Feature request for Android emergency app

[SlimBlue]

As it looks like I might have some time on my hands, I've been considering writing a seizure alert app for Android.

Ideally it would need to use motion detection for convulsions in order to automatically message a carer- which is fine for those of us that have detectable convulsions- but as there are many different types of seizure, I'm not even sure if it's actually possible for the one app to cover all cases.

However it seems like a good project to keep me from going nuts, so lets have a go at it. If you've got any ideas for features you'd like to see in an Epilepsy app on your phone, or there are any other coders out there that would like to get on board- you know what to do!

I await your posts...

 

[Fedup]

SlimBlue

Very good Idea SlimBlue this is no an easy project to undertake. Is it possible to get the phone to send a text message when you have a seizure without warning.

 

[SoonToBeMommy]

Should try to make it so it can be used even if you don't have minutes and aren't connected to wi-fi. Maybe sends an email message or something? Also would be good to be available on iPhones as well. IMO

 

[SlimBlue]

As much as the problem of writing the pattern matching routine to detect seizure motions get my techy juices flowing lol that 'trigger' method comes with it's own problems, and of course won't work for those of us that don't have detectable convulsions.

At the moment I'm thinking about a combination of a push button trigger of course, a simple 'phone's just been dropped' trigger (with a 10 second or so cancel window), and I've also been asked to implement what's known (rather unfortunately) as a Dead Man's Switch for another trigger.

A DMS system is basically the reverse of 'push button to send alert' - unless you press the button every x minutes it sends an alert. Personally I wouldn't like that, but I can see how it would be very useful.

Email as well as text alerts over basic GSM instead of wi-fi is also a very good idea, though the problem of it working without phone credit and a wi-fi connection is a thorny one lol so we'll have to see about that

I'd love to do an iphone app as well, but a) I only know the Android libraries and b) it costs a ton to register as an Apple developer and as much as I'd like to, I'm on the dole right now anyway so couldn't afford even if I did know iphone code

That's not to say there won't be an iphone app though- I went out to the pub last night with my old friends from my last job, and they're going to put the word out to anyone they know that's already registered and has experience with iphones.

Also, after chatting to a few bigwigs, they suggested the company could fund it as a PR exercise- so more news on that when I get it

Thanks for the input so far, it's enough to get a basic design done at least so I'll be starting on the Android version as soon as my hangover wears off..

Please, don't be shy- if you can think of anything that would be useful for your type of E let me know here or in pm and I'll add it if at all possible.

 

[SlimBlue]

Forgot to emphasise as well-this would be a free app for CWE members (or at least very very cheap- just to cover costs/raise a bit of money for Bernard).

Also, I know there are some coders on the board, so feel free to join my current team of 1 lol

 

[Fedup]

SlimBlue

You are definitely good, the principle of a "Dead mans switch" I understand, I like the phone has just been dropped idea. A great idea trying to help Bernard, any chance of a few computer classes, I am lucky I can turn it on.

 

[epileric]

My personal advice would be to check all the apps already out there for people with epilepsy & try to improve on them. You may have to try them out yourself for a while to see what you think of them so you know what needs improvement & maybe even get a better idea of what improvements are needed.

You might even ask members here who have used various apps to review them. As long as they give both good & bad aspects of an app I think that would be very helpful.

 

[SlimBlue]

The 'phone dropped trigger' was an epiphany at the pub last night lol when I kept dropping my phone- it's simple to implement and doesn't need any interaction other than to fall over. That combined with a DMS could hopefully be good for those of us with no seizure warning.

Excellent idea epileric! To be honest this project has been started because of the low quality of existing apps- but of course that's not to say some of them don't have good features that couldn't be err, borrowed

This may surprise you, but I don't actually own a smartphone of any flavour lol (I work in the antivirus industry, and almost everyone I know just uses dumbphones- we're very paranoid having seen the deluge of phone malware recently).

Ok then- anyone with any experience of these types of apps- let me know what was good/bad about them

Cheers.

 

[kirsten]

There are devices that are used in old age homes that detect when the body angle changes, so if someone falls down, it'd send out an emergency alert to a carer. If the person with the device wants to sleep or lie down, they just turn it off. If you want a phone app that you can quickly use to send a message to someone and that'd give your GPS coordinates, you could look for code from phone rape apps.

 

[SlimBlue]

Cheers kirsten, quite a few people at the pub last night mentioned those devices- they must use a similar sensor array of gyroscope/accelerometer. GPS location would be very handy as well, so that's now added to the feature list

One thing I like about coding for Android, is that there's not a lack of example code- it has to be the largest/most popular developer community these days- but I'll definitely have a look for some of those apps to check out.

 

[Bernard]

I sent these PM's to SB, but I'm reposting them here in case any members have comments/suggestions on the idea:

...
BTW, there was another member here that had mentioned another idea for an app which I would like to see developed:

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f20/alarm-app-iphone-22703/

I think the idea is fairly simple assuming there are already some (calendar) controls available that can be used as building blocks.

The idea is very similar to the Andriod (I'm assuming iPhone has something similar) calendar app's alarm feature. Ideally, a user can set a date and time (repeatable or one time event) for the phone to generate an alert message. If the user swipes the phone (responds to the alert message) within 5 minutes or so (time frame could be configurable), all is well. If the user does not respond to the alert in the given time, the app will then send either SMS (text) message or email to designated contacts indicating that the user did not respond to the alert. There should also be a configurable option for when the phone is put in "airplane mode" or the alerts are otherwise shut off globally (either send a message indicating the alerts are off or do nothing).

I think the app could be called "I'm Safe". This app would allow people to communicate with family that they are OK periodically. The app could also have greater appeal to parents wanting to keep tabs on teenagers out at parties, dates, etc.

To recap, the app would need to provide a calendar interface to allow the user to set dates/times for (an) alarm(s). It would also need to allow the user to define a couple of default messages to be sent if the alarm is shut off or if the user doesn't respond in time. It would also need to allow the user to tag which contacts should receive the messages. Finally, it should be able to send the messages when appropriate.

What do you think?

To be clear, the app idea wasn't specific to the iPhone platform. Also, it wouldn't have to be "always on". The user should be able to turn it on/off when desired. That way, someone could have it active during times when someone might be worried about them (driving through a bad part of town, on a first/blind date, alone at home and having seizure activity, etc.).

 

[kirsten]

Bernard, a couple of my friends have asked for this sort of thing while I've been changing meds. I think it's an excellent idea. I'd prefer visits and phone calls, but you take what you can get.

 

[SlimBlue]

It seems mad that there's not something like this already! It's a great basis to start a design from; it's simple to implement, uncomplicated to use, and even better- it's one way of combating the problem of getting alerts out when you don't get any warning.

A small addition in the configuration to choose if you want the push button trigger and the drop detection as well- or even a separate background app running those- would cover a wide range of events.