How to install Wi-Fi in a natural disaster zone

Insufficiently rapid reactions to natural disasters often lead to many deaths which could be reduced by setting up better connection within the area. Weather, a subsidiary of IBM, predicts that up to seven hurricanes will hit the United States in 2019. There are currently plans to develop quick Internet installation technology to deal with these disasters.

July, hurricane season in the States, is coming soon, so the company’s experts are hard at work developing a rapid Wi-Fi installation system for natural disaster zones.

The company is actively collaborating with Project Owl, which is made up of former hackers. They specialize in developing public communication systems in emergency situations, which makes them an excellent partner for IBM. What’s more, the Project Owl team was named as a winner in IBM Call for Code competition, proving they have the necessary skill level for this challenge.

Project Owl developers are currently working on DuckLinks. These devices were named after children’s rubber ducks, toys often used for bathing. DuckLinks are shock-resistant airtight containers that can be used to quickly install Wi-Fi in any situation. This development was released back in 2017, but since then the technology has been significantly updated. Today, Project Owl developers want these devices to reach areas up to 100 square kilometers, with the option of connecting to the network from any device.