Date: 14 Mar 2011 Comments: 1

The earthquake in Japan and subsequent power failures once again point to the need for a better system for emergency communication.   The Google person locator and similar online tools are very helpful for finding missing persons but are limited in their scope and reach.  Search systems based on the name of the person (as Google’s is) can be confusing when the name is common – and may cause too many incorrect messages.

Persons with limited communication capabilities need to be able to send a short, quick, message with a limited amount of data which then ties to preregistered information to give a more complete message.  For example if a person trapped in a building could send a short burst data message from a mobile phone which contained a simple SOS, plus their phone number and GPS location, this can be combined at the receiving side to look up the person’s name/address/ health records etc. all from the phone number on record.

It could then further use preconfigured instructions to forward the SOS message to friends and family as an SMS message/email etc.   This type of system could be added to the Google People Finder service but might actually operate on more than one network. It could perhaps be tied into a Facebook application for example to reach more people.

One of the problems with using mobile phones for emergency communication is that a power failure may disable towers in the immediate vicinity, rendering the phone useless.   One solution to this problem would be for telcos to work together to establish a mesh network protocol which all mobile phones could use in emergencies to pass short burst SOS messages from phone to phone until they reach a phone which has access to a tower.   It may be possible to pass a reply back through the same channel to let the victim know that the message and GPS data have been received and that help is on the way.

The events in Christchurch and Japan, let alone the people trying to escape in Libya, suggest that such a database of connections could help save lives and, equally importantly, be a great comfort to relatives and friends of those who are lost or hurt. Of course the problem still continues for those who do not hear anything, but the emergency services are no longer overloaded with requests for information from a variety of concerned relatives. The single communication would send messages to all people listed in the phone owner’s database.

The same concept can be used in case a car breakdown, being late to pick the children up from school or other mundane events. The database can be configured to pass on messages to only those for whom it is relevant; there is no need to contact family in different countries when you run out of petrol!

Having established and contacted people, the longer job of providing aid and support becomes the imperative. This is where a mobile phone-based payment service becomes equally valuable. The delivery of benefits in a fair manner can be greatly helped by linking with the same database.

There will always be issues with people who do not want to use phones, either because they cannot afford one or for privacy reasons. However, given the overwhelming number of people who do see the overall advantages of them, it does seem as though the time has come to create the best security facility we can.

Please let us know if you wish to help in developing the database for your area or country. The great point about mobile phones is their access level in even the least developed countries, where ownership can still be up over 50% of the adult population.