The Isolation Solution

Social distancing policies enacted the world over during the COVID-19 pandemic have left many people socially isolated. Your challenge is to develop innovative solutions to combat social isolation.

SMS ISOLATION NEEDS

Summary

Our challenge is to bring access to basic resources for people without access to Internet. Our solution is a central via SMS, where people request help for essential resources (such as food, health guidance, psychologists). Then, the system connects the requestor with a professional or a volunteer in the area, considering the location, for seeking closer resources. The solution is important, as it takes resources easily to places with reduced access to technologies and strengthens local network of professionals.

How We Addressed This Challenge

The project proposes the use of existing technologies to circumvent the lack of Internet access. Our solution only needs geolocation data and a mobile phone network via SMS to work and aims the simplicity of contact. This way, more people can access, also from remote or needy areas, to minimize the difficulty of adaptation in times of social isolation.

How We Developed This Project

What inspired us to choose this challenge was the social isolation that astronauts are forced to face during a mission. Our approach was a reflection on the multidisciplinary required in a space mission, translating this to the reality of people in social isolation and who do not have access to the internet, considering this approach on a local scale (micro communities). We use geolocation data to map population densities. To develop the project, we used communication tools (SMS). We learned to work in isolation, with the help of tools that make it possible to develop team projects remotely.

Data & Resources

https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/default.aspx; https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/economia/noticia/2020-04/um-em-cada-quatro-brasileiros-nao-tem-acesso-internet;  http://www.agenciasebrae.com.br/sites/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ec0444e2adee0710VgnVCM1000004c00210aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default#prettyPhoto; https://agenciadenoticias.ibge.gov.br/agencia-noticias/2012-agencia-de-noticias/noticias/27535-desemprego-sobe-para-12-2-e-atinge-12-9-milhoes-de-pessoas-no-1-trimestre. Regarding NASA or NASA partners sources, we were not able to use them directly. Even though, we believe that in the future, we could use the demographic density data (https://www.worldpop.org/focus_areas) to map the most isolated areas and during brainstorming fase, our discussions were based on the articles from the human research program with the ai to understand the effects of isolation on human body (https://www.nasa.gov/hrp). 

Tags
#sms #isolation #adaptation
Global Judging
This project was submitted for consideration during the Space Apps Global Judging process.