A group of young IT professionals developed an app that provides fishermen with weather information and updates without the need to actually own a smartphone. The app called ISDApp is described as “the first community app that aims to effectively communicate useful information to underprivileged fishermen without smartphones and internet.” The idea sparked by the Filipino fishermen who are among the 3.4 billion people in the world without access to the internet.

The team consists of Julius Czar Torreda, Revbrain Martin, Marie Jeddah Legaspi, Matthew Concubierta, and Leandro Miguel de Guzman developed ISDApp during the NASA Space App Challenge 2018’s Looking Globe-ally category. NASA Space App Challenge is a 48-hour hackathon that takes place in various cities across the world. The participants used data from NASA’s GLOBE Observer app to “communicate interesting findings or improve public understanding of our home planet.”

For ISDApp to work, a designated town official must install the app on their smartphone. Afterward, the official registers the numbers of all the fishermen in the community. These fishermen can receive important updates from ISDApp as text messages on their analog phones. ISDApp will send the updates to the fishermen before their usual fishing schedules, allowing them to effectively plan their day to maximize their catch and ensure their safety.

Aside from weather alerts, ISDApp also enables a fisherman to trigger an SOS signal with a text message. This will notify the official and the registered emergency contact person, who can send assistance to the fisherman’s location.

Out of 17,924 participants and 1,395 projects, ISDApp won the Galactic Impact Award. As part of their prize, the team will be invited to visit a NASA Center later this year.

But before they develop ISDApp into a fully operational app, the team will engage in a community immersion. This will enable them to do a pilot trial and get feedback for improving the app. “The immersion will let us know the actual situation in the fishing communities in the country,” explains Torreda. “That way, we can optimize ISDApp to be more useful and increase its adaptability.”

Source https://www.flipscience.ph/
Video from Youtube
Image is from the internet