Emergency Mobile Networks Take Off On Model Planes

A project to turn mobile phones into mesh networks that can communicate if a catastrophe knocks out cellular infrastructure has been recognised with a $US10,000 prize from US Aid and Humanity United.

The prize was awarded under the Tech Challenge for Atrocity Prevention program, with the Australian-led Serval Project team recognised on the basis of “impact, innovation, scalability and feasibility”.

It's been a busy few years for project, which began as a simple Android app that allowed phones to create a WiFi mesh network for VoIP conversations.