A new app spearheaded by Six Sigma can apparently help locate people during emergency situations when traditional forms of communication fail. The innovative tool has already received a license from the Telecom Ministry to operate.
As per Pradeep Bhardwaj, the CEO of Six Sigma High Altitude Medical Services for Rescue, the software is based on the concept of a ham radio which is commonly used by amateur radio enthusiasts to communicate with each another. As such, it doesn’t require either a mobile network or data connection to work.
The app basically beams out a continuous coded signal via a satellite which can be picked up with the help of special equipment. These are only meant to alert the receiver and cannot be used to communicate. The application supposedly allows the people tracking the signal to find the location of the victim accurately.
The transmissions which are emitted by the tool can be identified within a radius of 50km, according to IANS (via NDTV). The app could be especially useful in emergency situations where a person or soldier is trapped under debris because of an earthquake. It’s been developed keeping in mind rescue operations which take place at great heights during natural disasters.
Bhardwaj says he’s sent a proposal to the Health Ministry regarding the app. He wants it to be installed in the handsets of civilians and soldiers based in high altitude locations which are susceptible to earthquakes and landslides. He went on to claim that the app could have helped track Indian soldiers who were caught in an avalanche at Siachen recently.
Six Sigma is best known for its rescue efforts during major calamities such as the 2015 Nepal earthquake and 2013 Uttrakhand floods. Bhardwaj asserts his team has saved more than 5600 people who were trapped at high altitudes.