Inspiration -
Summary: The number of lives affected by earthquakes is simply too high. Too many people remain unaccounted for in the aftermath of such natural disasters. These tragedies inspired us to create Elert.
Body: Today's world is home to amazing innovations. Tall buildings reach for the clouds, devices connect people from continents away, and a few swipes of a screen can bring crucial information to the fingertips of the user. All of these together create the illusion of invincibility, when nothing could be further from the truth. The world saw a grim reminder of this on April 25, 2015, when Nepal was rocked by a devastating earthquake, leaving many injured, homeless, lost, and dead. There are approximately 5,000,000 detectable earthquakes globally. From 1980-2008, more than 136,000,000 people have been affected by these deadly disasters (US Geological Survey [USGS] & Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], 2016). The aftermath of the 2011 Japan earthquake saw 9,000 missing persons and 500,000 people homeless. This is due to a multitude of causes, including a lack of preparation, no warning beforehand, and misplacement in the aftermath. Introducing Elert, the app designed to alleviate serious issues that come from earthquakes.
What it does
Summary: The application finds a user’s loved ones and communicates the safety status of said loved ones, creating a higher likelihood of survival and location.
Body: For trapped victims, every second counts. According to Dr. Tejashri Shah of Doctors Without Borders, "just the immobility will reduce your chance of survival". Being unable to move or having injuries to limbs can lead to crush syndrome, where blood flow is disrupted, resulting in high risk of kidney failure. Additionally, being trapped in a confined space also means rising temperature. Finally, there is the lack of food and water. The average time of survival without sustenance is between three and seven days. One of the most scary moments of an earthquake is not the destructive rumbling, but the uncertainty that follows in the aftermath. There is chaos and grief, especially when you don't know where your loved ones are and if they are alright. This can all change with Elert, which allows users to pinpoint their loved ones and guarantees help is on the way in the aftermath. When the user’s phone gets the earthquake alert, this location feature is immediately enabled, asking for your status. It prompts you to report your status with clicking the buttons “OK” or “SOS”. The app then displays the status of your pre-set loved-ones and their GPS coordinates. Whoever has reported that they are in distress or in danger is automatically at the top of the list of coordinates, with their coordinates sent to emergency personnel. This information can be very valuable in saving lives of the ones you love and easing the uncertainty.
How we built it
Using the guidance of mentors and other competitors, we were able to learn the basics of Android Studio and what we needed to get done to achieve our goal.
Challenges we ran into
An inaccurate map: This issue has not yet been resolved. However, because the map feature is only supposed to show relative distance, exact precision on the graphical representation is not required. Furthermore, more exact values for latitude and longitude are displayed along with the status of a loved one, so emergency personnel can be precisely instructed on where to find a victim. Thus, when this app is out of prototyping, users will be able to access a complete map which will give them a sense of how their loved ones are doing.
Switching between pages: At first we straight up just didn’t know how to switch between pages. We just weren’t able to figure out how to switch between pages. At first, Eventually, we understood the process. First, we created a button for each page. When this button was clicked, it would take us to the next page.
Creating profiles: In the beginning, we had issues with creating user profiles for our application. Soon we realized that, instead of creating a whole new page for each profile, we should input the name, location, coordinates, and image, onto one page. In essence, each profile thus has the same page.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Being able to switch between pages as we had been trying to accomplish this for several hours before we finally figured it out. Also being beginners at coding, we are proud to have produced a functioning app to present.
What we learned
Prior to Hack TJ, our team had no experience in coding and didn’t have a clue as to what we were doing. But over the course of this 24 hour event, we were able to learn all the basics of Java coding and how Android Studio works.
What's next for Elert
Summary: The further steps for Elert include adding tips and safety guides to prepare for an earthquake as well as a 10-second alert for incoming earthquakes.
Body: The problem of natural disaster does not begin and end at earthquakes. For future, Elert aims to not only accomplish the goal of enabling people to locate their loved ones in response to a disaster, but also educating the public on how to be prepared for natural disaster as well as giving them an alert for an incoming earthquake.
One of the many features of Elert prepares users for emergencies or disasters, the primary focus being earthquakes. All aspects of an earthquake with checklists, safety kits, and tips about necessary safety precautions and family emergency plans. It even provides you with your local emergency information. All tips are pulled from resources from national disaster organizations such as FEMA and USGS for the best information.
Earthquakes are the only disaster without any warning: Elert enables users to receive a warning seconds to minutes before the earthquake strikes.
The next feature is the alert system. Earthquake early warning systems like this work because the warning message can be transmitted almost instantaneously, whereas the shaking waves from the earthquake travel through the shallow layers of the Earth at speeds of one to a few kilometers per second (0.5 to 3 miles per second). When an earthquake occurs, both compressional (P) waves and transverse (S) waves radiate outward from the epicenter. The P wave, which travels 60% faster than the S wave (Earth Observatory of Singapore), trips sensors placed in the landscape, causing alert signals to be sent ahead, giving people and automated electronic systems some time (seconds to minutes) to take precautionary actions before damage can begin with the arrival of the slower but stronger S waves and later-arriving surface waves. Computers and mobile phones receiving the alert message calculate the expected arrival time (using our algorithm from Element E) and intensity of shaking at your location (USGS, 2016). Our app will only sends you an alert and enables the location feature if you would experience potentially disastrous shaking in your area (magnitude of scale 5 or above).
This warning of only a few seconds can serve a great benefit to the public and enable protective actions in the short time such as (USGS, 2016):
-Public: Citizens, including schoolchildren, drop, cover, and hold on; turn off stoves, safely stop vehicles. -Businesses: Personnel move to safe locations, automated systems ensure elevators doors open, production lines are shut down, sensitive equipment is placed in a safe mode. -Medical services: Surgeons, dentists, and others stop delicate procedures. -Emergency responders: Open firehouse doors, personnel prepare and prioritize response decisions. -Power infrastructure: Protect power stations and grid facilities from strong shaking.
**Note: Our current prototype requires users to manually turn on Location Services and choose to broadcast their information. Later models hope to see an automatic prompt triggered by an earthquake warning from the app. Other screens our final product would include are:
-Home Page (tips for earthquake preparation) -Alert Screen (the earthquake alert that runs directly through the app, triggering the location feature page) -Terms and Agreements (for allowing your personal location to be broadcast and your location services to be switched on by the application)
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