←back to thread

158 points nizarmah | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.511s | source

A couple of months ago, I built this app to help identify people stuck under rubble.

First responders have awesome tools. But in tough situations, even common folks need to help.

After what happened in Myanmar, we need something like this that works properly.

It has only been tested in controlled environments. It can also be improved; I know BLE is not _that_ effective under rubble.

If you have any feedback or can contribute, don't hold back.

Show context
Sakthimm ◴[] No.43554609[source]
My friend works at one of the world's largest steel plants and recently he was discussing some ideas with me about solving the problem of people disappearing during inspections and being found dead after a few days. Apparently it is a huge problem there that he wanted to build a startup around the tech.

I am saying this because I think your target market may not be people stuck under rubble, but large scale industries, construction site workers, miners, firefighters, who can install the app beforehand. Cheers.

replies(3): >>43554751 #>>43555020 #>>43558954 #
subscribed ◴[] No.43554751[source]
I can imagine a firefighter, miner or steelworks worker relying on the smartphone in emergency. Like, seriously, a miner, half of a mile under the rock.... Carrying smartphone?

Heavy duty wearable tags and a dense network of wall-mounted relays pinging them and triangulating 24/7 can be the only solution. Sure you can use BLE beacons for that, and this is being solved with multiple competing products as we speak (look up "locating objects in warehouse"), but specifically for the human safety applications, they would have to be imposed by the regulators. Workforce is seen as disposable and nothing short of laws and regulations is going to force employers to improve safety.

replies(2): >>43554825 #>>43554908 #
1. defrost ◴[] No.43554825[source]
The majority of the worlds miners work above ground - they still run the risk of stope (wall) collapse, but they're unlikely to find themselves under half a mile of rock.

  In Australia, open-cut mining dominates coal production, accounting for over 80% of the total, while underground mining's share has decreased to around 15%. Open-cut mining is generally more efficient and cost-effective, allowing for higher recovery rates and larger-scale operations. 
and

  It has been estimated that more than two-thirds of the world’s yearly mineral production is extracted by surface mining. There are several types of surface mining, but the three most common are open-pit mining, strip mining, and quarrying. These differ from one another in the mine geometries created, the techniques used, and the minerals produced.
( https://www.britannica.com/technology/mining/Surface-mining )

Like anybody else in the modern world, it's hard to pry smart phones away from mine workers ...

Miners warned to limit smartphones in the pit (2013) - https://www.itnews.com.au/news/miners-warned-to-limit-smartp...