Guidelines for the Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Flood Emergency Response

There is increasing interest in using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in flood risk management activities including in response to flood events. However, there is little evidence that they are used in a structured and strategic manner to best effect. An effective response to flooding is essential if lives are to be saved and suffering alleviated. This study evaluates how UAS can be used in the preparation for and response to flood emergencies and develops guidelines for their deployment before, during and after a flood event. A comprehensive literature review and interviews, with people with practical experience of flood risk management, compared the current organizational and operational structures for flood emergency response in both England and India, and developed a deployment analysis matrix of existing UAS applications. An online survey was carried out in England to assess how the technology could be further developed to meet flood emergency response needs. The deployment analysis matrix has the potential to be translated into an Indian context and other countries. Those organizations responsible for overseeing flood risk management activities including the response to flooding events will have to keep abreast of the rapid technological advances in UAS if they are to be used to best effect

Multi-UAV Integrated Internet of Things System for Generating Safe Map in Post-Disaster

芝浦工業大学2019年

IoT and UAV Integration in 5G Hybrid Terrestrial-Satellite Networks

The Fifth Generation of Mobile Communications (5G) will lead to the growth of use cases demanding higher capacity and a enhanced data rate, a lower latency, and a more flexible and scalable network able to offer better user Quality of Experience (QoE). The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of these use cases. It has been spreading in the recent past few years, and it covers a wider range of possible application scenarios, such as smart city, smart factory, and smart agriculture, among many others. However, the limitations of the terrestrial network hinder the deployment of IoT devices and services. Besides, the existence of a plethora of different solutions (short vs. long range, commercialized vs. standardized, etc.), each of them based on different communication protocols and, in some cases, on different access infrastructures, makes the integration among them and with the upcoming 5G infrastructure more difficult. This paper discusses the huge set of IoT solutions available or still under standardization that will need to be integrated in the 5G framework. UAVs and satellites will be proposed as possible solutions to ease this integration, overcoming the limitations of the terrestrial infrastructure, such as the limited covered areas and the densification of the number of IoT devices per square kilometer

3D GEOSPATIAL INDOOR NAVIGATION FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND RESPONSE IN URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Disaster management for urban environments with complex structures requires 3D extensions of indoor applications to support better risk reduction and response strategies. The paper highlights the need for assessment and explores the role of 3D geospatial information and modeling regarding the indoor structure and navigational routes which can be utilized as disaster risk reduction and response strategy. The reviewed models or methods are analysed testing parameters in the context of indoor risk and disaster management. These parameters are level of detail, connection to outdoor, spatial model and network, handling constraints. 3D reconstruction of indoors requires the structural data to be collected in a feasible manner with sufficient details. Defining the indoor space along with obstacles is important for navigation. Readily available technologies embedded in smartphones allow development of mobile applications for data collection, visualization and navigation enabling access by masses at low cost. The paper concludes with recommendations for 3D modeling, navigation and visualization of data using readily available smartphone technologies, drones as well as advanced robotics for Disaster Management

Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

Intelligent Escape of Robotic Systems: A Survey of Methodologies, Applications, and Challenges

Intelligent escape is an interdisciplinary field that employs artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to enable robots with the capacity to intelligently react to potential dangers in dynamic, intricate, and unpredictable scenarios. As the emphasis on safety becomes increasingly paramount and advancements in robotic technologies continue to advance, a wide range of intelligent escape methodologies has been developed in recent years. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art research work on intelligent escape of robotic systems. Four main methods of intelligent escape are reviewed, including planning-based methodologies, partitioning-based methodologies, learning-based methodologies, and bio-inspired methodologies. The strengths and limitations of existing methods are summarized. In addition, potential applications of intelligent escape are discussed in various domains, such as search and rescue, evacuation, military security, and healthcare. In an effort to develop new approaches to intelligent escape, this survey identifies current research challenges and provides insights into future research trends in intelligent escape.Comment: This paper is accepted by Journal of Intelligent and Robotic System

Technologies for Development: From Innovation to Social Impact

Development Engineering; Technologies for Development; Innovation for Humanitarian Action; Emerging Countries; Developing Countries; Tech4De

Disaster and Pandemic Management Using Machine Learning: A Survey

This article provides a literature review of state-of-the-art machine learning (ML) algorithms for disaster and pandemic management. Most nations are concerned about disasters and pandemics, which, in general, are highly unlikely events. To date, various technologies, such as IoT, object sensing, UAV, 5G, and cellular networks, smartphone-based system, and satellite-based systems have been used for disaster and pandemic management. ML algorithms can handle multidimensional, large volumes of data that occur naturally in environments related to disaster and pandemic management and are particularly well suited for important related tasks, such as recognition and classification. ML algorithms are useful for predicting disasters and assisting in disaster management tasks, such as determining crowd evacuation routes, analyzing social media posts, and handling the post-disaster situation. ML algorithms also find great application in pandemic management scenarios, such as predicting pandemics, monitoring pandemic spread, disease diagnosis, etc. This article first presents a tutorial on ML algorithms. It then presents a detailed review of several ML algorithms and how we can combine these algorithms with other technologies to address disaster and pandemic management. It also discusses various challenges, open issues and, directions for future research

Mission-Critical Communications from LMR to 5G: a Technology Assessment approach for Smart City scenarios

Radiocommunication networks are one of the main support tools of agencies that carry out actions in Public Protection & Disaster Relief (PPDR), and it is necessary to update these communications technologies from narrowband to broadband and integrated to information technologies to have an effective action before society. Understanding that this problem includes, besides the technical aspects, issues related to the social context to which these systems are inserted, this study aims to construct scenarios, using several sources of information, that helps the managers of the PPDR agencies in the technological decisionmaking process of the Digital Transformation of Mission-Critical Communication considering Smart City scenarios, guided by the methods and approaches of Technological Assessment (TA).As redes de radiocomunicações são uma das principais ferramentas de apoio dos órgãos que realizam ações de Proteção Pública e Socorro em desastres, sendo necessário atualizar essas tecnologias de comunicação de banda estreita para banda larga, e integra- las às tecnologias de informação, para se ter uma atuação efetiva perante a sociedade . Entendendo que esse problema inclui, além dos aspectos técnicos, questões relacionadas ao contexto social ao qual esses sistemas estão inseridos, este estudo tem por objetivo a construção de cenários, utilizando diversas fontes de informação que auxiliem os gestores destas agências na tomada de decisão tecnológica que envolve a transformação digital da Comunicação de Missão Crítica considerando cenários de Cidades Inteligentes, guiado pelos métodos e abordagens de Avaliação Tecnológica (TA)