App that alerts your dear ones during attack

5-23-2013 National:

The increase in sexual crimes seems to be pushing young women to come up with innovations for their security. After two engineering students of Chennai came up with lingerie designed to give electric shock to attacker, a city based student has developed a mobile application that comes to the rescue for women in distress.

Saba Dasadawala, 21, who is studying Information Technology at LJ Institute of Engineering and Technology, has designed an android-based personal security software named HOAP. The app, which can be downloaded to smart phones, helps women in distress by sending an alert, photo of the attacker and exact location to three pre-set phone numbers. “I just wanted the name to rhyme with Hope and so named it HOAP,” said Saba, whose mother is a doctor and father professor in medical college in Bhuj.

Speaking to dna, Saba said, “I have never experienced such harassment, but after observing the growing incidents of sexual attack on women, I wanted to design the application.” When someone creates an account in HOAP, the user need to provide three phone numbers to be contacted during emergency.

“When in distress, the app gives two options: send SMS or MMS. If chosen SMS, it will send “help” message to the three numbers with exact location. If chosen MMS, it attaches picture of the attacker taken by the victim to the three numbers with exact location,” said Saba. The application has facility of calling emergency number apart from the handy button to click picture. ..Source.. by Niyati Rana