The Serval Project: Telecommunications Any Where, Any Time

Dr. Paul Gardner-Stephen Rural, Remote & Humanitarian Telecommunications Research Fellow, Flinders University

Founder, The Serval Project (http://servalproject.org)

Mobile communications are useful

But it depends on infrastructure that can be damaged …

Image courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/plant-trees/; some rights reserved.

Image by Rob Chandler (http://www.flickr.com/people/96147639@N00); Some Rights Reserved.

… overwhelmed

… or absent

So we assumed zero infrastructure

… and came up with this; just the phones talking to each other,

relaying calls, and resolving numbers for each other; a cellular commons.

Making the best of what’s available

Serval versus Cellular Infrastructure

Think Skype, but uses your existing phone number, and doesn’t need the internet

+ Completely open and open-source; free for all

+ Can be carried and activated in seconds by those who need it when it is needed

+ Can be retro-installated during an emergency

+ Does not need cooperation from carriers

+ Does not need cooperation from local regulators*

+ Distributed nature makes network resilient

– Shorter range (for now) compared with cellular

– Shorter battery life (for now) compared with cellular

Mapping / Situation Awareness

Some Potential Use Cases

- Field-hospital intercom/paging/local communications

- Field communications, monitoring, logistics support

- Situation awareness gathering, from the local populace as well

- Enabling local populace/volunteers/staff to be assured of the safety of family, and so freed emotionally and physically to help others.

- Reduce load and demand on existing/remaining communications infrastructure.