The Air-Pal app is meant to enhance personal security. Photo: Screenshot.

A team of students from Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev are developing a personal security app to enable local authorities to respond quicker to emergencies, the Hebrew news site Mako reported.

According to Ben-Gurion University, the Air-Pal app will provide the infrastructure for operating a fleet of security drones. App users who feel threatened (walking down a dark street alone, for example) will be able to summon a drone that will transmit live video images to a person of their choosing or public safety entities.

Air-Pal was one of several projects featured in the “Students Innovating in the Public Sector 4.0” competition held at the Justice Ministry in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

The competition was organized by Ben-Gurion University and Google Israel, with the stated goal of improving online governmental services.

Watch an Air-Pal promotional video below (via Mako):