RED: A system for community-driven emergency response
Designing an Offline-First Alert System in South African Townships
Problem
In many underserved communities in South Africa, emergency services are unreliable or inaccessible, especially for residents without mobile data or private security. This results in life-threatening delays during crises.
Approach
Our team conducted contextual interviews in informal settlements to understand emergency response behaviors and technological constraints. We then designed a Bluetooth mesh-based prototype to help users alert trusted contacts without relying on data or traditional networks.
Solution
We prototyped and field-tested a low-fidelity mobile app tailored to users with limited digital literacy. The process revealed important insights about inclusive UX design, highlighting the need to rethink GPS-based systems and simplify interfaces for real-world impact.
Project RED ("Responds to Emergencies Directly") was conducted as part of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Cape Town, under the supervision of Professor Melissa Densmore, for the graduate-level HCI course.
RED: A system for community-driven emergency response
Designing an Offline-First Alert System in South African Townships
Problem
In many underserved communities in South Africa, emergency services are unreliable or inaccessible, especially for residents without mobile data or private security. This results in life-threatening delays during crises.
Approach
Our team conducted contextual interviews in informal settlements to understand emergency response behaviors and technological constraints. We then designed a Bluetooth mesh-based prototype to help users alert trusted contacts without relying on data or traditional networks.
Solution
We prototyped and field-tested a low-fidelity mobile app tailored to users with limited digital literacy. The process revealed important insights about inclusive UX design, highlighting the need to rethink GPS-based systems and simplify interfaces for real-world impact.
Project RED ("Responds to Emergencies Directly") was conducted as part of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Cape Town, under the supervision of Professor Melissa Densmore, for the graduate-level HCI course.
RED: A system for community-driven emergency response
Designing an Offline-First Alert System in South African Townships
Problem
In many underserved communities in South Africa, emergency services are unreliable or inaccessible, especially for residents without mobile data or private security. This results in life-threatening delays during crises.
Approach
Our team conducted contextual interviews in informal settlements to understand emergency response behaviors and technological constraints. We then designed a Bluetooth mesh-based prototype to help users alert trusted contacts without relying on data or traditional networks.
Solution
We prototyped and field-tested a low-fidelity mobile app tailored to users with limited digital literacy. The process revealed important insights about inclusive UX design, highlighting the need to rethink GPS-based systems and simplify interfaces for real-world impact.
Project RED ("Responds to Emergencies Directly") was conducted as part of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Cape Town, under the supervision of Professor Melissa Densmore, for the graduate-level HCI course.