Emergency Assistance System Using Verified Nearby Helpers
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional methods for requesting assistance in emergency situations are often slow and ineffective, leading to potential deterioration of the user's condition and misuse of resources by false or unnecessary emergency reports.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that detects emergency situations using endpoint devices, identifies nearby qualified individuals through their attributes verified by a trusted third party, and enables secure communication for assistance, connecting users with appropriate help while alerting emergency services if necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If traditional emergency response methods (dialing 911 or using wearable medical devices) are used, then emergency assistance can be requested, but the response time is slow and the user's condition may deteriorate during waiting
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by continuously monitoring user health data through biological sensors and pre-identifying nearby qualified individuals (doctors, nurses, EMTs) with their contact information and credentials stored in advance. When an emergency is detected, the system can immediately activate the pre-selected helper without waiting for traditional emergency services to respond, thereby reducing response time while maintaining reliability through pre-verified qualifications.
2Reliability
If individuals falsely or incorrectly report emergencies, then emergency response agencies are contacted, but limited time and resources are consumed by false alarms
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring health data from biological sensors (heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation) and comparing it against emergency thresholds. The system provides feedback to users about their health status and only triggers emergency assistance when objective sensor data confirms a genuine emergency condition, preventing false alarms while ensuring real emergencies are caught. This objective feedback loop eliminates subjective judgment errors in emergency reporting.
3Productivity
If nearby qualified individuals are identified and contacted immediately, then assistance can be provided faster, but the system complexity increases due to need for verification and matching
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-registering and verifying qualifications of potential helpers (doctors, nurses, EMTs) in advance, storing their credentials, contact information, and areas of expertise in a database. When an emergency occurs, the system simply queries this pre-prepared database for nearby qualified individuals matching the emergency type, rather than verifying qualifications in real-time. This preliminary preparation dramatically reduces system complexity during actual emergency response while maintaining high productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed computer-implemented method for providing assistance to users in emergency situations may include (i) detecting that a user of an endpoint device is involved in an emergency situation, (ii) identifying an individual capable of assisting the user in the emergency situation by (a) locating an additional endpoint device that is nearby the endpoint device of the user and (b) determining that the additional endpoint device asserts an attribute of the individual that indicates the individual is qualified to assist the user involved in the emergency situation and is verified by a trusted third party, and (iii) enabling the individual to assist the user involved in the emergency situation by providing information about the emergency situation from the endpoint device of the user to the additional endpoint device. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.