Award for Mobile Phone App

A mobile phone app used to create geographical maps of crisis and catastrophe areas has been awarded a main prize at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona (Spain). Geoinformatics scientists at Heidelberg University were major contributors to the project. Data generated via the MapSwipe app can be used, for example, to determine the number of inhabitants affected in a disaster area or to fight the spread of disease, says Alexander Zipf, who directs the Geoinformatics division of the Institute of Geography. MapSwipe is a mobile open source application of the "Missing Maps" project. The goal of this humanitarian project is to pre-emptively map countries and regions especially at risk for natural catastrophes, conflicts, and disease epidemics. Volunteers use the app to generate maps: They receive satellite images for viewing and then tap and swipe to locate infrastructures such as buildings and streets, and can thus also document any changes in the areas. This data helps aid organisations to respond better to crises on the ground.