What if those defibrillators you see on walls everywhere didn’t just help you help someone sick, they could also call 911 and tell you how far away an ambulance is?
The winning concept at a recent “IoT for Cities” smart cities hackathon, held earlier this month in Santa Clara, California, could do all of those things for you.
The team from Ukraine-based Ciklum brought together engineers in Europe and the U.S. to create a smart automated external defibrillator (AED). As soon as someone would begin charging the AED, the device calls 911 and tracks the closest ambulance to your location.
See also: Are smart citizens getting lost in the rush to build smart cities?
“As easily as you can track an Uber, you can track an ambulance,” Team Ciklum explained during their demonstration of the concept.
This smart re-design of this common device is actually makes us slap our foreheads and ask why it hasn’t been done yet.
For anyone who’s ever had first aid training in a corporate setting – where the basics of AED operation are drilled into your head – you’ll remember the first thing you’re told to do, as you minister to the sick person, is delegate someone to call 911.
That assumes people only have heart attacks during work hours with lots of people around. But what if you’re alone working late, and come across an unconscious person in a hallway in your office?
Ciklum’s device will call 911 for you as soon as it’s activated, as well as walk you through the steps to use the device and even incorporate diagnostics to tell you if shocking the person’s heart is the right course of action.
“(This) was an incredible opportunity for Ciklum to work with the industry’s leading-edge technology to build what we value most: real-world solutions that make a difference,” said Ciklum’s CTO Christian Aaen about the event.
Over 600 developers applied for the event
The point of these hackathons is typically to solve a challenge using whatever technology is at hand – or more specifically, a sponsor’s technology at hand. Ciklum’s solution was the only one to use all four technology platforms at the event – GE’s Predix platform, Cisco’s Spark API, Amazon’s Alexa, and Pitney Bowes location-based API.
Over 600 developers applied to attend the event in person or virtually, and 220 of them were hand-picked to try their hand at a solution.
“This hackathon proved the countless innovative applications that digital infrastructure…can unlock,” said John Gordon, Chief Digital Officer of GE’s Current. “The developer community is a critical enabler to driving smart city outcomes that propel economic growth and accelerate opportunities for cities and residents alike.”
