[extropy-chat] Worldwide SOS system

[Emlyn]

On 05/10/05, Mike Lorrey <mlorrey at yahoo.com> wrote:
> --- Emlyn <emlynoregan at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Here's a simple sounding idea...
> >
> > I was thinking about the fact that people still get lost in
> > wilderness
> > areas, in a time when we've got satelites covering the globe, taking
> > high(ish) resolution pictures of everywhere on the planet I think.
> > That's crazy, don't you think?
>
> The 3G phone technologies have built in gps, and even if they are out
> of cell range, their signals can be picked up by ELINT spysats.

If you have a 3G phone you are likely a high urban dweller who never
leaves a city anyway :-)

>
> >
> > So how about this... set up a system for constantly analysing the
> > most
> > recent high res map information, looking for a big "SOS" anywhere in
> > the world. Send any positive results along with GPS coordinates to
> > relevant authorities. Then people who get lost could build such a
> > thing out of logs or whatever they can find which contrasts with the
> > background, and have a good chance of being located and rescued.
>
> I can forsee lots of resources wasted on pranks were such a system put
> in place. Criminal pranksterism, even. If I wanted to rob a bank in a
> rural town, I'd put out an SOS sign in the other side of town to reduce
> police resources.

Maybe you could just set something on fire? Easier.

>
> >
> > There might be a better way to do this. But the idea is that the lost
> > person needs to be able to signal to the satellites, requiring no
> > special equipment.
>
> How about we let people, who are so stupid as to go into the wild
> unprepared, win their Darwin awards as they deserve?

Even prepared people have problems sometimes.

btw Mike, do you think the microsats could be used to set up
"International Rescue" on a budget?

--
Emlyn

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