Inspiration
Flare was inspired by a simple but deadly reality. During disasters, the hardest part of rescue is not saving people but finding them. Earthquakes, building collapses, floods, and fires often knock out cell towers and make GPS unreliable or completely useless indoors or under rubble. Victims may be unconscious, injured, buried, or unable to describe where they are. Children, elderly people, and trapped individuals are especially vulnerable.
We realized that almost everyone already carries a powerful device with radios, sensors, and battery power in their pocket. Instead of relying on the internet, GPS, or infrastructure that fails during emergencies, Flare uses what still works locally. Wireless signals. Our goal was to turn any smartphone into a rescue beacon that helps rescuers physically navigate to someone who cannot communicate.
The Table Spread (5:32)
مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنَّهُۥ مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًۢا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍۢ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَآ أَحْيَا ٱلنَّاسَ جَمِيعًۭا ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُنَا بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ ثُمَّ إِنَّ كَثِيرًۭا مِّنْهُم بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ لَمُسْرِفُونَ ٣٢
Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And Our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors. — Saheeh International
What it does
Flare turns a smartphone into an emergency homing signal.
With a single tap, a victim activates SOS mode and their phone continuously broadcasts a wireless beacon using Bluetooth, WiFi Direct, or UWB depending on what the device supports. No internet or GPS is required.
Rescuers use a companion app that detects all SOS beacons in range and shows real time distance estimates, signal strength, and battery status. As the rescuer moves, Flare provides hot and cold guidance, detects obstacles based on signal behavior, and builds a 2D heat map that highlights safe paths, blocked areas, and unstable regions.
Optional AR features overlay victim markers and distance labels directly onto the camera view, helping rescuers visually align their movement in complex environments.
Flare focuses on finding people who cannot communicate, not messaging or calling.
How we built it
Flare is a two sided mobile system built with React Native on the frontend and Django with Supabase on the backend.
On the victim side, the app activates a continuous wireless beacon that broadcasts a device ID and battery level using Bluetooth LE, WiFi Direct, or UWB. The app is designed to continue broadcasting in the background once activated.
On the rescuer side, the app scans for nearby SOS beacons and estimates distance using RSSI based signal strength calculations. Direction is inferred by comparing signal changes as the rescuer moves through space.
Obstacle detection is done by analyzing sudden drops, attenuation, or unstable fluctuations in signal strength. These observations are stored in a grid system that gradually builds a heat map as the rescuer explores the environment.
When internet access is available, data can sync through Supabase using a Django REST API to enable coordination and optional dashboards. Peer to peer communication remains the primary mode of operation.
Challenges we ran into
One major challenge was dealing with noisy and inconsistent signal data. Wireless signals behave unpredictably indoors and around debris due to reflection, absorption, and interference. We had to design smoothing and sampling strategies that provide useful guidance without pretending to be perfectly accurate.
Another challenge was building navigation without imaging or GPS. Everything had to be inferred from signal behavior alone, which required careful logic to avoid misleading users.
Balancing realism in our demo was also important. We had to clearly communicate limitations while still showing how Flare provides meaningful assistance in real rescue scenarios.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We successfully built a working navigation concept that does not rely on GPS, internet, or infrastructure.
We implemented multi technology signal detection with a fallback strategy that prioritizes UWB, then WiFi Direct, then Bluetooth.
We created a dynamic heat map that builds over time based on rescuer movement and signal analysis, rather than instant mapping or imaging.
Most importantly, we stayed honest about what the system can and cannot do while still delivering a compelling and practical rescue tool.
What we learned
We learned how powerful simple wireless signals can be when combined with smart interpretation and movement based logic.
We gained experience working with peer to peer mobile communication, signal strength modeling, and real world uncertainty.
We also learned the importance of designing for failure conditions first, especially in emergency technology where assumptions like internet access cannot be trusted.
Finally, we learned how to scope a complex idea into a realistic and demoable prototype under hackathon constraints.
What's next for Flare
Next steps include extensive field testing in controlled indoor environments to improve distance estimation and obstacle classification.
We plan to refine professional rescue modes with access control and integration into dispatch workflows.
Future work also includes improving AR guidance, optimizing battery efficiency, and exploring hardware assisted UWB support on more devices.
Long term, Flare could become a standard emergency beacon system that works anywhere, anytime, without relying on fragile infrastructure.
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