Element H

Summary of background research and project validation.

Our background research in Element A indicated a staggering prevalence of intimate partner violence, with 1 in 3 women and 1 in 10 men experiencing physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Furthermore, the digital age has introduced new emerging problems; 1 in 10 teens report the use of technology for stalking or surveillance. Traditional tools like LifeAlert—which are limited by a 1,000-foot console tether—or smartphone apps are insufficient. These tools are either too visible or reliant on devices frequently monitored by abusers. The validation for this project was further reinforced through a market research survey of over 50 respondents. The data revealed a significant demand for this technology, with 66.7% of participants stating they could see themselves or others using a discreet safety device in domestic abuse situations, and a staggering 91.1% identifying its utility for general safety, such as walking alone at night. From a health and legal perspective, the project seeks to mitigate the long-term psychological effects of abuse—where survivors are three times more likely to meet PTSD criteria—by bridging the gap between crisis onset and medical intervention. By providing a secure method for verifiable evidence collection and immediate signaling, Project Aegis empowers victims to exercise their right to communicate with authorities safely.

Core Design Requirements

Following an extensive prototyping phase, we have identified four critical design requirements that serve as the benchmarks for system success. These requirements were subjected to a formal peer review by a professional engineer, ensuring that the testing protocols provide objective, unbiased, and statistically significant data. The four facets of this texting phase are:

• 1. Achieving a high-reliability GPS fix within critical time constraints to ensure an emergency response

• 2. Validating cloud security rules and API key rotation to prevent unauthorized data access to our website's database

• 3. Ensuring near-instantaneous haptic, vibrational confirmation for the user while maintaining a discreet profile.

• 4. Confirming the end-to-end propagation of emergency alerts across the LTE-M cellular network.

Overview of Testing Procedures

To rigorously validate these requirements, we implemented a series of standardized tests. Each procedure was refined based on expert feedback to eliminate observer bias

• 1. We are testing the Time to First Fix (TTFF) and Horizontal Dilution of Precision (HDOP) when the GPS "cold-starts." This ensures the device transitions from a "Cold" state to a "Search and Lock" state within 90 seconds, providing coordinates accurate to within 5 meters.

• 2. Penetration & Database Security Testing: To ensure victim data remains impenetrable, we are safeguarding from abusers attempting to tamper with the database. This involves using revoked API keys and malformed data packets to confirm that the Firebase security rules successfully return 403 Forbidden errors, preventing abusers from tampering with or accessing shared contact information.

• 3. We are measuring the millisecond latency between a hardware interrupt and the Linear Resonant Actuator (LRA) reaching its resonant frequency. Additionally, we are measuring the noise of the vibration in decibels to confirm the device remains audible only to the wearer, fulfilling the design requirement for total discretion.

• 4. We are quantifying the propagation delay across the SIM7080G LTE-M link. We are monitoring the RSSI (Signal Strength) and timing the delta from the hardware trigger to the physical reception of an SMS on a target device, ensuring a clickable, accurate Google Maps URL is delivered in under 30 seconds.

 Domestic abuse victims often face significant barriers when seeking help. Even if they have some mobility,  71% of victims' report that abusers monitor their communication, restrict their movements, and/or manipulate them in a manner that prevents them from reaching out in an indiscreet manner. Current safety tools are either too visible, inflexible, or too dependent on established infrastructure or law enforcement, leaving victims without discreet, reliable, and comfortable ways to signal for help. 

Purpose: 

Project Aegis employs a hardened cloud integration strategy utilizing RESTful API protocols to bridge the gap between physical hardware and the Google Firebase environment. This testing cycle serves as a formal Penetration and Validation Audit; it confirms that the database successfully ingests valid location packets while simultaneously enforcing Server-Side Security Rules. By challenging the system with unauthenticated 'Mock' injections and malformed data—such as invalid phone number strings—we verify that the database is encrypted and secure. Furthermore, this phase validates the efficacy of our Credential Rotation Protocol, ensuring that even if an API key were compromised, the underlying contact architecture remains impenetrable to potential abusers.

Pass/Fail Criteria: 

• Valid packet (contact information) appears in the database within 5 seconds of trigger; "Mock" packet from an unauthorized source receives a 403 Forbidden error.

Materials:

• ESP32 Serial Number

• Firebase Database Console

• Contact information

• projectaegisportal.com website configuration interface

Initial Conditions: 

• Database is in "Listen" mode while it is also set to require authorization. 

Safety Hazards:

• Hard-coding API keys in public repositories or unencrypted code poses a risk to user privacy

Control:

• Encode a secret API key that hackers do not have access to

Procedure:

• Open the Firebase Console, Postman API tester, GitHub repository, and projectaegisportal.com website

• Test if information is registered in the database in less than 5 seconds

• Test if the database will only accept approved devices

• Test if the database will only accept valid phone numbers

• Test if the API key in the GitHub repository can be used to access the database; if it can, then the database can be breached 

Mock Data Chart:

The formulation of this testing plan represents a massive effort to lessen the gap between theoretical engineering and life-safety application. By focusing on the four critical vectors of GPS precision, database security, haptic feedback, and cellular propagation, we intend to create a device that prioritizes the user's physical safety and digital privacy above all else. These specific tests were selected because they represent the "primary failure points" of any emergency wearable; if the GPS fails to lock or the security is breached, the device ceases to be a tool for protection and becomes a liability. I expect these tests to yield results that confirm a high-speed system response, specifically demonstrating that an SOS signal can travel from a physical button press to a secure cloud server and then to a target handset in under 30 seconds. This expectation is rooted in the high-performance capabilities of the SIM7080G module and the optimized interrupt-driven logic of the ESP32, both of which were chosen for their industrial-grade reliability.

While this plan is comprehensive regarding technical performance, certain criteria, such as long-term battery degradation and structural durability (e.g., waterproof ratings or impact resistance), are not included in this current cycle. These were omitted primarily because the current project phase focuses on electronic and logical validation rather than mechanical environmental hardening, which would require specialized industrial equipment beyond the scope of a high school senior project. By narrowing the scope to the core communication and security pipeline, we can ensure that the fundamental technology is flawless before moving toward physical "armor" testing. The next logical phase is Element I, where we will transition from this theoretical plan into the actual execution of these procedures. During that stage, we will gather the empirical data needed to prove that Project Aegis is not just a concept, but a functional, secure, and life-saving reality for those in the Inland Empire and beyond.