The company’s R&D&I Division held a meeting with a group of 16-year-old girls to help develop the When & Where application
Magtel’s R&D&I Division is working with The LPSN Company to improve its When & Where App, created to provide better security for women making their way home.
Five sixteen-year-old secondary students from Móstoles (Madrid) drove this project, as part of which they have developed a mobile App alongside two mentors. The App is called When & Where. It is an innovative tool that promotes better security for women “when they go out for a run or a walk”, as it reads in the App description. The App detects deviations in route, for example if someone stops or does not arrive at their destination and alerts a pre-selected emergency contact or the emergency services. It also has a panic button that is connected to Spain’s emergency services in case there is no response from the user.
The company’s R&D&I division explains that, in addition to making an initial assessment of When & Where, the Magtel Foundation has also studied the possibility of reusing some of the functionalities of the ICT++ Teleassistance App — developed by Magtel’s R&D&I Division — in When & Where. The Magtel Foundation’s ICT++ teleassistance is a project geared towards assisting dependent, elderly individuals through information and communication technologies (ICT).
In this week’s meeting, various recommendations were made for improving the user interface, and suggestions for App modifications that would optimise its speed in case of emergency were also put forward. For example: including a direct button for the emergency service number so that users do not have to return to the main menu; utilising auto-complete when searching for a location a tutorial for those using the app for the first time. The R&D&I division’s telecommunications area also responded to various queries raised by the young women.
Initiative awarded by the Magtel Foundation
The LPSN Company, comprising of five secondary students from the Velazquez Secondary School in Mostoles (Madrid), received an award in the category of Social Innovation in the second edition of the Magtel Foundation Awards last December.
When & Where is a free App available for Android devices (and will soon be available for iOS). The App features two different modes that can be used depending on your situation, and you can save your favourite routes to use again whenever you want. It also features a button that contacts emergency services directly in case the user is in danger. The App is intuitive, simple, and focuses on providing security for women. However, it is also intended to help children or people with Alzheimer’s, and respects user privacy by making sure they are always in control of their data. The aim is to ensure the App can be used free of charge, and without relying on mobile data usage.
It is worth highlighting the young age of the people behind this project: five 16-year-old secondary students from Mostoles who, with the help of two mentors, have developed the When & Where App to provide women with extra security. The LPSN Company is comprised of Lucía Adrián, Lucía Fernández, Paula Fernández, Sandra Caamaño and Nuria Villoria. Their mentors are Cristina Márquez and Óscar Amador, PhD students at the Carlos III University of Madrid.
