much the user was able to charge the battery. But then the user can still go back and recharge it mechanically whenever he or she wants.

Source: Ashesi
A facilities management system utilizing the application of three-dimensional models for Ashesi University

The act of maintenance is a critical factor in ensuring that the lifespan and efficiency of an object or a structure are maintained. Likewise, it is of much importance that organizations continuously pay close attention to the conditions of the environment in which their operations run. To attain maximum efficiency, every equipment that comprises a given environment must be appropriately maintained or taken care of. The field of facility management is a very well established one and utilized in various levels of organizations ranging from recreation centers to office complexes and even academic institutions. Facility Managers ensure that resources and assets acquired are appropriately looked after and periodically maintained. This paper gives a walkthrough of a facility management system for Ashesi University. The system is designed to be a digital implementation of processes involved in managing facilities from the stage of reporting to assigning duties to respective parties for reparations. The adoption of the use of a three-dimensional modeling tool enables users to have a realistic feel of the school environment hence making it easier to make adequate reports consideration the exact location and type of fault. The main tools utilized in the development of the system include HTML, PHP, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, and three.js, which is a JavaScript library for SD modeling. This project is intending to revolutionize the field of facility management, making it more inclined towards a digital representation.

Source: Ashesi
A free web application for the Ghanaian real-estate market

Technology has had a significant impact on the world and revolutionized all its industries. The real-estate industry has incorporated technology in its activities by using the internet and services like social media, web applications, and websites to ease accessibility and widen the reach of advertisements. The steady growth of Ghana's real estate industry has seen a rise in online property advertisements. This move online has introduced some challenges in terms of the propriety of online advertising mediums. As a primary advertising medium, social media ensures a broad reach, but competition from other content is likely to stifle engagements if you are not a recognized brand. Web applications and websites will be the ideal alternatives, but most of the existing ones are poorly managed; layouts are rough, content has disparities and advertisers are charged exorbitant fees. This project aims to create a web application that will aid Ghana's real-estate industry in an advertisement without worrying about efficiency and expenses. The web application will be developed using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and SQL.

Source: Ashesi
A geofence and IoT-based solution for child abduction in Ghanaian schools

Location-based technology has become increasingly popular in various industries, including healthcare, security, and entertainment. This research focuses on the security of children and explores the potential of geofencing technology and wearable devices in improving school security systems. Geofencing has gained popularity for its potential in various fields such as logistics management, personalized marketing among others. Geo-triggering events within geofences enable real-time notifications and automated actions based on user proximity to specific locations. However, the effectiveness of geo-triggering events in different geofencing scenarios remains a topic. This research aims to investigate and compare the effectiveness of geo-triggering events across different geofence sizes as a way of improving child safety systems. It also analyses the most suitable way to place a wearable device on a child based on child activity in school. Schools are considered to be one of the safest places for students to learn and grow. However, with the increase in incidents of school shootings and other security breaches, it has become imperative to enhance the security systems in schools. The research findings indicate that the distance parameter significantly impacts the effectiveness of geo-triggering events, primarily due to the inherent variability in device location. In summary, the research emphasizes the influence of distance on geo-triggering effectiveness and highlights the power consumption implications associated with geofencing technology. These insights provide valuable considerations for optimizing geofencing systems and designing strategies to mitigate the impact of distance and power consumption on the overall effectiveness of geo-triggering events.

Source: Ashesi
A lightweight implementation of the internet of things

The Internet has undergone many changes in its 45-year-old history. The next wave for the Internet is the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is is defined as “group of infrastructures interconnecting connected objects and allowing their management, data mining and the access to the data they generate” (Dorsemaine). This project implements a lightweight IoT system that can control devices in the home. This system can then be extended to other use cases in agriculture, healthcare and education.

Source: Ashesi
A low cost IoT system for monitoring fuel thank conditions

Following the discovery of oil in Ghana the upstream industry of the Oil and Gas has received a jumpstart and is augmenting the older and more established midstream and downstream industry. The midstream and downstream industries involve the processes that refine, transport, and distribute oil and other crude products and as economic activities increase there is an urgent need to vamp up production, and this can be done by increasing the efficiency of storage processes. This paper explores in detail the design and creation of an IoT system tailored to the needs of the Ghanaian oil and gas industry with a focus on the midstream and downstream storage section. This paper delves deep into the underlying technology, mathematical models, communication protocols, storage architecture, and hardware components needed to realize an IoT system capable of significantly impacting the landscape of the storage of crude oil and other crude products. The paper concludes with an account of limitations and how they can be used to develop future works and improve the current concept.

Source: Ashesi
A low-cost Analog Discovery alternative

Working with electronics entails a significant amount of testing and evaluation with signals. Test bench tools including oscilloscopes, function generators and power supplies are often used during experiments. The downside of testbench equipment such as oscilloscopes, power supplies among others is that, they are typically sold as separate, pricey modules. Testbenches used in most laboratories in schools occupy space and usually have to be connected to the mains. Students have to take turns in using this equipment. To address this issue, USB-based devices including the Analog Discovery are available. However, they are expensive for basic undergraduate courses. This project seeks to develop a cheap USB-powered gadget that can function as a signal generator, oscilloscope and power supply. These were build based on the ARM Cortex M0+microcontroller along with additional custom circuitry. Power supply output can be controlled between 5V and 12V. Sinusoidal, square and sawtooth waves can also be generated at different frequencies.

Source: Ashesi
A low-cost anti-theft tracking system for electric vehicles

A vehicle tracking system is any technology that can be used to access the location of a vehicle; either in real time or offline. However, for many car owners, especially on the continent of Africa, vehicle tracking is a luxury which only a few people can afford. Many people are struggling to get a car in the first place. Analysis of vehicle theft data done in South Africa showed that most of the vehicle theft in the Southern African country are as a result of poor security systems. Furthermore, the vehicles stolen do not have any tracking systems. Therefore, to reduce the number of vehicle theft on the continent, this project is aimed at developing a low cost, flexible vehicle tracking system. The tracking system uses Ublox’s GPS module, NEO6M, to obtain the coordinates of the vehicle. These coordinates can then be sent to the owner of the vehicle using a cellular network. The network chosen for this project is MTN. To reduce the cost of operating by sending too many SMS messages, the device makes use of the concept of geofencing. Geofencing allows the device to only send a text message to the owner if the vehicle is going to unfamiliar territory. The device also allows the owner of the vehicle to lock the vehicle in the event of, or suspected, theft. A statistical analysis was performed to test the accuracy of the coordinates obtained from the device. It was observed that the device would give accurate coordinates 95% percent of the time.

Source: Ashesi
A Low-Cost Kneading Machine for Shea Butter Processing

This paper focusses on the design and fabrication of a low- cost kneading machine as an alternative to traditional kneading process, which can be manually, or motor powered. Using conceptual designs with related reviewed literature, a final concept model was developed for the project using 3D CAD software. The kneading mechanism to determine the torque and critical stress areas within the system. Fundamental design analysis, calculations and the application CAE from mechanical machine design, fluid mechanics and mechanics of materials were conducted to select the best geometry, size, and materials for the project. The machine consisted of a table-like support structure, a 20kg shea paste container, a gear box consisting of miter gears power transmission, two shafts and 3mm thick steel mixing blades. Fabrication included various manufacturing processes. The machine had a power transmission efficiency of approximately 87% comparing the input and output torque generated. The machine had an oil yield increase of 18.6%, however when manually powered, the time of kneading was the same but required less energy as compared to hand kneading. The tests proved that the hybrid kneading machine is an efficient alternative to the traditional kneading process.

Source: Ashesi
A low-cost microcontroller-based PLC for industrial automation of a gold processing plant

Most mining companies incur losses because of the improper automation of their gold extraction procedures. Some companies tend to rely on relay logic, a more cumbersome and inefficient automation method. This approach involves the manual control of the plant with relays and contactors. Another approach involves buying a Programmable Logic Controller from third-party companies. However, this method is very expensive and requires company-specific products to move. The paper discusses the successful design of a low-cost microcontroller-based Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). This PLC was designed as a cheaper approach for mining companies in Ghana. The design was initially implemented with the MKL25Z microcontroller but was later replaced with the Atmega128 due to the unavailability of the MKL25Z microcontroller as a result of a global chip shortage. The PLC was implemented on a Printed Circuit Board and can be programmed with any of the IEC 61131-3 standard programming languages for Programmable Controllers (Ladder Logic, Instruction List, etc.) using a open source software called OpenPLC which can supports the use of these languages on a microcontroller. Additionally, the PLC can communicate with a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system via Modbus IP, allowing for the SCADA system to monitor the states of the input and output devices, as well as control the field devices from the office.

Source: Ashesi