SOSerbia: Android-Based Software Platform for Sending Emergency Messages

This paper presents Android-based SOS platform named SOSerbia for sending emergency messages by citizens in Serbia. The heart of the platform is SOS client Android application which is an easy and simple solution for sending SOS messages with unique combination of volume buttons. The proposed platform solves a lot of safety, security, and emergency problems for people who can be in dangerous situations. After a person presses a correct combination of buttons, a message with his or her location is sent to the operating center of the Serbian Police. The platform merges several appropriately combined advanced Android technologies into one complete solution. The proposed solution also uses the Google location API for getting user’s location and Media Player broadcast receiver for reading pressed buttons for volume. This logic can be also customized for any other mobile operating system. In other words, the proposed architecture can be also implemented in iOS or Windows OS. It should be noted that the proposed architecture is optimized for different mobile devices. It is also implemented with simple widget and background process based on location. The proposed platform is experimentally demonstrated as a part of emergency response center at the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia. This platform overcomes real-life problems that other state-of-the-art solutions introduce and can be applied and integrated easily in any national police and e-government systems.