MountaiNow - an app for mountain safety
23.05.2016
Why an app for safety in the mountains? In Italy in 2015 alone there were more than 450 deaths and more than 7 000 accidents in the mountains, as reported by alpine rescue data. Very often the causes are poor excursion preparation and little or no prior knowledge of the conditions of the mountains.
That is why a free app, called MountaiNow, an innovative service would make use of the latest ITC and GIS technology to ensure greater safety in the mountain for its users. The app, still in development, would work in English, French, German and Italian and covers the entire Alpine region in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, Switzerland.
MountaiNow is being designed to be operational on all platforms and smartphone tablets that use Android and iOs. It uses crowdsourcing, i.e. information of those who have made the same hike/climb in the previous 48 hours that has been transmitted, via mobile phone or tablet, to a server that accumulates and sends them to those interested at their request.
This way anyone who wants to take a foray into the Alps could receive a direct account of the conditions that other hikers have found in the previous 48 hours – including photos that users could add to the information collected.
The platform that hosts the initiative, also features a short video (1 minute and 40 seconds) and a detailed explanation of how the proposed app works and the benefits it would bring. The experts from various sectors, who are programming and creating the app, are also presented.
To ensure the app’s availability can be at no cost to the user, it was necessary to launch a crowdfunding campaign aimed at reaching at least 35 000 euro. (If this goal is not reached by summer 2016, the project launch will be jeapardized.) Any figure above this threshold would mean more information could be included in the app, making it more complete by adding various sites that reveal meteorological conditions, avalanche bulletins, structures available and so on. The technical quality is certified with the support of the Swiss Alpine Club, CAS, and the largest French Alpine Club, CAF Chamonix.
In addition to the crowdfunding contributions, the app can be kept free of cost through sponsors (private and institutional) who want to support the ‘social service’ function of an initiative to reduce risk in the mountains; which is why it is the support of Rotary Roma Cassia, and others that are joining, is especially appreciated.
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