The scale of the problem is really huge and it’s getting worse with every passing day. So we thought of a solution that taps into the collective goodness of billions of people with smart phones and tablets. We created I SEA.

This is a mobile app that, in collaboration with e-Geos Satellite Imaging Company and Migrant Offshore Aid Station, crowdsources the search of the Mediterranean Sea for migrants and refugees who are crossing it in unseaworthy boats.

The app divides the satellite image of the Mediterranean into millions of small plots. On downloading the app, each user is assigned a unique plot of the sea to monitor. So whenever they spot a possible migrant ship, they can tag it through the app and report it.

This information, along with the coordinates, is passed onto Migrant Offshore Aid Station ships that are carrying out search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean.

We created I SEA. This is a mobile app that, in collaboration with e-Geos Satellite Imaging Company and Migrant Offshore Aid Station, crowdsources the search of the Mediterranean Sea for migrants and refugees who are crossing it in unseaworthy boats.

The app divides the satellite image of the Mediterranean into millions of small plots. On downloading the app, each user is assigned a unique plot of the sea to monitor. So whenever they spot a possible migrant ship, they can tag it through the app and report it.

This information, along with the coordinates, is passed onto Migrant Offshore Aid Station ships that are carrying out search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean.

The idea empowered the world to get help to the migrants at a place where they needed the most – in the middle of the sea. It also created awareness for MOAS and its efforts to rescue the Mediterranean migrants.

The idea was pick up by media. Leading tech magazines, like Tech crunch, covered the app and talked about its potential to save lives in sea.

Also, 3 Satellite Imaging companies expressed their interest to be part of I SEA app and its crowdsourcing effort.

ll top EU Leaders are discussing possible solutions to tackle this issue, but the number of migrants taking the sea route to Europe just keeps increasing. And so does the death toll. The good news is the whole world wants to do something about it.

The migrants get help when they’re on land but there’s hardly anyone to help them when they take the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea. So we decided to give billions of people with smart devices the power to help them while they’re in the middle of the vast sea.

To achieve this, we worked with Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) ships, which carry out search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean, and e-Geos that provide satellite images for people to monitor through their phones – na device that’s always close to them.

3,770 migrants died while trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe in 2015. And by the end of 2016, it’s going to get worse with the number of Mediterranean migrants expected to rise by 400%.

Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), with its ship patrolling the Mediterranean, is doing its best to help the migrants. But they need more means to monitor the big wide sea, so that help can reach on time.

So the brief was to think of a technological solution that can aid them in widening their search when it comes to spotting the migrants.

Besides this, the objective was also to create more awareness for the problem and empower the world to do something about it through MOAS.