ResQ | Devpost

Introduction
Inspiration
Problem
Effects
Effects Continued...
Solution
Thank You!

Overview

ResQ is a mobile app that addresses the challenge of mitigating the devastating effects of natural disasters on communities, such as loss of life, property destruction, and economic disruption. Additionally, ResQ has the capability of running on both iOS and Android devices and uses a chatbot feature to guide users out of natural disaster threats in their areas, ensuring that users are safe from these natural disasters. Finally, the app alerts users to a variety of natural disasters, including hurricanes, flash flooding, tornadoes, wildfires, and many more!

Core Features Before the Hackathon

Appealing user interface that is self-intuitive and easy to use
Simple login and registration page that enables the app to customize natural disaster threats specific to the user
Simple navigation bar and header make it easy for the user to navigate between pages.
Chatbot named DisasterBot, which have the ability to give users more specific information about the disaster, plan evacuation routes, provide useful safety tips, and other capability

Core Features During the Hackathon

Specific page that displays natural disaster threats in your area
Emergency contact feature that stores emergency contacts during a disaster event
Phone notifications about any upcoming details about a specific disaster

Target Audience

This chatbot application is designed primarily for residents living in disaster-prone areas who frequently face natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and wildfires. However, this app can be used by anyone who just wants to be a step ahead of any natural disasters that pose a threat to their area. By targeting these groups, the app can deliver timely alerts and essential safety guidance to those who need it most.

What Inspired You

After hearing about continuous wildfire occurrences in the news, we did some research to learn more about natural disasters. Although we were very much aware of the devastating impact that it has on communities, such as injuries and disabilities, property damage or destruction, economic losses, disruption of essential services (e.g., water, electricity, healthcare), environmental degradation, a stop in agricultural production, and many other consequences, we weren't fully aware of the logistical impact. In 2023, natural disasters displaced approximately 50 million people worldwide (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre). Additionally, natural disasters caused global economic losses estimated at over $200 billion in 2023 (Munich Re (reinsurance company) and the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters). With more background and an understanding of an issue, we were inspired to create ResQ, which we hope will be a chatbot that can guide users through difficult natural disaster scenarios in order to save lives and be able to quickly recover from these devastating events.

What You Learned

Through the development of ResQ, we gained a deeper understanding of the extensive impacts of natural disasters. Additionally, we realized that there was a need in this sector for helping people escape tricky natural disaster situations. As for coding related skills, we learned invaluable skills such as the use of numerous API's and development of a chatbot. Finally, we realized the importance of creating tools like ResQ to provide timely alerts and essential guidance, aiming to mitigate the impact of these events and support affected communities effectively.

How You Built Your Project

JavaScript React-Native framework for frontend development
Expo Emulator to test and run the application on iOS & Android devices
Used Open AI LLM and Giftedchat to create a functioning chatbot
Express, Mongoose, Node.js, and MongoDB for backend development
Weather API for retrieving natural disaster information
Google Maps API and Geocoding API for displaying location
Coded in Visual Studio Code

Challenges You Faced

The development process presented several challenges. The main challenges include finding a weather API that can be used to get information about natural disasters based on location, coming up with a welcoming UI for the users, and developing a chatbot that can answer natural disaster questions effectively. However, these obstacles were overcome through rigorous testing, expert validation, and a commitment to creating a dependable tool for disaster management and relief efforts. This comprehensive approach has resulted in an application capable of significantly aiding communities in managing and recovering from natural disasters.