The activation of the “Panic Button” function of the “Campus Safety” service, was developed by the e-Government Center of the institution (KID-AUTH).

One touch in the application, on the mobile phone screen of any member of the university community who moves on campus and recognizes a safety threat or danger to his health, will be enough to immediately mobilize the security service of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and deal with the incident.

The service will be within days available in the university community of AUTh and directly accessible by installing the application (app) for portable smart devices (mobile phones and tablets), through digital application distribution platforms. By pressing the alarm button, users will be notified of their location via the GPS geolocation feature, so that immediate help can be rushed to the scene. This is a pioneering service for Greek data, provided by the USA at major universities in Europe, the USA and Canada.

In the recent meeting he had with the Prime Minister Kyriako Mitsotaki and in a relevant memorandum submitted to him last September, at the TIF, the rector of AUTh, professor Nikos Papaioannou presented the innovative application “Panic Button”, which aims to consolidate the feeling of security in those who move on campus. For this reason, he even announced the proposal of AUTh to provide its know-how for its development, on the contrary, other university institutions in the country wish to offer to their members.

“The goal is to consolidate the feeling of security”

“From the beginning of the academic year 2019-20, we have implemented as an absolute priority a comprehensive plan to deal with crime within the campus of AUTh, which had taken on dimensions of uncontrolled action of all kinds of criminal elements,” he told APE-MPE. Rector of AUTh, referring to a PAMAK investigation into incidents of violence and lawlessness in the country’s universities in the period 2011-17, which “gave the AUTh the sad first with 113 out of a total of 358 recorded incidents across the country, which included arsons, armed lines,, beatings, drug trafficking, rape “.

“The issue of criminal elements it could not be done without the assistance of the public authorities, which exercise all their legal responsibilities on campus, as an integral part of Greek territory. ”

“It is a battle that is given and will be given every day, when for many years, the campus of AUTh due to its large area, its many entrances, its many buildings had become refuge for traffickers, robbers, rapists. So after redesigning the operation and layout of the security service and practical interventions were made, such as locking the entrances of buildings and campus at night, pruning shrubs, completed lighting projects, today we face new attempts at criminal activity within the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. to give birth to it “, pointed out Mr. Papaioannou.

In this context, he explained that “the panic button is a tool that we believe will significantly contribute to the emergence of a sense of security of our members, both through the prevention of crimes by the immediate mobilization of the security service, and with the possibility of immediate to identify those who are attempting to commit a crime “.

THE usefulness The panic button, as clarified by the Rector of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, is not limited to addressing the security threats of members of the university community from criminal elements, as “activating it will mobilize the university services in cases of natural disasters, fires . , but also in medical emergencies “.

“The university must return to society the knowledge and innovation produced in its laboratories, as well as respond to its members for their contribution, which technologies transformed into services. This is our role, our duty “, concluded Mr. Papaioannou, expressing gratitude to the members of Aristotle who contributed to the implementation of the service.

Photos from the trial operation of the service provided to APE-MPE by AUTh

How the Punic Button application works

The Panic Button application is based on Geographic Information Systems infrastructure using the features GPS positioning of mobile devices (tablets or telephones) indoors, and Wi-Fi fingerprinting technology to determine the position of the consultant indoors.

To avoid any abuse of the service, the mobile application that requires it certification of the user through the institutional account of a member of AUTh. The use of the service is completely optional, while the AUTh collects only the data that are necessary to serve the purpose of the service, according to the law for the protection of personal data.

The basic functionality of the system includes the Panic Button with location campus interior, location with map indication, computer support, central cartography event management platform, while already supporting iOS support and further expansion features such as high-precision indoor location, responsive team guidance , sending push notifications to users.

The service operates under the auspices of the AUTh E-Government Center, in collaboration with an external contractor with research experience in matters of geospatial data and utilizing the existing geospatial infrastructure of AUTh (GIS system of AUTh).