Quilt
Quilt is a conceptual ad-hoc support system that helps people help others in times of an emergency. Pandemics, fires, earthquakes, flood – the world has seen a rising number of disasters impacting all of us. Beyond any government power, we can offer our urban society a sense of agency with an empowering system to cope with such complex hardships. This system does not rely on people preparing beforehand because although people have good intentions and plan on being prepared, most rarely are.
‘The Big One’ Inspiration
The effort was initially spearheaded by our Experience Design team after all sharing interest in ‘The Big One,’ the next projected regional earthquake in California. Trying to conceptualize the sequence of events if an earthquake of that magnitude were to hit the Bay area brought up feelings of confusion and uncertainty. Any experience we had with earthquake preparedness involved an “all or nothing” approach. Either you have a fully stocked earthquake kit and a dedicated “prepper” mindset or you’re not prepared at all. Regardless of your level of perceived ability to react to the situation, as a regular person, how can you prepare for something there’s no way to actually prepare for?
Research
Preparedness
After researching and talking to local preparedness organizations like NERT and ReadySF, both having programs for teaching prepping tips and classes, it was apparent preparedness infrastructure is lacking. The training classes are inaccessible to most and preparedness materials online are dense and cumbersome to parse through. Elderly people and those with low mobility who live alone are entirely left out of the conversation. Regardless, people just aren’t preparing.
Response
Through dissecting projected timelines from sources like the USGS and the Big One podcast, we constructed our own ‘official’ timeline of events during a large earthquake. Emergency crews are directed at the hardest-hit areas such as building collapses or fires, and hospitals are often inundated tending to the injured or sick, leaving a large majority of the community in need of guidance and support.
Finding that this was very focused on logistics and government response, we added a ‘Human’ layer. Mapping out emotional responses allowed us to imagine how people would actually be feeling throughout this timeline.
Something interesting —
Prior to most instances of collective behavior there is a period during which people move about in a somewhat agitated but aimless way called milling. How can we influence this potential for collective goodwill?
Areas of Focus
We saw the opportunity to hone in on the more emotional side of response. We focused on creating a system that connects people with one another in a low pressure way. That way, those who are able to help have a tool to communicate with those who need support or assistance.
How does it work?
The Quilt system is an ad-hoc mesh network built by the Quilt App and Quilt Beacon. Many people in an urban setting will have the App passively on their phones, while Beacons will be distributed to vulnerable populations, those without phones, and businesses across the city. When the next disaster hits, these hardware Beacons and mobile apps will activate and establish an independent mesh network between devices.
Quilt App
The App lies dormant on our phones until needed, and then becomes our greatest tool. In the first 48 hours, most of us, healthy and able people, will still be disoriented, confused, and scared. Assuming other networks go down, the app runs on its mesh network so we can mark ourselves safe, communicate to our loved ones, receive trusted information, and offer help to our nearby neighbors.
Quilt Beacon
The Beacon is a comforting vocal aide that is there for those that may be isolated without any way to know what has happened. Current thinking is not addressing the emotional distress endured by the majority of the community, especially by those that are older or more isolated. The Beacon offers a voice in the midst of chaos and connects these individuals with a local neighbor, the first step to making sure those that are often forgotten are not left behind in the early aftermaths.
