SafeWalk is an AI-powered walking companion that stays with a user throughout their trip, keeps a live voice conversation going, monitors the journey in real time, and escalates to a trusted contact when something goes wrong.

The product is built around one idea: safety should not begin only after the user realizes they are in danger. SafeWalk combines companionship, route awareness, live trip monitoring, safe-word detection, SOS, and trusted-contact escalation into a single mobile experience.

Sign Up	Login	Home	Choose Route
Active Trip	Escalation Flow	Trip Summary	Trip Summary

• Starts with destination input and route planning
• Fetches route options from Google Maps
• Generates deterministic route observations from real route metrics
• Runs a live AI companion conversation for the duration of the trip
• Shows visible trip safety state: Safe, Uncertain, Risk detected
• Supports a safe word, manual SOS, and inactivity-based escalation
• Sends emergency alerts to a trusted contact with trip context and location
• Saves user profile, safe word, and emergency contacts with Firebase

1. User signs up or logs in
2. User enters destination and trip mode
3. User chooses a saved safe word or creates a new one
4. User confirms emergency contacts and current location
5. App fetches route options from Google Maps
6. User selects a route and starts the trip
7. SafeWalk begins a live AI conversation and monitors the trip
8. If a safe word, late response, or SOS is triggered, SafeWalk escalates
9. Trip ends with a summary screen and optional conversation feedback

SafeWalk is designed as an active safety companion rather than a passive emergency tool.

Instead of only offering a panic button or background location sharing, the app stays engaged with the user throughout the journey. It combines:

• conversational AI companionship
• route awareness using Google Maps data
• live trip monitoring
• safe-word detection
• SOS and escalation flows
• trusted-contact alerting

The goal is to create a product that feels emotionally supportive in normal use, while still becoming decisive when the situation turns critical.

• React Native
• Expo
• Expo Router
• TypeScript

• Google Maps Platform
• react-native-maps
• Google Directions and Places Autocomplete via backend

• ElevenLabs conversational agent
• LiveKit / WebRTC native integration

• Node.js
• Express
• TypeScript

• Firebase Authentication
• Cloud Firestore

• Nodemailer
• SMTP email delivery for trusted-contact alerts

safe-walk/
├── app/                     # Expo Router screens
├── assets/                  # App branding/assets
├── backend/                 # Express backend
│   ├── src/config/          # Backend env/config
│   ├── src/routes/          # API routes
│   ├── src/services/        # Maps, email, trip logic
│   └── src/types/           # Backend domain types
├── components/              # Shared React Native components
├── constants/               # Shared constants and theme
├── context/                 # Auth and trip state
├── data/                    # Mock/demo UI data
├── hooks/                   # Platform hooks and conversation hooks
├── services/                # Frontend API + P3 logic
└── types/                   # Shared frontend types

• Email/password sign up and login
• Firebase-backed user profile
• Saved safe word
• Saved emergency contacts

• Route options from Google Maps
• ETA and distance
• Rule-based route observations from route metrics
• Comparison text without fake safety scoring

• Route map and trip status
• AI companion message stream
• Live voice session for the full trip
• Visible safety indicator

• Safe word detection
• Manual SOS
• Late-response countdown escalation

• Alert state modal
• Trusted-contact email alert
• Trip complete screen after escalation

SafeWalk does not use LLM-generated route scoring for the route cards.

Instead, route observations are generated from real Google Maps route data and inferred metrics such as:

• ETA
• distance
• step count
• turn count
• intersection-count proxy
• main-road ratio
• nearby-place signal count
• residential/commercial area proxy

This keeps the route summary believable, deterministic, and demo-safe.

• User is on route
• No issue detected

• Late response or suspicious inactivity
• Countdown alert shown with vibration

• Safe word used
• SOS pressed
• Countdown expires
• Backend escalates trip status

• Login
• Sign Up
• Home / Start
• Safety Setup
• Route Selection
• Active Trip
• Emergency Escalation Modal
• Trip Complete / Feedback

npm install

cd backend
npm install
cd ..

Use .env.example as a starting point:

cp .env.example .env

Frontend env values:

EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://YOUR_LOCAL_IP:3000
EXPO_PUBLIC_ELEVENLABS_AGENT_ID=
EXPO_PUBLIC_ELEVENLABS_USE_SERVER_TOKEN=false
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=
GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=

EXPO_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_API_KEY=
EXPO_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_AUTH_DOMAIN=
EXPO_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID=
EXPO_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_STORAGE_BUCKET=
EXPO_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_MESSAGING_SENDER_ID=
EXPO_PUBLIC_FIREBASE_APP_ID=

Notes:

• EXPO_PUBLIC_API_URL must use your Mac/PC LAN IP for physical device testing
• GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY is injected into native config through app.config.js
• ELEVENLABS_API_KEY is only required when using a private ElevenLabs agent token flow

In backend/.env add:

PORT=3000
GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=
SMTP_HOST=
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=
SMTP_PASS=
SMTP_FROM=

For Gmail SMTP, use an app password rather than your account password.

Enable:

• Email/Password authentication
• Firestore Database

Recommended Firestore rules:

rules_version = '2';
service cloud.firestore {
  match /databases/{database}/documents {
    match /users/{userId} {
      allow read, write: if request.auth != null && request.auth.uid == userId;

      match /emergencyContacts/{contactId} {
        allow read, write: if request.auth != null && request.auth.uid == userId;
      }
    }
  }
}

cd backend
npm run dev

Backend runs by default at:

http://localhost:3000

npx expo start --dev-client --clear

npm run web

npm run ios
npm run android

For the live ElevenLabs conversation flow, use a native dev build rather than Expo Go.

• GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY is read from environment and injected through app.config.js
• A native rebuild is required after changing native map config

• Requires native modules
• Works in dev builds, not Expo Go
• Uses a continuous conversation session for the trip duration

SafeWalk currently uses email alerts for escalation.

Alert emails include:

• user name
• trip ID
• origin and destination
• alert reason
• latest known location
• Google Maps link
• trip mode
• timestamp

npm install
npx expo start --dev-client --clear
npm run web
npm run ios
npm run android

cd backend
npm install
npm run dev
npm run build
npm run start

npx tsc --noEmit
cd backend && npx tsc --noEmit

Most safety tools are reactive. They help only after the user decides something is wrong.

SafeWalk is different because it is proactive:

• it stays with the user during the trip
• it keeps conversation going
• it monitors the trip state
• it escalates when the user needs help

That combination of companionship and protection is the core product.