PahadNet

An offline SOS network for disasters in the mountains. It works when the mobile network goes down.

The problem

Floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh often cut the mobile network. People cannot call for help, and rescuers do not know who needs help or where.

What it does

Each pole has an ESP32 board that creates an open Wi-Fi network. When someone connects, an SOS page opens on its own. No internet or app is needed. They tap what happened and how many people need help, with an optional note in any language. Labels are in Hindi and English with large icons.

The SOS reaches the control room laptop, which shows it on a live dashboard with the location, priority and team to send. The phone then shows “Control room has your SOS”.

How it works

• The pole sends the SOS to a central ESP32 over ESP-NOW, a direct radio link with no router. It retries until the central board acknowledges it.
• Each pole sits at a known place, so its ID gives the location. No GPS needed.
• The central board passes each event to the laptop over USB. A Python hub runs the dashboard.
• Poles send a heartbeat every 5 seconds, so the dashboard shows which are online.

Gemma

A Gemma model runs locally through Ollama, so triage works offline. Fixed rules set the priority and team from the emergency type. Gemma reads the note: it translates it, writes a short summary, and raises the priority if it mentions danger.