EDUCATE
RESEARCH
Turn Your Phone into an Emergency Beacon By Jared Steinman NOLS Instructor
H
ow can something that makes so much sense and is so seemingly easy have just been invented? That’s the kind of question AirFlare co-founder Eliot Gillum gets asked frequently. I had a chance to steal a bit of Eliot’s time to ask him a few questions about the idea behind and development of AirFlare, a revolutionary new system that only costs a few dollars and turns the phone in your pocket into an emergency beacon.
coverage is expanding every year but will specifically looking at drone footage. I’d never reach every canyon, peak, and square been thinking drones were kind of a way to mile of wilderness. solve everything: all you need to do is fly a drone over the area and search all the pixels. What got you interested in using this But, it turns out, it’s more difficult than technology to assist in search and that because people are hidden. Leaves rescue? block your ability to see people, hunters My degree is in computer science. I’ve wear camouflage, skiers fall into treeworked for a number of tech companies, wells, and it’s just fundamentally hard to including Microsoft. After I left Microsoft find people. I tested a few things, including in 2014, I started doing some other things. I Wi-Fi, and I discovered it worked really What is AirFlare? had been working with 3D printers to make well. It more than met my requirements AirFlare is an app that turns your phone first responder accessories for drones, and for being able to detect a signal far enough into a rescue beacon. It’s not the same as that got me working with search and rescue. away that you could reasonably get through traditional, satellite-based ones, but it has I’ve always been an athlete and then I forest canopy and not have to fly directly big advantages like price (under $5 for the got into the outdoors, hiking and mountain- over the subject or be super close to them. app), powerful abilities, and the potential to eering. I’ve climbed a few mountains and And so that was how AirFlare came to be. achieve the holy grail of ubiquitous usage in have an appreciation for wilderness. the field. It works without cellular service— When a friend of a friend’s husband Who is your ideal customer? and even better with it—which is good since went missing, I participated in the search, Well, theoretically, it’s everyone who goes into the outdoors. The great thing about AirFlare is once you download it, you already have it on you on your phone. You don’t have to plan on bringing it for the day that you think things are going to be risky. Why AirFlare now? The real reason behind “why AirFlare” is because we have an opportunity to put a rescue beacon on pretty much everybody out there. AirFlare can lead to better outcomes for subjects, as well as saving the rescuing agency money, which also keeps the responders healthier because they’re not having to climb down into every crack and crevice to look for people. It’s good for everybody to find people faster.
AirFlare works in places without cell service. Ben Rindler
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Jared Steinman is a Kentucky native and full-time instructor. When not working, he can be found pursuing clean rock, deep snow, flowy single-track, and beautiful locations to make photos.
