Show HN: Offline SOS signaling+recovery app for disasters/wars

Posted by nizarmah 4/1/2025

Show HN: Offline SOS signaling+recovery app for disasters/wars(github.com)

A couple of months ago, I built this app to help identify people stuck under rubble.

First responders have awesome tools. But in tough situations, even common folks need to help.

After what happened in Myanmar, we need something like this that works properly.

It has only been tested in controlled environments. It can also be improved; I know BLE is not _that_ effective under rubble.

If you have any feedback or can contribute, don't hold back.

163 points | 89 commentspage 3

iJohnDoe 4/2/2025|

Kudos for all your hard work! Getting to 1.0, getting on the app store, and making something that should be on all phones - you did awesome!

I would change your license so it can’t be stolen by Apple. At the very least they need to buy it or hire you as employee.

nizarmah 4/2/2025|

There's a higher chance a person/company can do something valuable with this than Apple buying it or hiring me as an employee.

I will also try to create a monetized version for specific use. Maybe that can help fund building a solution that's publicly available.

Both of those will increase the chances of it being adopted by smartphones, like Google and Apple. That's why I switched from GPL-3.0 to MIT.

I appreciate the kind words and the awesome suggestion. Thank you!

ashoeafoot 4/2/2025||

Silica gel was at the core of a cool water collection contraption to collect moisture in the dessert . Now add this and the ability to sinter sand together in the dessert and you could print windstills with robots.

addled 4/1/2025||

Might be rough on battery life, but perhaps pulsing an SOS with the flashlight?

nizarmah 4/1/2025|

It is rough, but I like it if it's "toggled" when needed.

If the person doesn't respond to an "Are you conscious?" alert, maybe allow responders to "toggle" certain actions like the flashlight you mentioned.

A meshnet for communicating back-and-forth between devices. Permissions might be tricky though.

kej 4/2/2025||

I feel like this has some potential overlap with the PulsePoint app (that one is for CPR/AED emergencies rather than large scale disasters), so that could be a potential partnership to look into.

nizarmah 4/2/2025|

Thanks! I didn't know about it. They seem pretty mature, but I will reach out to them.

methou 4/2/2025||

There's LoRa runs on 450/900 MHz with complete stack for transmitting and relaying messages. There's even modern encrypted protocol (meshstatic) built on it.

nizarmah 4/2/2025|

Another comment mentioned that as well. TIL. I'll look into this before anything else [2].

Cross-platform bluetooth between Android/iOS is too annoying sadly. If LoRa can help address those issues, it would simplify things a lot.

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43552585

[2]: https://github.com/nizarmah/igatha/issues/5

tonyhart7 4/2/2025||

this is good but ideally people want this app/platform to be embedded in hardware/OS level

DoingIsLearning 4/2/2025|

Not really high tech but worth mentioning that some shortwave portable radios (a world radio receiver is an item you should have in your earthquake emergency supplies) have a portable blare out alarm horn function to signal your presence to first responders.

Although it has the obvious limitation that you would have to be within arm's reach of it before you were to be trapped in a collapsing building, and sound can travel sufficiently under rumble.