Project background and justification
Project DUMBO deploys mobile wireless networks on an ad hoc basis for
emergency conditions such as after a natural disaster when a fixed
network infrastructure is not available or is destroyed. The key
objective is to provide technical assistance and ad hoc communication
infrastructure to volunteers who are assisting victims and performing
rescue operations. This is especially important where effective
communication services may not be able to meet overwhelming immediate
needs during a disaster.
DUMBO allows streaming video, VoIP and short messages to be
simultaneously transmitted from a number of mobile laptops to the
central command center, or to other rescuers at the same or different
disaster sites. The DUMBO command center has a face recognition module
that identifies potential matches between images of unknown victims
taken from the field and a collection of known face images stored at
the command center. In addition, sensors can be deployed to measure
such environmental data as temperature and humidity. This data can then
be sent to the command center which analyzes or passes it on to the
other mobile nodes. The command center can flexibly be located either
in the disaster areas or anywhere with Internet access.
Volunteers assisting in rescue operations will be trained with the
skills necessary to be a part of the emergency preparedness and
response. Additionally, if a community wants to supplement its response
capability, auxiliary response units made up of neighbourhood,
business, and government teams can assist, for example, by collecting
disaster intelligence for professional responders.
Project summary
Project DUMBO – “Wireless 'DUMBO' turns ordinary laptops/ PDAs into a life-saving network and platform for effective recovery management.”
DUMBO, one of intERLab’s prominent research projects, is a joint research project led by the Internet Research and Education Laboratory of AIT (Thailand), the HIPERCOM Project of INRIA (France) and the WIDE Project (Japan).
Project DUMBO deploys mobile wireless networks on an ad hoc basis for emergency conditions such as after a natural disaster when a fixed network infrastructure is not available or is destroyed.
The aim of this proposed project is to develop the reference guide/manuals for an easily manageable DUMBO system for laymen, who have very limited technical knowledge but who are exposed to first-hand experience in post-disaster recovery and resettlement operations. They will learn to set up ad hoc wireless mesh networking in order to develop their own “out of the box” communications network in an emergency situation or in disaster areas.
To assist in community-based disaster recovery preparedness, a series of capacity-building and awareness programs, as well as “Train-the-Trainer” programs will be held. Both on-line and face-to-face training will be developed as an outcome of this project.
Why this project is innovative?
- It does not rely on fixed telecommunication infrastructure so can be set up within a relatively short period of time and with little effort. The network should sufficiently serve the demands of rescue operations and disaster recovery communications
- It allows streaming video, VoIP, and short messages to be simultaneously transmitted from a number of mobile laptops to the central command centre, or to other rescuers at the same or different disaster sites
- It makes commercially available equipment into a “Ready-to-Roll Toolkit’” for mobile wireless network deployment on an ad hoc basis during emergency conditions.
Organization profile
Since its establishment in 1959, the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) has enjoyed a proud record of success and achievement in serving the region through human resources development and institutional capacity building. The Institute has, for more than four decades, acted as a bridge between developed countries and the developing and less developed countries in the region.
AIT's future orientation is based on education and research towards the sustainable development of the region, strengthening the knowledge, development and business capacity of the region, and supporting communities and their economic development and integration into the global economy. To this end, it is important for AIT to have its own distinct profile in certain strong niche areas.
AIT offers a unique multi-cultural context for the exchange of ideas, the development and transfer of advanced technologies and innovative approaches to shared problems.
AIT’s Internet Education and Research Laboratory (intERLab) is a regional center of Internet human resources development, having a great potential in training and educating people from the Greater Mekong Sub-region in ICT. intERLab is organized as a laboratory concentrating on research in three main areas: Internet technology/engineering, e-education, and related social and administration issues. The lab could strengthen the role of AIT in promoting cooperation among relevant regional and global players and, in particular, intERLab addresses the human resources demand for the expansion of the Internet in the region.
For more information about intERLab, visit:
http://www.interlab.ait.ac.th/
Information Society Innovation Fund
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