Coders from Colombia give people a lifeline in crisis
How an open-sourced survival network for disasters can help save lives
One of the first challenges of a severe weather event is often a loss of electricity and communication systems. Damaged infrastructure cannot be repaired until it is safe to do so, leaving people in the dark and out of reach for emergency response services. Finding a way to bring people online to send out distress signals could help locate injured people and save lives.
Team Angel hack, a 2019 Call for Code participant from Bogotá, Colombia addresses the challenge of emergency communications head-on with a localized network and chat that gives people a lifeline during system failures. The solution, dubbed Antenna S.O.S. is a small, mobile antenna that can be used with any wireless device. The antenna creates a local network to send out distress signals to emergency responders and other people nearby.
The Antenna S.O.S. interface includes data capture forms so people can quickly report their emergency status, such as the severity of injuries and the number of those missing or deceased. The antenna also includes a search function, wherein you can search by name or ID the number of people nearby.
Another critical feature of Antenna S.O.S. is the ability to chat with others in your vicinity who may be in need of help or able to offer assistance. Creating this kind of networking in an unfolding crisis can improve survival rate. First responders get a report on the level of urgency and can prioritize accordingly, while people near each other can share resources, such as water and medicine, as they wait.
Call for Code solutions like Antenna S.O.S. can be a game-changers for emergency assistance. Feeling inspired? Get involved in open-source projects that help communities in need.
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