[:en]
We can’t do much about the crime and violence in our country, but we can utilise technology to try and improve our safety.
One example of this is an app created by five University of Michigan students who were concerned about safety on their campus – something we can identify with after recent incidents on our own campus.
The Companion app tracks your route as you head home and allows you to add a virtual companion, one of your contact, whether it’s a friend, family member or boyfriend/girlfriend. The concept is that this will make you feel a bit safer and less anxious while walking alone.
The apps allows the other person to monitor your route by GPS and also provides the means to raise an alarm if something should happen. Apart from tracking you via GPS, it also occasionally asks you whether you are ok. If you don’t reply, it will then notify your contact. The same action is executed when a trip is taking longer than the expected time, you start running or your earphones are pulled from the device. You then have 15 seconds to respond before an alert is send.
Companion also has two alert buttons. One reading “I Feel Nervous”, which will contact your companion and “Call the Police”, which will alert emergency services. One of the biggest advantages of the app is it’s ability to show exactly where a user is, so he/she can easily be located by GPS coordinates.
Users of Companion type in the address of the destination on the app and click “Start a Trip”. You are then prompted to “Add Companions” from your contacts. The contact receives a text to download the app, but can also just click a link to track the route on a live map.
Once you are home safe, the app will send a message to your companion.
Companion can be downloaded for free on iOS and Android.
[SOURCES: http://gadgets.ndtv.com, http://www.theguardian.com, http://fortune.com]
[:af]
Ons kan nie veel doen aan die geweld en misdaad in ons land nie. Maar ons kan wel tegnologie inspan om dit te bestuur.
Een voorbeeld hiervan is `n toepassing wat vyf studente ontwerp het, omdat hulle bekommerd was oor veiligheid op hulle die Universiteit van Michigan-kampus.
Die Companion-toepassing volg jou roete soos jy huistoe beweeg en laat jou ʼn virtuele metgesel, jou wederhelfte, `n vriend of vriendin of ʼn familielid is, byvoeg op jou roete. Die idee is dat dit jou veiliger en minder onrustig sal laat voel wanneer jy alleen moet stap.
Die toepassing laat jou metgesel jou roete via GPS monitor volg en bied ook die platform om iemand vinnig in kennis te stel in geval van ʼn noodgeval . Behalwe vir GPS sporing, vra die toepassing ook sporadies of jy nog ok is. Indien jy nie vinnig genoeg reageer nie, word jou virtuele metgesel in kennis gestel.
Dieselfde aksie word uitgevoer wanneer die roete ongewoon langer neem, jy begin hardloop of as jou oorfone skielik uitgeruk word. Jy kry 15 sekondes om te reageer voordat die alarm aktiveer word.
Companion het twee alarmknoppies. “I Feel Nervous” kontak jou metgesel en “Call the Police” bel outomaties nooddienste. Een van die grootste voordele van die toepassing is sy vermoeë om aan te dui waar jy is, sodat jy maklik deur middel van GPS koördinate opgespoor kan word.
Om Companion te begin gebruik, tik jou eindbestemming se adres in en kliek op “Start a Trip”. Jy sal gevra word om ʼn persoon by te voeg uit jou kontaklys. Die persoon ontvang ʼn SMS waarmee die toepassing afgelaai kan word of kliek net op ʼn skakel om die roete in werklike tyd op ʼn kaart te volg.
Sodra jy veilig tuis is, sal ʼn boodskap na jou kontakpersoon gestuur word.
Companion kan gratis afgelaai word vir iOS en Android.
[BRONNE: http://gadgets.ndtv.com, http://www.theguardian.com, http://fortune.com]
[:]
