Using the Ethereum Blockchain to save lives!
World’s first application of blockchain technology in GSM-GPS devices for emergency services.
In a global first, SmartKey, has unveiled a blockchain technology solution which allows emergency services in one of Poland’s biggest cities to reach those in need of help quickly and easily.
Smartkey has created a special application to open road barriers or secure buildings and gates instantly, without having to track down a keyholder or wait for access. The system will be ready for worldwide rollout from early 2021.
Today, we are more security conscious than ever. Virtually every home has its own individual entrance gate and barriers are appearing in an increasing number of housing estates. The goal is to prevent unwanted visitors or vehicles from entering its area. However, in certain cases, such as emergency incidents, where vehicles must be able to enter without delay.
Delays can costs live:
Ambulances and fire engines and police cars are often called to help save human life and prevent damage. In such situations, every second counts.
However, every now and then we hear of cases where an ambulance could not reach the injured person in the house or apartment because there was a barrier in the way. In a well-publicised case in Southern Poland a few years ago, a woman who had just undergone heart surgery fainted in her apartment. The entrance to the building was blocked for emergency services by a barrier. The family could not open it because they did not have a car, so they did not have a remote controller and a key. The ambulance tried to arrive from the other sides — unsuccessfully
Paramedic, Krzysztof Jurołajć said: “Sometimes it takes several minutes before we can even figure out who can give us access.. We always call the person who called the emergency number, but if it is an older person who called for help to himself and is no longer able to answer the phone, it can quickly turn into a tragedy.”
“We also need to carry several dozen kilograms of equipment or a stretcher from the ambulance — sometimes over a long distance. It is a similar issue with intercoms when no one answers or picks up with a long delay. Sometimes we have to wait for a neighbour to open the door and all this costs us valuable time in an emergency.”
To add to the complexity, emergency vehicles can be trapped in a housing estate if the gate closes automatically. At night, the chances of this happening increase massively.
Blockchain technology to the rescue!
There are thousands of manufacturers of gateways and access systems in the world that operate independently. When deciding to close a given estate, the developer chooses the solution that suits him best. There is also no universal system, so all the companies that produce entrance gates, barriers or intercoms must connect to some selected system that will guarantee the security of their data.
SmartKey and blockchain smart contracts offer a safe and secure solution. It provides a connector between the virtual world via smart contracts to a physical action such as opening a gate. It is also the world’s first platform that allows you to combine physical value (Blockchain Of Things) with DeFi projects operating on the Ethereum and Waves blockchain.
How does the system work for emergency services? The ambulance or fire brigade crew has their ID profile and application on a smartphone or other device with GPS. When they drive in front of an entrance gate or barrier that is in the system and press “Open” the gate will open automatically. .
Thanks to this solution, everyone wins, because SmartKey allows emergency services to quickly arrive to people who need help. Producers, in turn, do not have to worry that someone will steal their data. It is worth adding that the system is intended not only for housing associations or developers — it can also be used for private properties.
The SmartKey system to save lives based on blockchain technology is already operating in several large housing estates in Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship — a region with 1 500 000 inhabitants in north-eastern Poland. The project partners are medical services and owners of housing estates. At the beginning of 2021, the solution will be able to be adapted to any system worldwide.
“The application is intuitive and easy to use, and we do not have to carry a bag of remote controllers or keys with us. And most of all, we can reach the affected residents much faster,” emphasizes Krzysztof Jurołajć .
