No SAR expertise required. The search creator is any person — family, friend, bystander. They log in, describe the situation, and the app handles the rest.
Anyone can create a search — no special role or expertise needed. An account is required only to create and manage a search, so the app can keep track of it over time. Quick sign-up: email + password or social login.
A plain-language form — no jargon. This is the core input that drives the search area model. The profile captures both identity (who they are) and mobility (how far they could realistically go).
From the form, the system silently computes what the model needs — elapsed time since last seen, expected walking speed, terrain affinity, and transit likelihood — and selects the matching subject profile. The creator never sees these calculations.
The system runs once and saves all time steps. The search area grows with time — the longer since they were last seen, the larger the zone. Each zone is probability-weighted by terrain and mobility.
The creator sees a map with a highlighted search area and a simple time slider. Hot colours show where the person is most likely to be. They pick the time window that matches how long the person has been missing. No technical knowledge needed.
One decision, made once. The creator chooses how they want to approach resources — either they already have people and vehicles ready, or they need the app to tell them what to get.
Enter what you have available — people on foot, bikes, cars, drones. The app distributes them optimally across the search area.
The app analyses the area and tells you exactly how many of each resource type to get to cover it in a reasonable time.
Simple counters. The creator sets how many people and vehicles they have. They don't need to know which terrain each resource suits — the system handles that.
The system analyses terrain composition, area size, and probability distribution, then outputs a recommended resource mix to cover the area within a target time window — stated in plain language the creator can act on immediately.
Creator uses this to call for help — share the recommendation with friends, local groups, or authorities. Once resources are confirmed, they switch to the assignment screen.
The system splits the search area into segments matched to each resource type — foot teams get forest and trail zones, bikes get open fields, vehicles get roads. Each segment is balanced for roughly equal search time. Dense or inaccessible cells are flagged for drone or specialist teams.
The creator gets one shareable link for the whole search. They send it via WhatsApp, a group chat, or read it aloud. Anyone with the link can join as a volunteer — no account needed. Optionally, the creator can assign specific zones to specific people before they join.
The volunteer opens the link on their phone. They see the search map with available zones colour-coded by priority. They pick a zone that suits their transport mode — or the creator has already assigned one to them. One tap to claim it and start.
Inside their zone the volunteer sees a priority heatmap — warmer areas to search first. As they cover sub-areas they tap to mark them searched. The map dims as cells are cleared. Simple, one-handed, works on any mobile browser.
Volunteers can drop a pin anywhere in their zone with a short note. This is how field intelligence gets back to the creator — a spotted footprint, an abandoned item, an area that can't be accessed. Remarks appear instantly on the creator's dashboard.
Once finished, the volunteer taps "Zone complete". Their zone turns grey on the creator's map. If other high-priority zones remain, the creator can send them a new zone link — or stand them down.
The creator's screen shows the full search area with real-time status per zone. Volunteer remarks appear as pins on the map. No phone calls needed to know what's happening in each zone.
When Zone 3 is done, the creator sends the bike team to Zone 5. If too much time passes without finding the person, they slide to a wider time window — T+6h areas are already computed and ready instantly.
Person found or search suspended — the creator closes the incident. The full record is saved: zones searched, remarks logged, time elapsed, outcome. This data can be shared with authorities and helps improve future searches.
Volunteer taps "Person found here" → GPS pin sent to creator → creator notifies everyone → search closed
Creator marks suspended → all progress saved → can be resumed later or handed off to authorities with full log