2. The hurricane has just
passed by; the clouds
have begun to thin and
the rain seems to be
slowing. The entire area
seems to be underwater.
3. Richard has been alone in
his attic for the last 3
hours. He had to move
up there when the water
began flowing into the
lower levels of his home.
He’s tried yelling, but
either he is truly alone or
everyone else is in just as
much trouble.
He’s becoming more
concerned by the minute;
the water has been rising
slowly and even with the
slowing rain he is afraid
his attic might flood, too.
4. When the rain began to
ease off, Denise cracked
her second story window
and pulled in her family’s
canoe she had
thoughtfully tethered to
the gutter when the
water first began to rise.
She clambered in to the
canoe through the
window. She wants to try
and communicate with
her extended family, and
see if her neighbors are
doing OK.
Her phone has battery,
but there’s no cellular
service to be found.
5. Richard needs help,
Denise can give it.
It will be hours before
rescue workers will gain
access to the area.
How do we bridge the
gap between the two?
6. Research
People helping other people
“Even with his family safe, Akaiwa continues to scour the
streets on the lookout for other tsunami survivors who need
help. In his red fanny pack, he carries half a bottle of tea,
some water, two packages of cigarettes, a flashlight, Swiss
army knife and a lighter.”1
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/17/hideaki-akaiwa-japan-tsunami_n_837250.html
7. Research
Helpless in the face of
insurmountable odds
“In a dramatic turn of events, 17-year-old Joseph Harasym
was left alone in his home on Staten Island, while his
mother and brother drove two vehicles to higher
ground. But according to the Daily News, the water rose
too quickly and the family was unable to return to Harasym.
Though his brother made several rescue attempts and 911
was called, no help came until the next morning. By that
point, the basement and first floor of the house had
flooded.”1
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/hurricane-sandy-horror-stories_n_2060683.html
8. Research
Connecting with loved ones
His wife, Melissa Eugene, had already fled inland as Katrina
approached. And as he kept working — and not sleeping,
Duplantier says, "All I wanted to do was let you know I
wasn't dead, I was alive.“1
1. http://m.npr.org/story/5704652
9. Research
Rescue efforts take time
“When we spot a house that's at least partially
unsubmerged, the crew bangs on the roof and windows
with fists and oars and shouts…—"Anybody home?!", "Food
and water! We're here to help!", and (once), "Hot dogs and
beer!" When there's no response, someone sprays a hot
pink X on the side wall…
“Expect to be on your own for the first 48 hours.”
– Bloomington Fire Department Chief Roger Kerr 1
1. Interview with Chief Roger Kerr, via Justin Hinman, Liz Mikolaj, & Thai Yue
10. Research
Exemplar
Flutter is an open source ARM-powered wireless Arduino
with 1000m+ (3200 ft) range and 256-bit AES hardware
encryption for $20.
11. Key Insight
People in your immediate vicinity are
your best chance at survival in the
first 24 hours after a disaster.
“Expect to be on your own for the first 48 hours.”
– Bloomington Fire Department Chief Roger Kerr
12. Insight
Connecting to loved ones is an essential
part of any disaster experience.
Duplantier says, "All I wanted to do was let you know I wasn't
dead, I was alive.“1
1. http://m.npr.org/story/5704652
13. Insight
Connecting people in “dark zones” is
both possible and feasible with
existing technologies.
Technology like the Flutter Arduino extension demonstrates the
viability of our design. These technologies can be used to create
local, ad hoc networks of individuals.
14. Problem
Space
Close proximity help
Give people the means to start helping without
waiting for disaster relief organizations or the
government to mobilize.
Knowledge of loved ones
Leveraging radio technology to reach the
farthest distance possible to find loved ones.
15. Core
Light in the dark
Use the phone to create hope by making it easier to locate
people in a close proximity.
17. Richard has resigned
himself to a long wait.
He’s doubtful help will
arrive before the water
subsides a substantial
amount and has been
deciding how he will
ration the small amount
of supplies he brought
with him to the attic.
Denise is sitting in her
canoe, wondering what
her next step should be.
She has no cell service.
Except for the occasional
sprinkle of rain and gust
of wind, her block seems
pretty quiet.
18. While Denise is thinking, she feels
her phone buzz once. She takes a
look at it and sees a notification on
her home screen.
Since nothing else on her phone
seems to working, she clicks the
notification to see what it’s about.
---Richard receives the same
notification at roughly the same
moment as Denise. Desperate for
any connection to anyone, he taps
the alert to see what’s up.
19. Richard sees a list of names, one or
two of which he recognizes – he
thinks they might some ofhis
neighbors. He notices each name has
a “meters away” note, but Richard
ignores this as he is stuck himself.
He notices his best friend and
girlfriend are listed as “important
people” and vaguely remembers
setting these names as part of his
phone’s set up process.
His best friend seems to be OK, but
his girlfriend is listed as “out of
range.” He’ll worry about that as
soon as he figures out his own
current problem.
20. The message at the top of the screen
about “broadcast a status” seems like
something he could use, even
though he’s not sure to whom he will
be broadcasting. He clicks the
message to see what it can do.
21. He edits his broadcast to communicate his
dilemma, and goes back to waiting.
22. In the meantime, Denis
has opened up the Close
Proximity Communication
System on her device.
23. It shows her a list of names, some of
which she recognizes as her
neighbors’. She peruses the list,
noticing the “important people” and
broadcast sections. She ignores the
important people; her family are
hunkered down in the second story
room she just climbed out of and her
parents are 3 states away.
She notices Richard’s name and his
broadcast message. She remembers
some conversations they’ve had in the
past; she knows Richard lives alone.
She taps his name to learn more.
25. …and sees Richard’s location marked
on a map relative to her position. The
map is responsive, turning as she
turns. It even acts like a GPS, which
might be helpful if the roads weren’t
flooded with 10 feet of water.
26. With the general
direction in mind, Denise
puts her phone away and
begins paddling in
Richard’s direction to see
what she can do to help.
27. When Denise begins locating
Richard, he receives an alert
on his phone that she’s trying
to find him.
28. He immediately peps up
– someone knows where
he is and is (hopefully)
headed his way.
29. Your broadcast message is
pushed through the network
along with your location. It’s
limited to 140 characters in
order to minimize the strain on
battery life and data transfer.
We limited the people
displayed to five as another
way to limit strain on battery
and data use.
Your “important people” are
chosen from your contact list.
It’s included to help people in
heavily populated areas keep
track of those most important
to them.
30. CPCS is only active when the
device is unable to connect to
established cellular networks.
There’s no way to guarantee
the general safety of a
particular area, particularly after
a disaster when the authorities
are stretched thin. In case
someone lives in a less than
friendly part of a city, they can
choose to deactivate the
location capabilities. This will
make them unable to use the
service at all.
31. The ability to block is included
as another safety precaution.
32. Future
Strategies
Direct communication
Once they have located each other, enabling people to directly communicate
with each other using existing messaging and phone systems in the phone, by
leveraging our radio chip.
Assisting disaster relief organizations
Enabling disaster relief organizations to use our application to find out about
which areas are highly affected by analyzing mass status messages and also
providing required resources effectively.
