Four ( 4 ) Ways Technology Can Start Saving Lives Tomorrow!

4 ways technology can start saving lives tomorrow!

I've been deeply disturbed by the recent revelations surrounding the alleged murder-suicide mission undertaken by the Germanwings pilot. The most difficult part for me to digest is the after facts that have presented themselves after 150 souls were lost. Why is it that the pilot’s suicidal tendencies are only now coming to light? What the hell was Lufthansa (owner of Germanwings) thinking at the time of hiring this guy? It’s baffling and ridiculous to me that any organization would entrust an individual with a past severe medical condition to transport hundreds of innocent lives. As is the usual protocol with these events, lessons were learned the hard way and airlines such as Qantas have already started to update their policies on cockpit access. Other airlines will no doubt follow but in the backdrop of all these updates to common sense protocols is the loss of innocent lives. I understand that there are casualties to see the light of day at times but the optimist in me always hopes we are someday ahead of the curve as opposed to behind it.

As the world gears itself for the Apple Watch or the newest Samsung device or even the iPhone 7, a part of me questions if technology somehow gets lost in the fad elements. Don’t get me wrong, I love technology as much as the next geek but I believe the power of it is capable of so much more – including saving lives! Recent events such as air crashes or school shootings always have me searching for some solace in technology and the power that could be.

While many of these ideas may have been discussed or are in development, here are 4 ways I believe technology can start saving lives tomorrow!

1. Remote Cockpit Access to Commercial Planes – We know drones are unmanned and remote controlled from some hidden military location. Why can’t the same technology be applied to commercial airliners? If the Boeings and Airbuses of the world had a mandate for being able to take over flying controls of an aircraft anywhere in the world, potential hijack situations could be averted. In the case of Germanwings 9525, it was obvious to traffic control that something was wrong. In any suspicious event like that, someone has to have the power to override controls on an aircraft and remotely land it. Yes, this type of technology is expensive I’m sure but there is no price on saving lives. Hijacking continues to be a global concern for airlines and this type of technology update to aircraft could change the game overnight.
2. Smart Phone Panic Button by Default– I’m sure there is an app or two you can download for this stuff. The recent spree of rape cases in India has deeply bothered me and it got me thinking about how cell phones (something pretty much everyone owns in India these days) could be used effortlessly to send out a distress signal. If someone is being attacked, could a voice prompted cry for help (maybe a special pre-assigned password) trigger a siren alarm on the phone itself, trigger an automatic call to the nearest law enforcement agencies with precise GPS coordinates of the victim? Even if the phone is located a few feet feet away from the individual, the voice prompt would register. Think of how many lives would be saved or crimes prevented in the first place. Phones are a key part of our lives today and there is no reason why manufacturers likeApple and Samsung shouldn’t include this technology as a default to their users.
3. Health Risk Alerts via Wearable Technology – Apple is about revolutionize the wearable technology market with its Apple Watch this year. As an avid fan and user of a Fitbit myself, I believe the wearable tech market is about to explode and radically change how we think about our fitness and health. Today these devices give us valuable analytics around our sleep patterns, calories burned, heart rates and even steps we climb. Tomorrow, I believe the power of wearable technology can quickly transcend to preventing strokes, heart attacks or any other life threatening occurrences. By constantly monitoring heart rates and other vital signs, there is no reason these devices can’t proactively alert a patient about risk or even send any detection of elevated levels to their health provider. As is often the case with a medical emergency, time is your most valued asset and wearables can radically cut that time in half or even prevent something bad from happening in the first place. I’m excited to see where this market is going and I hope to hear of use cases where lives have actually been saved.
4. The Black Box Cloud – This isn’t necessarily a life saver but it could have implications in saving lives down the road. As the search continues for Malaysian Airlines Flight #370, it is disturbing that there is no clue as to how aBoeing 777 completely vanished. There is no clue about what happened to the plane or the passengers because of a backdated reliance on a physical black box (that may never be found). With Cloud Technology already becoming such a reality, why aren’t airlines utilizing this technology as a remote means to capture audio? Black Boxes already capture the last 2 hours of a flight and there is no reason a cloud based black box can’t do the same. The expense and uncertainty alone of locating a physical black box should justify this technology today. Information found in a timely manner could prevent the same disaster striking another aircraft! The good news is there are signs of airlines embracing this type of technology already. Qatar Airways recently signaled their intent to adopt black box streaming.

I’m not suggesting these technologies are going to change the world radically… After all, society still needs to get better, education needs to expand to everyone and the world in general can benefit from becoming a better place. These are obvious expectations but because we live in an imperfect world, let’s use the very technology that has become such an integral part of our lives anyway to help us get there.