Eliza Fletcher will never finish her last 8.2-mile run and I find this alarming.
I find it alarming that she was kidnapped on a school campus, where she should have felt safe. Yet, more unsettling is the ease with which such a tragedy could recur.
Consider the plight of someone being forcibly taken into a vehicle at 4 a.m. The opportunity to call 911 might be fleeting. Relying on emergency contacts raises questions: can they quickly grasp the situation and effectively communicate it to emergency services? How are they even sure any of the emergency contacts even got the call for help?
This concern is even more pronounced for international students and tourists, whose emergency contacts often reside in another country and time zone.
Imagine, however, if in Eliza's case, someone had managed to call 911. What then? The 300,000 Americans reported missing in 2022 by the National Crime Information Center highlight a grim reality – the typical response times may not suffice. In the end, Eliza was abducted, and her body discovered three days later.
It haunts me to think her last moments were spent in the belief that help was out of reach, when I know as someone currently residing on a college campus, this might not have veritably been the case. This incident, however, underscores the potential of systems like LiveWALKTM.
In such situations, proximal, vetted strangers are empowered to either record the incident from a safe distance, contact emergency services, or safely intervene.
LiveWALKTM is more than a tool; it's an embodiment of our instinctual urge to help others in crisis, providing a secure and effective way for us to change narratives like Eliza's, ensuring longer, safer journeys for all.
Yours,
We are a diverse group of tinkerers, thinkers, and poetry enthusiasts. Former software engineers and interns from Figma, Microsoft, and Brex, we are united in addressing core challenges in emergency response and security systems.
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Co-founder
Founding engineer
Co-founder
LivewalkTM is a security platform tailored for solo travelers and outdoor enthusiasts, ensuring their safety and peace of mind for their loved ones.
Using our provisionally patented algorithm, it launches a robust search for proximal, vetted aides when prompted either by a traveler missing a check-in or when a search is actively initiated by a traveler’s loved one through the app or by the user themselves.
Indeed, LivewalkTM is much more than a mere location-sharing platform. It surpasses conventional location sharing by enhancing traditional emergency response techniques, such as reaching out to emergency contacts or prompting individuals to call emergency services.
LivewalkTM offers a dynamic and proactive solution, especially crucial when individuals in danger might be incapacitated. In such scenarios, LivewalkTM intervenes to launch a search for nearby vetted assistance, significantly increasing the likelihood of prompt and effective help, thereby adding a vital layer of security.
While our platform still allows for the sharing of your location with friends and family, LivewalkTM 's map feature serves a more significant role. It enables the initiation of help searches for your loved ones when you believe they are in need, thereby elevating their safety to a new level.
In the event you require assistance and a search is initiated on LivewalkTM, the first and most likely group to be notified of your distress are the nearby members of your security group.
This system exemplifies our approach of leveraging the safety of numbers, offering the reassurance of a virtual group’s support even when you are out alone. While the notification can potentially reach members of other security groups nearby, it is predominantly the individuals in your security group, categorized from 0 to 3 based on rigorous security checks, who are alerted first and are likely to positively respond to your request.
The highest level, security group 3, consists of users who have undergone all vetting, including Persona identity verification, email verification, a background check (which we will not directly view), and virtual interviews. These members are not only the most responsive but also key to creating a scalable, easily usable, and safe network around you.It's recommended to complete as many security checks as possible, aligning with our aim to ensure a reliable and efficient response in emergencies by leveraging the safety in numbers.
This scalable approach ensures that, though physically alone, you are backed by a community, enhancing safety without compromising usability or security.
Please be aware that these security checks may need to be periodically updated to uphold the integrity and safety of our platform.
While the LivewalkTM search algorithm is designed to efficiently find assistance in situations where you or your loved one are unable to help yourselves, the success of receiving aid also hinges on your platform profile.
For instance, your history of search requests plays a role. If there's a record of frequent false alarm searches on your profile (though we do have systems in place to limit these), this may negatively impact the likelihood of getting prompt responses, even from members of your own security group.
Conversely, if you have a history of responding positively to others' calls for help, this can increase your chances of receiving timely assistance, potentially even from members of higher security groups.
Keep in mind that your response time ultimately depends on when another set of persons on the platform decide to say “yes” to your call for help.
It's important to note that while most users on a trusted platform like LivewalkTM are likely to respond positively to a genuine request for help, there are no absolute guarantees regarding the timing or certainty of assistance. Our platform acts as an additional, crucial layer of protection, particularly in moments when you might feel unnecessarily vulnerable or alone in potentially critical situations.
At present, we're in the process of rolling out the beta version of LivewalkTM at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus.
Our next step is to launch in major cities including Chicago, San Francisco, and New York.Our expansion strategy prioritizes locations with high tourism and outdoor activity rates, as well as areas that unfortunately experience higher crime rates. We believe these areas will benefit the most from the safety and security our platform offers.
We are also open to suggestions for future launch locations. If you're interested in bringing LivewalkTM to your city, we'd love to hear from you! Your input could play a vital role in our expansion plans.
