Twitter
Advertisement

Nashik student's revolutionary safety app now on play store

Developed by second-year KK Wagh College student Kaushal Bag, the key feature of the application is that an emergency call can be placed even if there is no network connectivity or Internet available.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Helping Hands, an offline application for emergency services, developed by a Bachelor in Computer Sciences (BCS) student in Nashik, was launched recently.

Developed by second-year KK Wagh College student Kaushal Bag, the key feature of the application is that an emergency call can be placed even if there is no network connectivity or Internet available.

In 2015 during the Kumbh Mela, Kaushal had developed Helping Hands as an automated SMS application. "Using that, we can send an SMS to the pre-fed emergency numbers," said Kaushal. The small size application was circulated through a free download link but was not available on the play store and Kaushal's innovation was not much noticed at the time.

During the December 2015 Chennai floods, however, the application caught attention as it helped rescue as many as 18,890 stranded people.

"We realised that our free link was downloaded by two crore people all over by December. During the floods, too many SMSes were sent and we had to route them to our server. We got to know the location of the stranded people and informed the NGOs working on ground. In this way, we helped rescue nearly 19,000 people. This was a great and satisfying achievement," Kaushal said.

For his first application, which was a message-based system, Kaushal did not have funds. So, his classmates contributed Rs100 each and Kaushal paid for the domain, host and softwares needed. For further development of the application into an Offline Cellular System (OCS), Kaushal was sponsored by his father. Now, calls can be placed to emergency service numbers such as the police, fire brigade and ambulance, even when there is no connectivity.

"In this application, we use electro-magnetic technology. The rays are emitted by our phone and we are reusing the same. The call is made directly through the satellite and the receiver receives it through the towers," Kaushal said. In the endeavour, he was also helped by Ankita Deshpande, a final-year engineering student.

Interested in reading technological blogs, Kaushal studied in a school in Amelner near Jalgaon. His innovation journey had started then itself, when he developed a sound system for the desktop. "This system was used to enhance quality of sound during our school gatherings," Kaushal said.

When his parents shifted to Nashik, Kaushal took admission in the BCS course and developed the SMS alert system. "Kumbh Mela was a tremendous opportunity. I used the SMS alert system to find missing people. It was extensively used during the Chennai floods in 2015 and the Ujjain Kumbh Mela in 2016," he said.

At present, the OCS he has developed can be used for women safety as well. "This is a free application available on play store now. This is my contribution to the society. My family has always nurtured values of social giving.

I also want to donate this OCS application to the Indian military to safeguard our soldiers guarding the borders," he said. He has also applied for patent for his innovation.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement