In a world first, Saatchi & Saatchi Australia has developed a way to deliver emergency communications to outback Australia via Toyota LandCruisers.

It’s a well-known fact that the Australian Outback is a vast, harsh and unforgiving place. Over 65 per cent of the country receives no mobile signal, so in times of emergency the lack of reception can be incredibly dangerous.

However, as the campaign suggests, while you might be far from a cell phone tower in the Outback you’re never far from a Toyota LandCruiser.

And that’s why Saatchi & Saatchi, in partnership with Flinders University, is pioneering a new device that can be fitted in Toyota LandCruisers, enabling them to create a pop-up emergency network that will bring communications to the most remote parts of the Outback.

The device has been engineered using a clever mix of WI-FI, UHF and Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) technology, an area that lots of people are looking into – including NASA for interplanetary communications, to turn vehicles into communications hotspots each with up to a 25km range.

The technology is being piloted in a fleet of LandCruisers fitted with the device in the remote Flinders Ranges – one of the most harsh and dangerous parts of the Australian outback – where the Mars Society test their vehicles.

Brad Cramb, divisional manager – national marketing Toyota, said, “The marrying of communications technology and the LandCruiser ­ a vehicle that has a long history in the outback ­ presents a huge opportunity for us to provide much-needed infrastructure to remote communities around Australia.”

Dr Paul Gardner-Stephen of Flinders University added, “Humanitarian technologies aren’t just something nice to have, they all too often end up being the difference between life and death. It is hard to conceive of a more robust and extensive support network for Outback Australia than the collective LandCruiser drivers of this country”.

Mike Spirkovski, executive creative director, Saatchi & Saatchi Australia said, “It’s amazing that in this day and age with such epic technology advances in mobile communications over 65 per centof Australia still receives no mobile signal.

“With this in mind and the fact that Toyota’s Land Cruiser is one of the toughest vehicles in the world and rural Australia’s most popular 4×4 we created the Land Cruiser Emergency Network”.