* Every week, Red Cross Tech Talk looks at different technology or social media tools that pertain to the work we do at the Red Cross. Have an idea? Please let us know!
Imagine helping to reunite families, directing individuals to safe locations and determining malnutrition in children following a disaster - all by using just the power of a smartphone. Computer scientists in the UK have developed software that can do just that!
One of the tools is called REUNITE – software which can assist in locating missing people and reuniting families. With the software, aid workers could record initial interviews with a smartphone and upload them to a server. The interviews would be accessed by other aid workers who can then cross-match the information to help reunite families. The information could also be quickly transcribed into a web-searchable format available to aid workers on the ground, who could then relay the information to survivors.
To protect confidentiality, the information would be accessed by a trusted network of individuals by way of an encrypted uplink.
REUNITE is just one of several software tools that have been developed to help save lives following a disaster. REUNITE’s lead researcher, Gavin Brown, also created Where’s Safe? - a tool in which those who have been displaced by natural disaster or conflict can send a text message to find out the nearest safe place.
Another tool Brown developed is called HeightCatcher which helps identify children suffering from malnutrition. With the tool, aid workers enter data about the child such as age, weight and height into a smartphone. The software would then calculate the child’s body mass index and would determine what nutrition or fluids the child needs.
The idea of using mobile technology in a disaster isn’t new. The Canadian Red Cross has used mobile technology in the past to share important lifesaving information. In 2010, the Red Cross sent out more than 1.5 million text messages to Haitians to help them prepare for Hurricane Tomas. It was an effective and inexpensive way to reach as many people as possible. Learn more here.