Vázquez-López, Víctor J.

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    NESA neighborhood emergency support application
    (2013) Vázquez-López, Víctor J.; Rodríguez, Néstor J.; College of Engineering; Lu, Kejie; Borges, José; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Castillo, Paul
    Weather inclement and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes and fires, can affect communities adversely and people might suffer damages on their homes and goods. As a result, countless situations and needs may arise and sometimes individuals could need help from the authorities, as well as from other residents. Communications are essential to coordinate help and support on these situations. The phone, text messages, social networks and emails are communication mediums that are used during emergencies of this nature. Nevertheless, most of them depend on the Internet or network service providers, thus they could be affected during these events making the recovery process more difficult. In order to provide an additional communication mechanism, this project introduces a new communication system based on Android devices using a backup network that will be deployed on affected areas after a major disaster. This system will make possible the communication of information between residents and the government authorities even if regular phone systems have failed. This project consists of an Android application through which residents can get in contact with their neighbors or the authorities in case of an emergency. The devices will be connected using a backup emergency network deployed after a major disaster allowing other residents, friends, family members, volunteers, and emergency personnel to be contacted using a text messaging system (chat). The connection required will not depend on any network service provider; instead the devices will be directly connected through the emergency network (peer-to-peer). The authorities will be able to use this medium to send information and alerts to the citizens through a notification mechanism and the user will be able to search for nearby shelters. Furthermore, the authorities will be able to receive formal help requests from the residents for situations that may require their intervention.