Morse Code Flashlight

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Build a "Morse Code SOS Flashlight" in 15 Minutes

Every smartphone has a default flashlight, but it lacks vital features when emergencies strike. If your vehicle breaks down on a dark road or you lose your trail while hiking, a solid beam drains your battery and fails to signal distress. Today, we'll build a dedicated safety torch with an automated SOS strobe and a real-time Morse code text transmitter—no prior coding experience required.

🎮 Test & Inspect the Prototype

If you want to see the code, copy the code for your own project it's at GitHub, click the View code buttons.

To download and use the app created using AI at Google AI Studio use the Google Play link for testing by clicking the Download to Android Button.  Note:  The interface may different and match your device's default styling.
 

Video Preview → Download to Android →

💡 The Opportunity: Why Build This?

• The Problem: When people are in distress or stranded, manually tapping a screen to pulse an emergency signal is impractical, exhausting, and inconsistent.
• High-Intent Search Traffic: Users regularly search for focused utility terms like "sos flashlight," "morse code torch," "emergency strobe light," and "survival flashlight."
• Cross-Promotion Ecosystem: Outdoor and emergency utility apps have strong natural synergy. This utility provides an ideal launchpad to cross-promote complementary tools, such as digital compasses, offline altimeters, or emergency sound sirens.

🎯 How the App Works

The UI uses a high-contrast dark theme (optimized for night vision and battery conservation) divided into three distinct operational modes:

1. Constant Torch: A massive toggle button allows one-tap steady light using the device's rear camera LED.
2. Automated SOS Loop: A bold red distress button continuously flashes the standardized Morse code distress signal (··· ——— ··· : three short, three long, three short) until switched off.
3. Text-to-Light Transmitter: An input field accepts any custom phrase (e.g., "HELP" or "HERE"), automatically translates the characters into accurate Morse intervals, and pulses the LED flash accordingly.

🤖 The Magic Prompt (Copy & Paste)

Copy the prompt below and paste it directly into your AI coding tool or developer assistant to generate the complete project:

Write a native Android app in Kotlin using Jetpack Compose. Build an offline emergency flashlight and Morse code signaling app using the device's rear LED camera flash via Android's CameraManager (setTorchMode). Core Requirements: 1. Permissions: Safely request and handle CAMERA permission for LED torch hardware access. 2. UI Design: Build a clean, high-contrast dark layout with oversized controls suitable for night use. 3. Feature 1 (Torch): A primary toggle switch to turn the continuous flashlight ON and OFF. 4. Feature 2 (Automated SOS): A prominent red 'SOS' button that loops the international distress pattern (... --- ...) with standard timing: short burst (200ms), long burst (600ms), element gap (200ms), and pattern gap (1400ms). 5. Feature 3 (Text-to-Morse): A text input field with a 'Transmit' button. Map alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9) to Morse code representations and pulse the LED sequentially. 6. Stability: Run flashing routines inside Kotlin Coroutines on a background dispatcher so rapid LED toggling does not freeze the UI or crash the CameraManager service. Ensure torch is safely turned off when the app is paused.

🚀 Beginner 4-Step Launch Checklist

Step 1: Test Hardware on a Physical Device 🔍

Emulators cannot trigger physical camera LEDs. Deploy your build to an actual Android phone. Trigger the SOS strobe and let it run for two full minutes to confirm that rapid camera hardware calls do not trigger an unhandled CameraAccessException or overheat the camera module.

Step 2: Export the Build Bundle 📦

Export your project from your development environment as an Android App Bundle (.aab) for optimized distribution across different screen densities and chip architectures.

Step 3: Draft Your Store Listing ✍️

Target niche outdoor and safety keywords instead of just competing for "flashlight." Use terms like "Emergency SOS Strobe," "Morse Code Torch," "Survival Hiking Light," and "Roadside Safety Tool." Highlight that the app works 100% offline with zero ad trackers.

Step 4: Upload and Publish 🎉

Upload the .aab bundle to your developer console, complete the App Content declarations (noting offline functionality and standard camera hardware usage), and submit your app for review.