MARIUS: Send emergency text messages from the sky
Link: Emergency SMS from a Helicopter
The European Commission has selected a project called MARIUS which enables the dissemination to the inhabitants of a stricken zone of SMS alerts thanks to a helicopter equipped with a mini-mobile network.
Thanks to that technology, the rescue teams will be able to send SMS even on a zone where the mobile network is off and then will be able to send information which will facilitate rescues and save more lives.
The “Mobile Autonomous Reactive Information System for Urgency Situations” or MARIUS is a project aiming at developing a pre-operational autonomous Command Post which can be deployed very quickly to manage every type of crisis.
This is pure genius. I reckon it could be extremely useful for a whole load of different circumstances. Fantastic.
I wonder exactly how it works? If you’re currently using Orange, and there’s a disaster, but your phone is *still* subscribed to Orange (because, let’s say, the Orange transmitter is uneffected), would you still get the text message?
or alternatively the helicopter could simply fly over your house and via a megaphone on the outside of it they could shout…
“ahoy down there, please: a) stay locked in your houses as there is a nutter on the loose; or b) run for the hills as there is a big wave heading your way”
This would be far more sensible because then people who dont carry mobiles/use Orange will also be saved from madmen/big waves…In fact it is such a good idea I’m gonna submit it to Viz’s Top Tips!!
steve
Posted by steve procter on January 24th, 2007 at 6:29 pm.Where’s your sense of geekdom!!
Posted by ewan on January 24th, 2007 at 6:33 pm.hey I read Viz!!! Surely that makes me a cool kind of geek
Posted by steve procter on January 24th, 2007 at 11:11 pm.I can’t wait til they get mini mobile networks going in airplanes. It would make cross country flights so much more bearable.
Posted by Roy Bell on February 1st, 2007 at 8:16 pm.