Delhi students develop women's safety app that sends distress call when phone is shaken or dropped

A group of students have made a mobile application for women's safety that enables one to send a distress call by merely shaking or dropping the device.

Harsh and his team from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology developed the app, 'Panchhi', at the two-day hackathon organised by Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering (BVCOE), affiliated to Indraprastha University, Delhi.

The 24-hour hackathon, which was conducted between October 10 and 11, saw participation from 25 teams from several colleges and universities within and outside the national capital. In line with the government's initiative to create smart cities and smart villages as future hotspots, the hackathon was themed 'Smart Habitat'.

The hackathon was a success with more than 200 student teams registering for it, 25 teams being selected out of the lot, and active participation by them throughout the show, a statement from BVCOE said.

Also read: Facebook, Namma Bengaluru Foundation, Asianet Newsable launch Pink Samaritan, a women’s safety app

A Women’s Day app: Shake and activate

Another 'hacker', Tanya, along with her team from Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women, also developed an app, and this one notifies users of food going stale.

Food wastage is a menace in the country and we wanted to develop a solution to prevent it, Tanya was quoted as saying.

Many apps such as Watch Over Me, bSafe, React Mobile, and StaySafe are already available on Android and iOS. These are currently the best women's safety apps, providing features such as an algorithm to alert the user, and her family and friends, if the driver of the cab she is travelling in deviates from the intended route. Emergency phone calls can be made to alert users’ guardians of their GPS location.

With inputs from IANS.

Do you have an interesting story to share? Please write to us at [email protected]. To stay updated with more positive news, please connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.