EmSafe ensures that callers use the correct emergency number no matter what country they’re in.
Credit: Rahul Kumar and EmLoop Software Limited
Rahul Kumar is the winner of the 2024 Australian Science Teachers Association i3 Awards in the Year 11-12 Inventions category as well as the ASTA Grand Innovation Prize. The i3 awards are an annual, Australia-wide science fair celebrating inquiry, innovation and ingenuity. Double Helix is delighted to feature Rahul’s essay explaining his exceptional STEM project. For more information about ASTA and the i3 Awards, visit their website here.
In Australia, lots of people are calling for help every day. Over 2.7 million calls were made to Emergency Services in Victoria last year! However, there are lots of issues with the way we call for help, from how information is shared with First Responders to the accessibility of the service overall. My project tried to fix some of these issues and make Australia’s Triple Zero system better.
To begin designing the solution, I created multiple different prototypes for all the components of the project. This included designing an app for people in an emergency to use, a computer program for Triple Zero operators to use, as well as a system to share and store the information of people calling for help. The process of prototyping took over half a year and I explored multiple different options for the final design.
Next, the user app was developed to allow for people to contact emergency services around the world. Whilst the emergency phone number in Australia is ‘000’, it is different in lots of different countries. To make sure that people are using the right emergency number, the user app will automatically update depending on the country the caller is in, making sure they can access emergency services! The app also included other features like a CPR guide and support for seven languages.
Finally, I used new tech to allow for caller information to be shared directly with emergency services. When a person in need makes a call, their location, what kind of help they need, and other information is sent automatically to Triple Zero. This, makes the call process faster and reduces waiting times for emergency calls!
You can download the public version of EmSafe on the iOS App Store: https://emsafe.emloop.xyz
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