Today we are practically born with a cell phone attached to us. It is a rare occasion we are without one. Whereas I am not an avid camper, I have friends who are and they all have stories about getting turned around and somewhat lost while hiking or camping. Now I will admit if anyone is going to head for the hills for fun and adventure there are a few things they SHOULD have with them. Hand-held GPS being one of them, but not everyone is planning on striking it out for a few days.
For those who find themselves in unfamiliar territory and unprepared there should be something that Search and Rescue could use to find hikers or campers that have become missing. Let's suppose for a moment, park rangers get a distress call from concerned campers that their friend has been "gone too long" or " hasn't been heard from in a day or two" which just isn't like them to not update any of his/her family or friends. Or a child has wandered off.
I am no cell phone coverage expert and maybe i'm thinking about this way too much, but what if there was a backpack that had the ability to create a cell phone network in the woods or mountains or desert where there normally isn't coverage.
My Idea is to have a team of 3 or more S&R experts with this backpack spread out and use cell phone technology to triangulate the location of a cell phone(s) being carried by the lost or missing person(s). It would also have the capability to call them or text, if possible, to help identify the area they may be or let them know that help is on the way.
Specs would be:
- No more than 30 lbs.
- 10-12 hr. battery life
- solar rechargeable
- satellite uplink
- GPS
- cell phone communications
- display for terrain maps, communication, triangulation, etc.
This is just a basic outline and I have no idea the difficulty level of putting something like this together. I am hoping to throw my idea out to those who are far more electro-techno-oriented and make something useful for mankind.
Is this at all possible or am I just thinking too much?
As a side note I really enjoy the Ben Heck Show and it is what has inspired me to think more on the tech side to solve problems. Someday I hope to understand 1/10 of "MAKE" community and make my own contribution, for now I like to share my ideas.
