Alright Reddit let’s see if we can do some good,

I think we're all feeling a little powerless right now as our governments fumble to protect both us and our older friends & family. But I believe there are still things we can do to help. With community support, I would like to host an internet hackathon to create open-sourced technology-based solutions that can benefit our communities during this time of crisis. If we can create a solution that protects just one person from being hurt by this virus than it will be well worth the time and effort. Very rarely do we get the opportunity to save lives.

So here’s what I’m thinking:

Description:

The objective of the hackathon is to concentrate the vast talent of the internet on creating and distributing open-source technology solutions that can support the prevention of Covid-19. No ideas are off-limits, communication and collaboration are highly encouraged, and all platforms, frameworks, and libraries are acceptable. I ask that all participants make their code public and provide documentation with visual representations of their applications.

Just from my short time brainstorming I have come up with the following ideas for people to pursue, but of course there are plenty more, and I encourage you to improve these or think of more.

• Store supply tracker – Utilize user-reporting and select stores open-APIs to monitor inventory of essential items (canned foods, toilet paper, hand sanitizer) and locate the items they need.
• Volunteer delivery service for groceries - The grocery store will be one of the most dangerous places for older people to visit. Young people can volunteer their time picking out groceries for these at-risk people. Create a channel that allows the volunteer to communicate with the user, allowing them to do small bouts of shopping for people who need it. (This one comes with logistical issues I know)
• Reminders – An app to remind users to wash their hands, don’t touch your face, keep distance from people, etc. at set intervals or upon action.
• Credible News App – With a lot of disinformation going around, create an app dedicated to supplying information only from credible sources and tailor it to the users area.
• Temperature and heart rate monitor – Assemblable Arduino kits to measure body temperature and heart rate at home
• Wearable person detector – Utilizing a combination of infrared and ultrasonic sensors, a kit for people wear on their back to notify them when someone has entered an unsafe distance at the grocery store, etc.
• Supply Share – Over the course of the next few months, people may run out of essential supplies. Create an app that allows those with a surplus to identify and share supplies with those in their community who are in need.
• Infection Density – Create an application using live statistics that provides a visual statistical model documenting the density of reported cases within geographical areas.
• Testing station Locator – Many countries plan to launch drive-through testing as is being done in Korea. Create an application that will load a list of testing stations near you
• Reporting Wait Times – Have users/hospitals report wait times at the clinics/doctors/hospital, giving insight for those who may have to go.

When?

The event will run from Monday March 15th through Sunday March 22nd (but you can get started early). I will create a spreadsheet of submissions in the discord, containing a link to each project’s github, the technology used, and a short description of the project at hand. As submissions come in, the community can try them out and provide feedback.

Where Can I Go to Learn More?

I have created a discord channel for people to find coding partners, ask questions, brainstorm, and share elements of their work amongst each other. This will be the primary source of communication throughout the event.

https://discord.gg/TfQS8V

What’s next?

Following the conclusion of the hackathon, we will work as a community to pick a select few solutions democratically and put our full force behind fixing, optimizing, and improving these solutions to provide the public with a stable product. Additionally, we will work on creating a grassroots movement to market this to the public as free and available software.

What can I do to help?

To get this thing off the ground, I am going to need a lot of help from everyone, not just programmers. Below are a few ways people can help:

• Upvote and share this message with your friends, share it on other platforms, get people involved. The more ideas we create, the better the final product will be. The more people know about our final product, the more people we can help.
• Those with digital art experience: create digital clip-art and share it in the UX-design channel. Digital doodles of things like hand-sanitizer, groceries, fonts, etc. would be very useful. Reach out and collaborate with others on application interfaces.
• People with experience running events like this, please reach out and help. If this gets off the ground I will need support
• Those with business experience, work on creating and sharing plans for marketing these to the general public. Reach out to contacts, journalists, city officials, etc. The older generation isn’t as adept with technology, work on ways to reach them.
• Get active in the discord, help people who need it, find people to collaborate with, and

I know these are going to be hard times for everyone and I've been thinking of ways we as individuals can help and I honestly believe this could do some good. Please provide feedback, share, and comment if this is something you'd be interested in.