Ruchir Baronia, a 13-year-old Indian American has built a mobile app that can send predefined text messages with the current location when the user inputs a volume key pattern on his/her mobile device (by pressing the volume buttons in a specific sequence) or when he/she speaks a user defined voice recognition key word without having to launch the application or unlock the phone.
The California teen has used a computer, emulation software, android phones, android studio, Pocketsphinx (voice recognition library), and java were used to create this mobile app, he says.
“I experimented with multiple API’s to achieve the most accurate voice recognition and location. I was also able to reduce CPU usage by multi-threading my application,” says the young computer master. “During the development phase, I created 21 different app builds. By the end of 16th build, I was able to achieve the functionality that I wanted. After this, I polished my user interface (UI) to simplify it, and to provide more customization for the user. I was finally satisfied with the app in my 21st build. Results I created an efficient mobile app that quickly contacts for help in emergency situations.”
According to him, “My app runs in the background, so it can be used without launching it, even when the device is locked. An SMS with the location of the user can be sent just by saying a keyword or pressing the volume buttons in a specific pattern. My application runs on approximately 97.3% of android devices, with a minimum android version of API 14, or Android 4.0.3/Ice Cream Sandwich, which means that my app can run on almost all Android devices efficiently.”
Last year Ruchir Baronia, 13, of San Ramon, Calif. — about an hour away from the heart of the Silicon Valley — decided that he wanted to learn how to code. Since that time, Baronia has learned Java, joined an online community of coders and created five mobile phone apps (view his apps here: http://bit.ly/2g7nRKT).
He created another app called Rescuer, a hands-free text messaging app for emergencies. Rescuer was selected as a second-place winner in the California Science Fair and also won the 2016 Raytheon Academic Junior Special Achievement Award. His latest app Blare (found here: http://bit.ly/2fEmQhp), a program to help find lost phones with voice, has received mention on tech website CNET (see article here: http://cnet.co/2d8oc2J).