go down; you can't simply call for help or share your
location online. However, engineers at the Fraunhofer
Institute for Applied Information Technology have
found a way to use a smartphone as a rescue beacon
when there aren't any available networks. The
researchers have written a victim app that inserts an
SOS alert into the name of the phone's WiFi hotspot.
Emergency crews just have to use a companion app to
find you up to 330 feet away. It's a simple trick, to be
sure. The big challenge is getting people to use the
software in the first place -- the team would like its
code built into your phone's interface, but they might
have to find a way to distribute their apps in the field. If
Fraunhofer's staff succeed in making the tools
commonplace, though, you may soon find a ready-made
distress signal in your pocket.
VIA: Gizmodo
SOURCE: New Scientist
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