In this thesis, we analyze the process of developing a mobile application on the Android platform. The purpose of the application that helps rescue injured persons from the mountains is to facilitate reporting casualty’s exact location and transmit it to the Information Centre. Since casualties do not usually know their exact location or because locations obtained by the mobile operator are not precise enough rescue operations require more rescuers than would be necessary and also valuable time is lost.
The basic functionality of the application is sending user’s exact location via text message which works well even in circumstances when data transfer is difficult. In certain areas of the alpine world there is no signal coverage, therefore the application was added an option for tracking in the background and automatically sending a selected number of text messages containing user’s location in specified time intervals (e.g. every 15 minutes). This way, in case of an accident or loss of signal, the rescuers can reconstruct user’s route and reduce the search area. The application also provides instructions on how to handle accidents and, as a preventive measure to reduce the number of accidents, we have added up-to-date information and warnings concerning conditions in the mountain area.
In the introductory chapter of the thesis, we research statistic data and justify the necessity of the application. The second chapter explores the Android operating system and its architecture as well as Android Studio development environment in which the application is developed. In the third chapter, we first examine the technology for determining mobile user’s location based on the GPS system and then the importance and possibilities of geolocation. The fourth chapter is dedicated to planning and creating the application. We describe its architecture, user interface design and its testing in the mountains. In the last chapter of the thesis, we describe possible additional functionalities and indicate options for further development of the application.
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