Australia: it's possible to use a Mobile without reception!
Australian researchers are working to create mobile phones that can place calls without reception—a key step in disaster mitigation for remote places and areas where mobile infrastructure has been knocked out.
After the January earthquake in Haiti, thousands of rubble-trapped victims attempted to call family members and emergency services for help. But the quake knocked out many mobile towers and, to make matters worse, whatever services remained were overloaded with callers. These infrastructure failures meant that very few were able to place calls. Mobile service outages lasted almost a week in some places, leaving many stranded and uninformed about family whereabouts. Australian researchers have developed two systems that would allow cell phones to work in disaster situations—like the Haiti earthquake—during which mobile reception is often lost.
The first system, designed specifically for times of disaster, operates through small, self-powered cell towers that can be dropped into emergency areas by aircrafts. These towers provide temporary service to cell users until regular infrastructure can be restored. The second system, even more impressive, comprises a permanent network between Wi-Fi enabled phones, with no tower infrastructure necessary.
Named the Serval Project, the system uses open-source software that allows users to place and receive calls on their existing numbers. Essentially, the phone acts as its own independent router. Dr. Gardner-Stephen of Flinders University, who headed the team, told ABC News that the system “incorporates a compact version of a mobile phone tower into the phone itself.” It uses the current features of Wi-Fi enabled phones to eliminate the need for a phone tower at all.
At this time, the system can only place calls between phones within a few hundred meters of each other. The researchers explain, however, that adding features like small transmitters could create a much larger network. In situations like the Haiti earthquake, in which many phone users were concentrated into a small area, the system would have been ideal.
The Serval Project tested well in remote, reception-free areas of the Australian Outback. Researchers say that, with proper funding, phones could be equipped with the technology within 18 months.
After the January earthquake in Haiti, thousands of rubble-trapped victims attempted to call family members and emergency services for help. But the quake knocked out many mobile towers and, to make matters worse, whatever services remained were overloaded with callers. These infrastructure failures meant that very few were able to place calls. Mobile service outages lasted almost a week in some places, leaving many stranded and uninformed about family whereabouts. Australian researchers have developed two systems that would allow cell phones to work in disaster situations—like the Haiti earthquake—during which mobile reception is often lost.
The first system, designed specifically for times of disaster, operates through small, self-powered cell towers that can be dropped into emergency areas by aircrafts. These towers provide temporary service to cell users until regular infrastructure can be restored. The second system, even more impressive, comprises a permanent network between Wi-Fi enabled phones, with no tower infrastructure necessary.
Named the Serval Project, the system uses open-source software that allows users to place and receive calls on their existing numbers. Essentially, the phone acts as its own independent router. Dr. Gardner-Stephen of Flinders University, who headed the team, told ABC News that the system “incorporates a compact version of a mobile phone tower into the phone itself.” It uses the current features of Wi-Fi enabled phones to eliminate the need for a phone tower at all.
At this time, the system can only place calls between phones within a few hundred meters of each other. The researchers explain, however, that adding features like small transmitters could create a much larger network. In situations like the Haiti earthquake, in which many phone users were concentrated into a small area, the system would have been ideal.
The Serval Project tested well in remote, reception-free areas of the Australian Outback. Researchers say that, with proper funding, phones could be equipped with the technology within 18 months.
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