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Here's how it works…
Detects Disasters
Monitors sensors to detect events like building collapses or blasts. If you're unresponsive, it triggers an SOS.
Sends an SOS Signal
Emits a loud siren and broadcasts a Bluetooth SOS signal, so people nearby know someone needs help.
Helps Others Find You
Nearby phones with Igatha can detect your SOS signal, estimating how far you are and guiding rescuers towards you.
Protects Your Identity
Signals uses a pseudonymized device ID — enough to get you rescued, but nothing that reveals your identity.
Works Entirely Offline
No cellular network, no internet, no GPS — no problem. Your phone becomes a rescue beacon when infrastructures fail.
When it matters most…
Gaza Carpet-Bombing
50,000 lives lost and 116,000 injuries (still rising). Noteworthy headline: "No Safe Place: Despite ‘Evacuation Order’…"
Lebanon Airstrikes
4,000 lives lost and 16,000 injured (still rising).
Turkey-Syria Earthquake
55,000 lives lost and 118,000 injuries.
Myanmar Earthquake
5,000 lives lost and 7,500 injuries (still rising). Noteworthy headline: "Myanmar rescuers save 63-year-old woman from rubble 91 hours after being buried…"
US Hurricane Helene
250 lives lost and 110 injuries. Power outage in 10 states. Noteworthy headline: "Southeast Communities Devastated by Historic Flooding…"
US Hurricane Ian
160 total lives lost and over 1,600 people rescued in Florida.
Recent Feedback
This is awesome. Technology put to good use. What about making the device vibrate SOS pulses. The person at stake might not have the strength to tap or bang, may be able put the phone on a metallic surface and send vibrations?
Have you considered making the app to take a GPS reading then turn off the GPS to save battery life? If the person say is trapped in rubble they likely not going to move afterwards thus you can relay this location information to nearby receivers.
This is great. I just went through Helene in Asheville last year and it was painfully obvious that our cloud overlords have overlooked the offline disaster use case. Basically, when you’re in a situation where you desperately need technology to help, you’re on your own. I was imagining that tools like this would be great, but without the cloud, I was helpless.
It would be interesting to see if some of the earthquake advanced warning notifications could be integrated too. at least then it would be an "official" warning. seems like false positives would be possible with the device's motion sensors even with an "i'm okay" type of cancel.
Excellent! Good to know it uses the standard BLE advertisement for the SOS and doesn't need WiFi or GPS. Well thought out. Excellent work. Thank you for making this available as open source!
It's a tough problem to solve because you're up against the laws of physics and the very boring (and often counterintuitive) "Antenna Theory". Bluetooth is in the UHF band, and UHF isn't good for penetrating anything let a lone concrete rubble. Honestly I think sound waves travel further in such medium than RF waves.
FAQ.
How many people in my city must install the app for it to serve its purpose?
The loud siren can help save your life even if you're the only one who has the app installed. Secondary features, like bluetooth SOS signaling, require the app to be installed on at least 1 other device in your vicinity.
What sensors are used in disaster detection?
Will the siren start if I drop my phone at work?
In case of war, can it be used to find survivors for purposes other than saving them?
Is Igatha open source?
Can I help develop or contribute?
How will you make money to continue development?
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