HelpBy

HelpBy is an app that aims to redefine safety on Indian streets. With our towns and cities densely populated , molestations , harassment , theft and accidents are quite common on the streets. Owing to the high population, it becomes very difficult for the Law Enforcement Agencies and the Police Forces to handle such a huge number of cases. Moreover, most of these harassments go unreported and untalked by the victims. Going with initial surveys ,1 in every 3 women have faced sexual harassment on Indian roads.According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 4,05,861 reported cases of crimes against women in 2019 alone, including sexual harassment, domestic violence, rape, and acid attacks.

HelpBy can impact solo travellers women and children in urban areas having a high population density. A third of the total population in India live in urban areas and hence can deeply benefit from Helpby.

Contrary to the SOS and women safety apps available in India, HelpBy involves the local people and the nearby police with the help request directly going into their mobile phones with the exact location coupled with easy navigation with Google maps. The app assures users with nearby and immediate help as well as creating a fear in the mind of the wrongdoer that people nearby can always reach for victim.

On opening the app, you create an account with your Aadhar number, profile picture and other details. Your aadhar, phone number and email will be verified. The UI after this is kept simple, allowing prompt action. A help button occurs on the screen. If pressed a help request goes to all users in a radius of 1 km. It works in a very similar fashion to the cab booking apps. Whoever accepts the help gets an map interface open on their screen that allows easy navigation to that place through Google and Apple maps. One can also chat with the person and check for identity. The helper can be anyone , from a civilian to a police personal, a doctor to an office goer. Once the person reaches the area of need and helps the victim, both of them can complete the Procedure. The integrity of the app is maintained with intelligent message checking, and double sided ratings , reviews and reports.Any suspicious activity will be thoroughly checked and with the documents provided assured with Digilocker, wrongdoing on the app will be minimized.

Imagine you have a health emergency in your house and with a single click you get access to nearby doctors, nurses and people in the locality ready to help you with it. Imagine that someone is following you, and with a single click the woman next door pops her head from the window, the shopkeeper nearby comes rushing to you.Imagine what change it will bring in the lives of travelers !

My dream is simple. 

I dream of a future where family members will not have to worry about their daughters coming home late. I dream of a future where anyone would think twice before committing a crime.

I dream of a future where Technology and Sustainable Development go hand in hand. I close this message with high dreams and hopes for support.

I am an AI Researcher and I always focus my research on a cause.Volunteering with several social organizations from the ground, teaching children on red light areas, visiting houses of trafficked and rescued women and children in the Bangladesh borders and closely being associated with changemakers around Kolkata, I have realized with all the major advancements taking place in the country,the core still remains unstable.Rape cases and molestations have been on a surge since 2020, abductions are quite common till date and thefts have been knocking doors at every major Indian city. I made up my mind to narrow my research on AI and Sustainability and for the past 2 years my work has been focused in this direction. The idea of a community engagement for safety has been with me for years. Finally in July 2022, I pitched the Global Youth Mobilization about my idea. They funded me with a grant of $3000 to accomplish my fight against gender based violence. I was helped by Paramita Bannerjee, the founder and visionary of Diksha, an organization that works closely with marginalized children and adults. I am solo into this till date, but at times various people have helped me along the way on formulating and executing HelpBy.

We have the Beta version of the app that has the entire pipeline as described in the above sections.  The app has been tested by 200+ women volunteers primarily in Kolkata and Delhi. Our team is continuously upgrading and thinking of newer ideas to iterate over the app.

Being an AI Researcher, I am bringing key intelligence into the app so as to mitigate any wrong doings through the app.Reviews, reasons for report and messages will be monitored and past on app activity of the user will be tracked to prevent malpractices.As users use HelpBy more, we will also get to understand a much more detailed overview of crime hit areas which with Machine Intelligence will help provide the Indian Police authorities with solid leads.

I have been working all alone for the past one year. I am privileged enough to get wonderful mentors and well wishers along the way. I now find HelpBy well equipped and ready to take a step on to the further authorities.With the $3000 dollar awarded to me, I could create an app and spread awareness on sexual harassment on red light areas and villages in West Bengal. I believe with the right team and the right amount of funding , I can transform my visions into realities in creating a Sustainable Future with Technology. I would love to have assistance from Industry leaders on both technical and monetary routes. The target size of HelpBy is the entire population, which is why the technology should be guided by a strong team. As HelpBy dwells in security, prompt support through calls and emails must be provided. All these can never be a one man’s job.Since the aim of HelpBy is to dwell in the non profit zone, financial support is pf utmost importance.

On the social and sustainable space, I would like to define other organizations as changemakers too. There have been transformative applications built in this space. Many applications in this space work with SOS systems,notifying the family members and close friends in case of any emergency. Although they provide the exact location there is very little navigation system and it is extremely unlikely that the close ones will be able to provide them immediate help in times of need.Several other systems have emergency alarm, police calling facilities and automated camera access. The alarm gets constrained with the abilities of the system. Although the camera serves as vital evidence, they rarely help at the moment. HelpBy involves the local people and the nearby police with the help request directly going into their mobile phones with the exact location coupled with easy navigation with Google maps. The app assures users with nearby and immediate help as well as creating a fear in the mind of the wrongdoer that people nearby can always reach for victim. 

Envision a scenario where, in the event of a health emergency at home, a mere tap on your device connects you instantly with nearby medical professionals and compassionate individuals in your neighborhood, poised to offer assistance. Picture a situation where if you feel threatened or followed, a simple click summons the aid of your neighbor peering out from their window or the shopkeeper nearby rushing to your aid. Contemplate the transformative impact such a system could have on the lives of travelers, providing them with a sense of security and support wherever they go. My aspiration is straightforward: I yearn for a future where families can rest assured about the safety of their loved ones returning home late, and where the very thought of committing a crime gives pause to any individual. I envision a future where technology is harnessed hand in hand with sustainable development, fostering a safer, more interconnected society. As I conclude, I do so with lofty dreams and a fervent hope for the realization of this vision.

1) Right now HelpBy can only support a small amount of people due to financial burdens in running the cloud servers. The first aim will be to able to scale to 10000+ users concurrently using better and faster servers.

2) Creating a community in India who can sustain HelpBy and ensure its usability and stability. I want HelpBy to be adopted and maintained directly by the public.

3) Collaborate effectively with security personnels and the Police force in India to launch HelpBy smoothly for the Indian public.

Tech Stack - React Native

Services - Google Cloud and Google Map.

AI - AI pipelines built from open sourced implementations for better routing amd intelligent message feedback systems.

Currently I am the only person in the team. I have had interns and spftware developers in the team previously.

1 year 6 months

We welcome everyone who dreams to change the World !

We hope that HelpBy can be used smoothly by all women, men and children out there. I do not wish to form a business with HelpBy and dream it to be run by the people and for the people.

We aim to sustain through CSRs and public fundings. Previously I have received a grant of $3000 from the Global Youth Mobilization. I used the amount for creating HelpBy and spreading awarness to combat gender based violence in India. The awarness campaigns were particularly spread in the red light areas and borders towns of India and Bangladesh. It was during these times that we collected user feedback of HelpBy.