LifeBeacon: Offline Emergency Communication and Victim Detection System for Disaster Areas

Abstract

Natural disasters often compromise traditional communication infrastructure, significantly delaying emergency response and coordination efforts. This research presents a novel, disaster-resilient communication system designed to address these challenges through the integration of mobile ad-hoc networking and Wi-Fi-based victim localization. The proposed system comprises of a decentralized, infrastructure-less, self-healing mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) utilizing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Wi-Fi direct with an encrypted SOS messaging mechanism between end devices and a Wi-Fi probe request-based end device detection mechanism that estimates the location of affected individuals based on their mobile phones. If nodes disconnect, a self-healing algorithm guarantees automatic reconnection and uninterrupted message flow, while the ad-hoc network facilitates low-power, peer-to-peer communication without the need for traditional infrastructure. Both targeted and broadcast notifications are supported by the SOS messaging system, which is encrypted to protect the integrity and security of data. The victim localization system, meantime, makes precise estimates of the population and location of people in the disaster region using trilateration and Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). Experimental evaluations conducted under simulated disaster conditions demonstrate the system's scalability, energy efficiency, and effectiveness in maintaining real-time communication and accurate victim tracking.