Enabling communications when disaster strikes What if you could? Send public alerts and private messages To all smartphones in a given area Even if cellular networks are congested / damaged Without any infrastructure or CAPEX Challenges smartphone users face A new way to communicate Phone to Phone LTE Direct 500m (1,000mW) Wi-Fi Direct, 802.11s, AirDrop 100m (350mW) Bluetooth 100m (50mW) ANT 100m (50mW) Phone to Phone network “Taklub” by Brillante Mendoza Kashmir The Kashmir Valley flooded in September 2014. More than 500 people in India and Pakistan lost their lives. Communication networks collapsed. People were stranded and could not reach their families or receive information about assistance. In April 2015, the region experienced heavy rains again. Kashmiris used FireChat to exchange hyperlocal, real time information about water levels, breaches and road closures. This demonstrates FireChat’s potential to empower communities by allowing them to create and leverage their own communication channels. Kashmir - April 2015 Chennai - December 2015 The city of Chennai in Southern India flooded dramatically in December 2015. It is a sprawling metropolis with more than 5 million habitants. Within hours, cell netwoks stopped working because of major power cuts. Citizens used FireChat to share critical information at the street- level. In five days, the “Citizen’s Network” registered more than 23,000 new users. Chennai - December 2015 “Open Garden may have found the next version of the Internet.” Manila - January 2015 Manila - January 2015 Philippines - Typhoon Watch Since April 2015, FireChat is used by three of the largest media groups in the Philippines to disseminate localised updates in real time about typhoon activity. Citizens can also share live information about conditions in their area. Philippines - April 2015 FireChat has partnered with the City of Marikina in Manila and the Philippine Government to establish the world’s first city-level ‘mesh’ network. This ‘citizen network’ allows Marikeños to communicate for free on an everyday basis and also in situations of emergency when networks are destroyed. #Marikina - 18.10.15 Alert system Peer-to-peer messages and alerts Endless propagation within a specific area Even when cellular network is congested Instant notification of all smartphones Created from mobile and desktop Authorized organizations/people Alerts can be sent from: 1. outside of an area and travel from the edge of the area 2. within an area by a person who is on site using the mobile app Awards Winner Tech4Resilience - Manila April 2015 Winner Innovation Award - SXSW Austin March 2015 Winner Boldness in Business - Financial Times London March 2015 Winner Grand Prize - GMIC San Francisco 2013 Most Disruptive - TechCrunch Disrupt NYC 2012 Winner - Android Open San Francisco 2011 YouWe need to start arethinking about how the we will scale. Internet Marina Azcarate Head of Global Marketing [email protected].