CHENNAI: Children in the city will soon get the chance to be a ‘Secret Agent’ that they dream of, with a new application planned by the Greater Chennai Corporation. To be tentatively titled ‘Chennai’s Secret Agent X,’ the app will let children report flaws in civic infrastructure and earn points in exchange. “Although the application is targeted at adolescents, anyone can participate,” said Corporation Commissioner G Prakash. While this is a fun game for children, it also allows the Corporation to crowd-source information that it expects would come in handy, especially during disasters.
The app will be available in less than a month, Corporation officials said.The app will run zone-specific or city-wide campaigns. For instance, on potholes, illegal banners and unusable toilets, participants may click photos and upload them on the app. The more potholes they report, the more points they get.
Those with the highest number of points will be featured in the app’s leaderboard tentatively titled ‘The city’s best secret agents.’ This will be updated periodically with names of those who have scored the maximum points. For extra points, they can watch awareness videos on the app. Special rewards like free metro rides are being planned for those on top of the leaderboard.
The application was conceptualised for Chennai by MP Azhagu Pandia Raja, fellow, India Smart Cities Fellowship 2019, who also conceptualised the www.madraswasteexchange.com to sell and buy reusable and recyclable waste online.
hey kiD, wanna be a secret agent?
A group of volunteers from the Information Technology sector were then approached to build the app. The app was built on a voluntary basis. "Education has now become mark-based. Apps like these will also help children imbibe some civic sense too," said Azhagu Pandia Raja.
Once an issue has been reported, the 'agent' that reported the issue will be sent another task within a specific period to check if the issue has been resolved. "The app will say 'Agent, please check if the pothole is still there' and they can go back and check. This will also help in maintaining accountability of authorities," he said.
In order to eliminate duplicate entries, the app will use Global Positioning System to track a duplicate entry and bar it from being uploaded. The concept in use here is 'gamification', which is described as the process of integrating game mechanics in an existing application or website.
More issues you report, more points you get
Though the app is targeted at adolescents, anyone can participate in the game, says Chennai Corporation. The more issues they report, the more points they get. The app will have zone-specific campaigns.