WhineNotNow # 1
Shoo.Out!
If you are here, without having read the introductory post and have no time or intentions to do it now, here is a quick summary — You are about to become a part of an attempt to make positive thinking go viral! Here we go…
#Whine
Increasing number of rapes and helplessness of the women to combat the same. Lack of communicating crucial information at critical times to resources which could provide timely help/aid for the elderly and even the general population in times of crisis and need (Inspite of having the state-of-the-art,cutting edge smart devices in our pockets).
#WhineNotNow
Why not enable our smart devices (present with most of us in the current time and age as tablets,phones, watches and even shoes!) to utilize the existing voice recognition capability to kick off an app without actually having to touch the device to invoke it (similar to what Moto X has been bragging about), so that the female/elderly could manage to yell out these pre-fed commands/keywords and do one or all of the following,
- Record the location and any other landmarks nearby,
- Click pictures in burst mode or a short video clip,
- Invoke voice recorder till the phone is destroyed or switched off,
- Email/text/tweet/post gathered info to important contacts, email ids or social networks,
- Spread the word to the surrounding devices with similar app installed.
The main feature of Shoo.Out! is, that it can be triggered by both voice and touch (based on the situation) and then does everything to spread the word and gather attention which could potentially save the victim or at the least reduce the intensity of the aftermath!
Shoo.Out! would be handy for,
1. Women (during any kinds of harassment or rape attempt),
2. Elderly (during medical and any other kinds of emergencies),
3. General Population (convey any kind of info just before the battery dies),
4. Little tweak could also put the app right between people with suicidal tendencies and the counsellors/appropriate contacts.
All of the above cases and many more of similar kind and varying intensity require shouting for help and communicating information (location and multimedia) to people/organisations or agencies or at the least to the surrounding population with the challenge being its (near) real time constraint. And during such situations,it is of great interest to explore how much impact a smart device (with how many ever cores,megapixels or apps) would have before it is destroyed, stolen or switched off.
General scenarios like getting lost during a trek or staying overnight with a broken car can assume that the individual can safely invoke the app which would share the info as intended with the desired contacts/email ids with a bunch of apps which do the same (and are pretty good at it).
But being able to handle the device to invoke/start certain apps/features is highly unlikely when a woman is being abducted or being raped, the elderly living all by themselves encounter medical emergencies or when a helpless individual is subjected to mugging or physical assault? The voice recognition feature in Shoo.Out! could be a game changer in all such scenarios .
Such an enabling technology should not be limited ONLY to look for the nearest pizza place while driving,tweet while playing a game of golf or play music while relaxing on the couch.
If smart devices are trying to become an integral part of all our lives, they better deserve it!
All suggestions/feedback/critiques are welcome at sanmathigb@gmail.com
