FEMA's number one tip for communicating during disasters is to “limit non-emergency phone calls as this will minimize network congestion, free up 'space' on the network for emergency communications, and conserve battery power if you are using a wireless phone.”
The key phrase here is "minimize network congestion". With all the recent technological breakthroughs, why not design and develop a better communication experience for one of the most crucial times people need it?
Finding an effective and efficient way for people to communicate during natural disasters.
Proposing a B2B partnership between satellite phone companies and smartphone makers to incorporate satellite communication chips in moblie devices.
Our first thought was to develop a system with major tech companies, that would be able to solicit seamless donations during disasters. After interviewing a Fire Department Chief in Richmond, VA, we quickly realized we needed to redirect our solution. As a first responder, he prioritized safety for the homeless and communication over the donations. It made sense — without people alive and safe, those donations won't matter.
We approached the problem by splitting it into four categories: Market, User, Design (Technology), and Business to answer the following questions:
We developed an empathy map, personas, and use cases to get an in-depth understanding of a users emotions and thoughts when facing natural disasters.
The design solution is to leverage software capability of smartphones to switch functionality to ‘emergency mode’.
Emergency Mode will be a feature of a smartphone that routes all incoming and outgoing communications through a Satellite Network.
In the days of ubiquitous smartphones, why would you ever need a satellite phone? In short, because cell towers aren’t always reliable. If one gets knocked out and others gets flooded with calls in the case of an emergency or a disaster, the network can quickly become overloaded.
I believe the most important benefit of this approach would be an increase in first responder efficiency, and finding victim locations much easier. They'll be able to pinpoint satellite calls to know exact locations where a rescue is needed and send out the proper teams.
Concepting, Prototyping, Research, Information Architecture
Jackie Koon
