Overview
BondMate is being developed within BTL-COP as a community-friendly alert system for people who may need support in a difficult or unsafe situation. It is intended to complement the project’s work to build trust between communities and police: engagement creates relationships, while a simple way to request help could provide practical support when it matters.
The concept is shaped with people who may face vulnerability, including those affected by aporophobia and poverty-related crime, as well as practitioners and local services. It explores discreet alert activation, voluntary location sharing linked to an alert, and routes to appropriate support. The details will be developed and assessed through prototyping.
Community input shaping the design
In the first stage, 124 people took part in surveys in Madrid, Valencia and Croatia. Their responses are helping the team define what the device should do and how it should fit into local support arrangements. Participants highlighted simplicity and discretion, privacy, different reasons for requesting help, the role of trusted people and services, and practical needs such as charging and maintenance.
From design to prototype
The first stage has produced a BondMate pretotype: a set of user needs, design requirements and an initial technical approach. Preliminary feasibility work used commercial development kits; it did not produce a finished BondMate device.
The next stage will compare possible designs and technologies, develop and review proofs of concept, and refine prototypes with input from communities and practitioners. Technical work will also explore how alerts could connect securely with existing response systems. Usability, privacy, reliability and local support arrangements will guide these decisions.
Pilot evaluation is planned for a later stage. This page will be updated as prototypes are developed and evidence from testing becomes available.