Published on the 15/10/2015 | Written by Newsdesk
Safety notification and tracking app wins kudos in Sydney…
Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure employee Jo Booth and his team, Tremorz, won the top award in the International Best Disaster Mitigation Hack category at the recent GovHack International 2015 event in Sydney. The winning entry, iHelp, a safety notification and tracking mobile application, was shortlisted for the international competition after recently claiming third place in the Best Open Government Data Hack category at GovHack New Zealand 2015.
A free, annual hackathon event held in more than 30 locations in Australia and expanded to New Zealand in 2015, GovHack is open to anyone interested in building new apps, mashups and visualisations using government-sourced data to solve real social problems in innovative ways.
Built over 46 hours during the GovHack New Zealand weekend, the iHelp mobile application is designed to trigger safety alerts and track the whereabouts of loved ones during emergencies. It can help users find the quickest and safest route to reach their families.
The app also allows users to input their needs and receive supplies from the nearest source via an offline private messaging app. Social media feeds and open data such as location, water resources, traffic and weather can be plugged into the app using a rapid integration platform and an application programming interface used between a Microsoft Azure database and the iOS app.
A need for personal continuity plans and resilient offline communication during emergencies helped to drive the implementation of iHelp, following feedback from those involved in rescue and infrastructure protection during the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
“The Tremorz team envisions iHelp to be a single platform for the Ministry of Civil Defence, which can broadcast critical information immediately to the public during a disaster,” said Booth, who represented Hexagon at GovHack New Zealand 2015.
Stephen Willson, New Zealand country manager for Hexagon said “It’s all about connecting people with government to shape great ideas, changes and outcomes. And most of all, watching people build something for the public good.”
