A Smartphone Ad-Hoc Network Communication Application to Help After a Natural Disaster and
Keep the World Greener
Inspiration
To this day, a lot of people are still affected by the causes of Hurricane Irma because of poor communication. Google has
been trying to solve this problem with Project Loon; which offers balloons to float
over areas and offer internet to people below. This is cool, but not instantly deployable
after a natural disaster. Not only are there communicational issues, but people all
around the world are living in a littered infestation. So much litter is showing
up on coastal shores, local highways, and etc. We all know we need to aim for a sustainable
future.
There are so many reasons to build a local decentralized mesh network: local freedom
of speech, local decentralized file sharing, and etc.
What it does
The app utilizes a technology stack called SPAN, Smart Phone Ad-hoc Networking. This allows to create a mesh network of cellphones
("nodes") to communicate with each other with no internet or cellular connectivity.
The way it works is, it uses your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip to communicate with different
cellphones that are listening for the same ad-hoc network identifier. This being
said, SPAN is perfect for post natural disasters. Imagine being on a small populated
island that got hit by a monstrous hurricane with no internet, electricity, and cellular
service. Using EcoSPAN, you can use your cellphone that has some battery life left
and communicate with the locals to help or be assisted.
Furthermore, the other portion of the app allows users to go out in groups and start
cleaning up our beautiful planet. We created an incentive-based garbage collection
platform that gets everyone motivated. With the app, you can take a picture of trash
bags, send it to the API, it classify's if you are outside and are collecting garbage,
then award you and everyone around you. The way we award the ones around you is through
the local ad-hoc platform. If you are connected to other phones, those phones will
receive a small reward and notify the user they just been awarded some points because
someone nearby is picking up garbage. Hopefully, this would create a chain of picking
up trash.
The incentive program would be funded by donations and ad-revenue.
Accomplishments
Creating a Smart Phone Ad-hoc Network that completely works and allows you to communicate with anyone that has the app downloaded
and running on their iPhone.
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