RedFlare is an automated emergency contact notification system. It automatically contacts the people who love you in the event that you didn't get home when you should have.
Say for instance that you just moved to Boston, MA, and you want to go exploring the mountains just outside the city. Unfortunately you don't have many friends in town, so no one will notice if you've gone missing for quite some time. If the unthinkable happens and you've been pinned under a rock, broken an ankle or just gotten lost in an area without cell reception, you could be in serious trouble.
As an example, pilots who file a start and end time for their trip along with waypoints are rescued in an average of 13 hours. Those who started their trip without filing this information with the FAA increased their time-until-rescue to an incredible 42 hours. A heard start for search and rescue crews can often mean the difference between life or death.
Before starting your trip simply log on to the RedFlare website and fill out basic information: when you're leaving, when you expect to return, a list of emergency contacts, and a few general waypoints on a map. If you haven't checked in by the time you should be home we'll send you a text message to make sure you're alright. If you don't respond within a timely manner we'll notify your primary emergency contact that something might be amiss; they'll be provided with basic information about your trip, including a log of your movements.
If that person is unable to reach you, we'll continue down the emergency contact list and inform everyone else to let them know you're missing and might be in need of assistance.
While RedFlare was designed with the adventurer in mind, there are plenty of other uses. Any time you feel there might be a risk to yourself and an end-time to your movements can be specified you can use RedFlare. One of our favorite uses is for college students who might be going out for the evening and want to ensure they arrive back home safely.
RedFlare was created by two developers; Brian Franklin, based in Seattle, and Matthew Congrove, based in Boston. Brian, a web developer, was inspired to create RedFlare after moving to Seattle and wanting to explore the outdoors, but knew that if he went missing no one would notice for quite some time. He brought in Matthew, another developer, who has extensive experience working on search and rescue missions in cooperation with the United States Air Force.
The two created RedFlare during the Boston Globe's Hack Day Challenge in March, 2011.